AUGUST 27, 2019 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
(Marco De Luca)
College dives into big fun Craigieburn Secondary College’s performing arts centre will be transformed into a magical underwater kingdom next week for the school’s production of The Little Mermaid Jr Jr. Students from years 7 to 12 have spent the past five months rehearsing for the show, designing costumes and perfecting sound and lighting. College performing arts head Rachel Gorman said The Little Mermaid Jr was the biggest production yet the school had presented. “We are very proud of the students,” she said. “We have done a lot this year that we haven’t done before.” Ms Gorman said The Little Mermaid Jr was chosen because “everyone loves Disney”. “We thought it would be good to produce a show that appealed to the younger kids and the young at heart,” she said. “It’s a really great show, full of colour, and it’s always fun to get to pretend to be something other than a human.” The Little Mermaid Jr will be performed on August 29, 30 and 31. Tickets: bit.ly/2TRoLQA KANE BUTLER AS PRINCE ERIC AND MAKENZY JACKSON AS ARIEL
Laura Michell
Family’s recycling mission By Laura Michell A Craigieburn family is tackling the state’s recycling crisis by launching a community recycling group. Robert and Ann Williams and their children, David, 19, Amy, 17, and Sean, 13, became concerned about the future of Victoria’s recycling sector in February when SKM Recycling was banned from accepting kerbside collections by the Environment Protection Authority. The month-long closure forced 33 councils to send their kerbside recycling collections to landfill.
Worried about the impact of the additional landfill on the environment, the family opted to stockpile its recycling until SKM re-opened. The family resumed stockpiling bottles, cardboard, paper and glass late last month when SKM announced it would stop accepting waste. Since then, the family has been working tirelessly to identify small recycling businesses willing to accept its waste. It has also formed the Northern Recycling Group in the hope that other northern suburbs families would join the recycling efforts. The group held its first meeting in Craigieburn on August 18.
“We have our garage stocked full of recycling because we couldn’t ethically throw it out,” Mr Williams said. “We knew there had to be someone that could take it. “I have never considered myself as an environmentalist before, but I have a different outlook on that now.” Mr Williams said his family’s research had uncovered the need for an overhaul of the recycling system. “We need to sort our collections in the home because sorting takes time and time is money for businesses,” he said. He said his family had found companies willing to accept plastics graded two and four,
as well as metals, cardboard and papers. Another group member has started collecting plastic bottle caps, which will be taken to Envision Hands to be turned into prosthetic hands. The Williams family has also identified a glass recycler, but will need a tip truck to drop off collections. It is hoping a local business will be willing to drop collections off once a month. The Northern Recycling Group held a community recycling day on Sunday with future recycling days planned. Details: bit.ly/2No8hhB