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Boddington volunteers with a passion for recycling win national litter prevention award

Isabel VieiraNarrogin Observer
Boddington RRR founder and president Eugene Smalberger and young legend winner Harrison Hansen at the award ceremony
Camera IconBoddington RRR founder and president Eugene Smalberger and young legend winner Harrison Hansen at the award ceremony Credit: Paul Benjamin/Paul Benjamin

The hard work and dedication of the volunteers who established the Boddington recycling plant has been recognised after the town won the national litter prevention award at the Keep Australia Beautiful ceremony in Victoria.

Boddington RRR (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) founder and president Eugene Smalberger and Shire of Boddington councillor Lee Lewis travelled to Mornington Peninsula in Victoria for the KAB Sustainable Communities Awards ceremony and two-day seminar.

The southern Wheatbelt town won the Dame Phyllis Frost Litter Prevention Award and received a commendation in the Resource Recovery and Waste Management category.

“Boddington community volunteers have shown tremendous spirit in establishing environmentally friendly practices that align with the protection of the natural habitat and litter reduction,” a KAB spokeswoman said.

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“(These include) organising a local clean-up Australia day event, educational opportunities about the advantages of recycling, smart waste collection and upcycling, and building the RRR dishwashing trailer for use at local events to reduce the reliance on single-use plastic cutlery, cups and plates.”

The overall winner of the KAB Sustainable Communities Tidy Town Award was King Island in Tasmania.

Ms Smalberger said it was a “big honour” to receive the litter prevention award.

“We could never be in the race for some of the other award categories, but winning this particular award felt good because it’s something every town does,” she said.

“I think the uniqueness of our recycling plant and our projects is what won us the award, and all the hard work of the volunteers.”

The Boddington RRR volunteers established the recycling processing plant in an old Shire depot building more than two years ago. The plant now has the capacity to process and recycle various types of small plastic such as bottle caps and bread tags, car bumpers, polystyrene, hard hats and regular recycling from the community and local businesses.

The volunteers also built a dishwashing trailer which they run during community events to help keep litter away from landfill.

“Winning the national litter prevention award recognises the huge level of dedication of the Boddington RRR members, who have achieved so much over the last few years,” Shire chief executive Julie Bishop said.

“The group is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to educate the community on sustainable practices, not only through litter prevention activities but also through recycling products that are otherwise destined for landfill.

“The win and commendation recognises the group’s innovative practices, such as shredding plastic and turning the material into benches, cutting boards and jewellery.

“The practice of recycling plastic to create unique marketable products was undoubtedly a factor in the judging, and is creating a significant amount of interest throughout WA.”

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