STUDENTS from Penola Primary School have turned into eco-warriors with a crusade against plastic straws.
After taking part in an environmental leaders program earlier this year, four Year 6 students started a campaign to reduce plastic in their own homes and the wider community.
Each student made a pledge to become more aware of changes to their lives to minimise the usage of resources through methods such as riding their bikes instead of driving, wearing jumpers instead of turning on the heater and having shorter showers.
Students then set their sights on things they could improve around the community, starting with their Nude Food campaign at the school.
Nude Food encourages students to ditch cling wrap and plastic sandwich bags in favour of reusable containers for their lunch.
Student Shelly said each Wednesday the environmental group visits each classroom and takes note of who is using containers.
“If students have three or more plastic containers and some fruit then they get a point,” she said.
“At the end of the term we tally it up and whoever has the most points wins.
“I think it makes everyone notice what they should and should not be using for lunch.”
Students recently attended an excursion to Caroline Landfill where they noticed the stockpile of plastic straws.
With Australians reportedly using millions of straws every day, the students believed a solution needed to be implemented.
They decided to purchase their own paper straws and visit cafes around Penola and gave them some to try as an alternative.
“Paper straws break down easier so they are better for the environment,” student Todd said.
“All of the cafes and bakeries we visited were happy to give the paper straws a trial which will hopefully help make a change.”
Student Dylan said most of the businesses they visited said they were already considering a switch to paper straws, but the students helped make the transition.
“They said it was something they had been thinking about but they were waiting until they had finished up with their plastic straw supply,” he said.
“We are hoping once they do use up their plastic ones they will swap over.”
Next term students will head back to each of the businesses they visited for an update.
“We are going to go and get feedback from the shops to see what their customers are saying about paper versus plastic,” student Pip said.
“Hopefully our community can become more aware of what plastic does to our environment and we can continue to change the impact.”
