BOANDIK aged care facility has reaped the benefits of a recycling initiative at Car Spa Mount Gambier.
Car Spa staff recycled cans and bottles collected on site over one year and generously donated an accumulated $2000 to Boandik.
The donation was used to purchase a new electric bed for Boandik’s Crouch Street facility, a purchase residential manager Rodney May said will benefit both residents and carers.
“We were very fortunate to receive the donation and purchase an electric bed valued at $2000,” Mr May said.
“The electric bed is a safer option for people at risk of falling out of bed – it can be lowered to the floor to eliminate the risk of falling from a height without the need for bed rails.
“For people with poor mobility we can raise the bed, rather than have carers lift them manually and we can lift the bed to an appropriate height to allow carers to work on someone.”
Mr May said electric beds were a necessity for many aged residents.
“Right now we have 27 electric beds and we are always looking to purchase more,” he said.
“Of the two most recent ladies who moved in, one is 101 and the other is 99 years old, turning 100 in November.
“They are both still quite mobile, but people are living at home for much longer and tend to be much frailer when they move in here.”
Car Spa’s Kerrie Douglas sorted through waste bins used by customers at the car wash to find recyclable items – a job she admits was not glamorous but produced a rewarding outcome.
“Over one year we collected $2000 worth of cans and bottles from the waste bins, discarded when people were washing and vacuuming their cars,” Ms Douglas said.
“Our initiative is to accumulate the funds to donate to community organisations and charities.
“We want to push the issue to encourage people to recycle – that’s a lot of recyclable items going to landfill.”
