A plastic patrol and a brand audit were organized by the OSC Reefkeepers to celebrate the Wetlands Day on the 2nd of February 2020. It was done around the school neighbourhood with the voluntary participation of school students and some parents. 

The purpose of this was to walk around the OSC neighbourhood and collect all the trash on the streets on three separate routes, conduct a brand audit – sort the trash by brand and collect data to send to the relevant organizations and influence the companies to hold corporations accountable and to improve their packaging and waste management.

The cleanup started at 9.00 in the morning. All of the volunteers were each given a pair of gloves and a recycling bag to collect rubbish into. We were then asked to chose a group as three groups were supposed to go on three different routes. I chose the group which was lead by Talia who was a leader of the service group. We walked through our planned route picking up plastics, paper, tin, and glass on our way. Our route fell through residential areas, across the military headquarters and back to the school. When we reached the school both the other groups were already there cause apparently, ours was the longest route.

Me picking trash on the road.
P.c; Talia Shea

Me picking trash on the road.
P.c; Talia Shea

Then it was time for the brand audit. All the trash that was collected was then separated into different piles based on the mother company. All the data was recorded and pictures were taken. Most of the trash collected was going to be sent to their companies. Most of the trash we collected was from Nestle, which is the mother company of Milo, Nescafe, and other milk packets. Apart from that, we found packings from food products like snacks and biscuits, plastic cups from ice coffee and a lot of candy wrappings. Other stuff included glass bottles, tins, cigarette boxes, and plastic bottles.

The collected trash been sorted out at the school
P.c; Talia Shea

Once each type of waste was organized into specific bags, either to be recycled or disposed of and documented packaging with pictures the brand audit was complete. The bags that couldn’t be sent to the production companies were disposed at school.

However, like everything else picking trash had its limits as we couldn’t pick wet trash from the drainage, trash from dumpsites or burning sites. After the brand audit, the volunteers had the option to swim. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience even though it was a bit tiring. But I’m glad to have taken part in a good thing like this where we work towards the betterment of the environment. The main thing that made me realize was that around the school there is a lot of waste being thrown despite the signs saying otherwise. The overconsumption of products and the amount of unnecessary packaging is causing environmental degradation and this needs to be brought into consideration of the responsible people. I hope that the school community continue to work towards more similar projects and also provide opportunities like this in order to strive for a more environmentally friendly future.

The plastics that were collected during the cleanup were then taken to the plastic recycling centre at Athurugiriya, Sri Lanka which has been the largest plastic recycling group for the past decade.  They divide the plastics based on the colour, shape and type. Once the plastics are sorted, they remove the labels and cut into flakes. Then they are washed, dried and packed according to colour and either sent to other companies for various plastic productions or used for producing brooms and brushes. Some of the flakes are also exported to Asian countries like India, South Korea and Pakistan.

I believe that centres like VIRIDIS that work towards the betterment of society and environment should always be supported by the government. They should be encouraged to develop their industries. I hope this recycling plant will work hard to protect the environment of Sri Lanka in the future too.

Learning outcomes;

Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.

• We live in a world where the usage of plastics is increasing on a daily basis. Through this project, we were able to communicate with many mother companies of plastic producers. Along with the brand audit and informing the companies and encouraging them to take necessary actions I think we’ve addressed the global issue of increasing plastic waste in the environment.

Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

• Even though the brand audit was organized by a single service group of OSC (Reef Keepers) many volunteers participated in the event including myself. Only with the help of the whole group were we able to successfully complete the process. I also got to know different people from other grades and it was a good way of interaction too. These activities truly help us to value the benefits of working collaboratively.