A local community, who obtained a Containers for Change Scheme ID when the scheme began in November 2018, has been nominated for a “Change Maker award— Charity/Community Group.”
Kenmore Rotary Club was an early adopter in the movement to recycle plastic containers and the program, run by the members of the club, has evolved into a wide array of collection points across Kenmore through to Moggill.
Kenmore Rotary members Michael Fitzgerald and Ken Ryan have used their combined career knowledge to take the project to the next level since COVID put everything on hold.
“Our initial intention was for the recycling project to be one of our community projects that raised some revenue and reduced landfill,” says Michael Fitzgerald, a former Queensland Law Society President.
“As a club, we are always looking at assisting the community and raising revenue that can be used for the range of good causes our Rotary Club supports.”
Included in the plan was the engagement of schools in the local area, getting students to encourage parents to recycle containers through Kenmore Rotary’s collection network.
“Initially, we had two very large cages manufactured that were placed at E-Waste in Kenmore Hills and Pullenvale Marketplace,” says former Town Planner, Ken Ryan.
Local State MP Christian Rowan played a role in helping Kenmore Rotary apply for a grant from the Department of the Environment. The grant application was successful and a trailer was purchased that enabled club members, some 30-strong volunteers, to run a roster emptying the cages and delivering the containers to a Coex depot where they were turned into a cash donation to the club.
This led to more donation points being arranged at:
| The Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Kenmore |
| St Catherine’s Church in Moggill |
| The Anglican Church in Kenmore |
| A member’s house in Aronia Street in Kenmore |
Later three further collection points were added:
| A cafe on Brookfield Road in Kenmore |
| A block of units in Merlin Terrace in Kenmore |
| A commercial property in Brookfield |
With the scheme increasing to include wine and spirit bottles, the wider network became difficult for members to keep up with, and so Ken and Michael started to have conversations with Community Co Recycling Pty Ltd (the Coex operator the Club has been working with in relation to collections for several years). This led to the Club booking them to pick up from the various sites, freeing Kenmore Rotary members up to focus on other ways to raise revenue and support the range of local good causes as well as school children in PNG.
The project to date has stopped 537,085 containers being added to landfill and raised $153,708.50 distributed between Kenmore Rotary good causes and partners.
Kenmore Rotary’s current range of local good causes supported:
| A Domestic Violence shelter, Domestic Violence support services, including Legal services; |
| Youth mentoring programs from STEM programs to Leadership programs; |
| Learner Driver programs; |
| Supporting children in desperate need and delivering Primary and Secondary school awards; |
| Community programs from running the annual Citizenship Ceremony, to ANZAC day, to the Brookfield Show, to a range of Christmas food donations to those in need; |
| A range of defibrillators bought and installed at the Brookfield Showgrounds, Pullenvale Marketplace and Kenmore Village Shopping Centre. |
Kenmore Rotary’s range of overseas programs supported:
| An Opthamologist’s Program in Nepal to help Nepali people in desperate need of eyesight help; |
| An Arts Centre in Port Moresby; |
| Various donations to PNG through “Donations in Kind.” |
Kenmore Rotary has also been instrumental in raising funds for e-Waste which enables disabled youths to access work experience through the NDIS.
A humble group of 40 members donating their time and expertise in the Kenmore area can achieve great things. Tt’s no surprise they have been nominated for a Change Maker Award.
Published 6-Oct-2024
