Green Award

Awarded for their CLEAN Initiative, the Year 12 Executive team wanted to reduce litter and inspire everyone to take responsibility for keeping their community clean. They introduced a Bin Brigade: 48 student leaders collecting litter across school grounds in their colourful branded caps.

This student-led movement has resulted in 239 buckets of litter collected since the start of 2025, weighing 69kg.

They even created a fun video to showcase the initiative. 

Watch the Bin Brigade video

When we spoke with the Year 12 Executive student leaders, they shared their thoughts on leading and delivering the program:

What inspired the CLEAN Initiative?

"Unfortunately, litter had been an ongoing problem at our school for a few years and we tried for many years to get positive messages out… ultimately what made this initiative so successful was the fun vibe and positive branding."

"Measuring it as well keeps everyone motivated, like we are making a difference."

What was your favourite part of the Initiative?

"I think having Year 7 to 12 involved, every single leader, every lunch time getting to know them was really enjoyable."

How has being part of this Initiative increased your understanding of sustainable practices?

“It’s not one big change, it's consistent actions.”

Why is it important to care about the environment?

“It’s our home. Especially living in a coastal city like Rockingham, it's terrible to think about the sort of rubbish that ends up in the ocean. You see rubbish building up along our fence line… its blowing from all parts of the school and you think on a much bigger scale in Rockingham…  it’s not just our home but the penguin’s home, the marine environment's home, it’s so relevant for where we live.”

Following the CLEAN Initiative, students engaged Years 7 to 12 in a school competition to design bin stickers. With four stickers already installed (as shown below), more are planned to be placed around the school, keeping strong visual messaging front of mind for students.

In December 2024, the Native Plants WA community nursery transitioned from single-use plastic bulka bags to a concrete soil bay.

Looking for a cleaner, low-waste solution that also met nursery hygiene standards, the opportunity to build a soil bay emerged. Kindly donated and constructed by an external company, this new solution eliminates the need to buy potting mix in plastic bags.

Previously, the nursery used around 40 cubic metres of soil each year, resulting in up to 40 single-use bags being discarded annually. While volunteers reused the bags for storage to extend their life, they would eventually break down.

It’s expected the nursery will save around 130 kg of plastic from landfill each year. This simple change demonstrates how small shifts can make a meaningful impact in reducing waste.

Since 2016, MTCC has continued to evolve its Sustainability Education Program, embarking on a variety of waste elimination initiatives to reduce waste ending up in landfill. This has not only created positive outcomes for the college and environment, but has pulled the community together on a joint goal for a better future. Examples of initiatives included as part of the program include:

• Sustainability Centre - Vegetable/herb gardens, composting systems, chicken coops and much more located, supported by Green Team (years 3-5).

• Year 6 Sustainability Leaders - Communicating waste reduction goals and focuses at school assembly.

• Recycling - Nine different recycling streams for materials to be recovered, including 'Give Write', 'Containers for Change' and 'Bottle Top Hill'.

• Student-led Market Stalls - S​tudents sell worm tea, fresh produce, beeswax lunch wraps, herb pots and captured from the Sustainability Centre at their market stalls. Students also have started book swap events.

As an accredited WasteSorted School, access to State Government funding has also assisted in efforts undertaken by students at MTCC. If you're involved with a local school and not already participating you can find out more from the Waste Authority.

Congratulations again to the students and teacher involved in the program and the ongoing efforts showcasing your positive impact on community and the environment. Check out their efforts in the video below.