{"id":237204,"date":"2019-06-06T23:21:16","date_gmt":"2019-06-06T13:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=237204"},"modified":"2020-07-19T16:33:57","modified_gmt":"2020-07-19T06:33:57","slug":"dont-throw-out-that-old-toothbrush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/06\/06\/dont-throw-out-that-old-toothbrush\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Throw Out That Old Toothbrush!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Support teacher Shaque Dugdell and principal Anja\u00a0Janosevic with some of the products collected so far<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 6, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taabinga State School teachers are hoping to create a new community garden at their school and South Burnett residents can help … by donating their used toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes.<\/p>\n

Toothbrushes?<\/p>\n

Principal Anja Janosevic said the school had joined the Colgate Community Garden Challenge to recycle “oral care” waste.<\/p>\n

This includes old toothbrushes, empty toothpaste and toothbrush packaging, empty floss packets and used toothpaste tubes.<\/p>\n

Taabinga State School hopes to win one of five recycled community garden sets up for grabs, each worth more than $6000.<\/p>\n

One unit of oral care waste (ie. about\u00a0 9g) equals 10 Garden Credits in the competition.<\/p>\n

Schools can also earn extra Garden Points through online votes which will be open until September 30.<\/p>\n

The three schools which accrue the most Garden Points – based on the weight of the total amount of shipments and the total number of votes – will each win a community garden set.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Schools will also receive one entry in the final prize draw for a chance to win one of two garden sets.<\/p>\n

The competition is being organised by TerraCycle, a recycling company that Taabinga State School has teamed with in a bid to help make the school and local community as sustainable as possible.<\/p>\n

Ms Janosevic said TerraCycle allowed the school community to recycle items that regular recycling schemes won’t take.<\/p>\n

This included used Postpaks, beauty products, biscuit and snack bar wrappers, and office waste, including pencils, pens, paperclips, staplers and whiteboard markers.<\/p>\n

The school is registered in several TerraCycle recycling schemes, but the Colgate Community Garden “oral care” challenge is its key focus at present.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Teachers Shaque Dugdell and Steph Tognola are co-ordinating the project and have already gained support from parents and the South Burnett Dental Group.<\/p>\n

They’re now hoping more people,\u00a0including local businesses and community groups, will jump on board to support the school and start collecting items.<\/p>\n

Taabinga State School is currently sitting in 20th place on the Garden Challenge leaderboard.<\/p>\n

“We would love for the whole community to collect oral waste items and drop them off to the school,” Ms Janosevic said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We are a small school so we certainly need community support.<\/p>\n

“If the community gets behind us it will make a big difference.”<\/p>\n

Voting online for Taabinga State School will also help the school reach its target.<\/p>\n