TGRC awards winning schools of glass recycling competition

Bergvliet High School in Cape Town has been named the national winner having collected approximately 246,700 glass bottles.

TheGlassRecyclingCompany.co.za

The contributing schools collected a total of approximately 1,539,102 bottles and jars. By recycling these glass bottles, the schools have even saved enough energy to light a compact florescent bulb for 1,255 years. In addition, recycling this amount of bottles saved enough energy to operate a computer constantly for 58 years, six months and 27 days; or a TV for nearly 39 years and 18 days. This is a phenomenal effort towards a greener South Africa.

The competition was hosted in Gauteng, the Cape Peninsula and the greater Durban and Pietermaritzburg areas. Schools in these areas were invited to apply for the placement of glass banks in which to collect their glass jars and bottles. Over 136 schools entered the competition, 70 schools in Gauteng, 37 in KZN and 29 in the Western Cape, which ran from July 2013 until June 2014.

Apart from placing glass banks at the schools, TGRC also supplied curriculum compliant material to enable teachers to facilitate a holistic view of the glass recycling process. "The objective of the competition is to educate learners about the many benefits of glass recycling and the ease with which it can be done," said Shabeer Jhetam, CEO of TGRC.

Recover, reuse and recycle

TGRC is dedicated to instilling these beliefs so that next generation realise the positive impact glass recycling has with minimal effort. Instilling this belief is achieved through educating and encouraging young consumers to 'recover, reuse and recycle'.

Though the Cape Peninsula school won the grand prize for their incredible efforts, three top-performing schools were selected in each of the three regions and received R30,000 (first prize for regional winner), R20,000 (regional runner-up) and R10,000 (regional third prize). The national champion, Bergvliet High School, received an additional R20,000 to their R30,000 cash prize. Throughout the competition, there were also monthly prizes awarded to the top five schools in each of the participating regions with the highest collection of glass per month.

During the months of November and December, TGRC will be visiting the winning schools to present their cheques and acknowledge their hard work and encourage them to participate in the next TGRC schools glass recycling competition.

"This is one competition not to miss out on, and the next round of the competition starts in February 2015", which will see us set for even bigger and better things, with the added benefit of educating learners and helping to protect our environment at the same time," concluded Jhetam.

For more information about the 2015 competition, please contact The Glass Recycling Company on 011 803 0767 or az.oc.crgt@ofni. You can also visit the company's new website: www.tgrc.co.za; or Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TheGlassRecyclingCo.

Winning schools

Cape Peninsula

First prize - Bergvliet High School (national winner)
Second prize - Bergvliet Primary School
Third prize - Kenridge Primary School

KwaZulu-Natal

First prize - Kloof Senior Primary School
Second prize - Brailsford Primary School
Third prize - The Birches Pre-Primary School

Gauteng

First prize - Laerskool Anton Van Wouw
Second prize - Jet Nteo Secondary School
Third prize - Mphe-Thuto Primary School