Change Maker Awards Gala

On Friday 4 November, the Containers for Change community came together at the second annual Change Maker Awards Gala at Crown Perth to celebrate the past 12 months’ efforts, success and growth.

More than 600 trailblazers recognised and congratulated the refund point operators, individuals, community groups, charities and schools who have taken the lead in ensuring West Aussies have saved 1.67 million 10¢ containers from the fill.

Guests were entertained by MC David Berrie, wowed by the acrobatic skill of the Turning Pointe Performance Academy and were introduced to everyday champions of Containers for Change via a live Q&A. 

Our special guest the Hon Reece Whitby MLA, Minister for Environment and Climate Action acknowledged the hard work and success of the Containers for Change network.

A massive thank you to everyone who attended – it truly was a night of celebration and joy as we all worked towards saving as many 10¢ containers from the fill as possible, feeding millions of dollars back into our community, creating jobs for all and helping people in need.

We can’t wait to see what the next 12 months will bring and once again pass on a hearty congratulations to all of the 2022 Change Maker Awards finalists and recipients.

Community Group or Charity of the Year

Making a positive change in the community is one of the reasons why Containers for Change was created. These finalists have demonstrated how saving containers from landfill has created benefits for their local community, including employment/volunteer opportunities, providing a new way to fundraise and community engagement and awareness.

Finalists

Bremer Bay Primary School P&C

Beaconsfield Primary School P&C Association

K9 Rescue Group

Joondalup Lakers Hockey Club

Winner

The recipient of the 2022 Community Group or Charity of the Year Award, sponsored by Cleanaway, is the Bremer Bay Primary School P&C.

Living in such a beautiful place in the world is what inspired Bremer Bay Primary School P&C passion for Containers for Change.

Bremer Bay population grows from 350 to over 10,000 over the Christmas period, leaving bins overflowing, their pristine beaches covered in litter, and thousands of cans and bottles going straight to landfill. With the support of Containers for Cash Spencer Park, the passionate P&C of seven used Containers for Change to create a solution that not only provided financial support for the school, but also fought landfill.  Their innovative approach of putting hundreds of Containers for Change green bags around town, led them to save thousands of containers from landfill and raise money for their school community.

School of the Year

We love seeing our schools get involved in Containers for Change. Schools championing Containers for Change have the power to get the whole school or wider community involved. The School of the Year Award is for a school or educational institution that has demonstrated an outstanding level of participation in Containers for Change. Finalists have demonstrated how the school has encouraged the recycling of 10¢ containers, as well as educating their school or local community on the importance of saving containers of landfill for both environmental and/or community benefits.

Finalists

Albany Secondary Education Support Centre

Kensington Secondary School

Kingston Primary School

Secret Harbour Primary School

Winner

The recipient of the 2022 School of the Award sponsored by Veolia is Albany Secondary Education Support Centre.

From creating their own business plan and marketing materials, to collecting and liaising with local business, to counting the containers themselves, the students from Albany Education Support Centre run a container collection business called ASESC Rec Collection from start to finish.  

In the last year, they have seen their client list double from five to eleven. With each semester the students choosing to donate their funding to a charity of their choice, the students are not only saving thousands of containers from landfill and growing in their own skillsets, but they’re also giving back to their local Albany community.  To date, the students have collected almost 55,000 containers, an incredible effort by ASESC Collection.

Individual of the Year

This award is for an individual independent of our refund points who has demonstrated an outstanding level of participation in the Containers for Change over the past 12 months. Finalists have demonstrated what they are doing within the community to help fight landfill, improve access to Containers for Change, and/or provide significant community benefit.

Finalists

Viktor Strizek: Recycle Man Perth

Hudson Bardsley: That Kid Kollector

Pauline Gibb

Ruby and Ella

Winner

The recipient of the 2022 Individual of the Year Award sponsored by AV partners is Viktor Strizek: Recycle Man Perth.

Viktor is a young man with Down Syndrome who was looking for something more. After several attempts working for merely $2 a hour, Viktor launched RecycleMan Perth. RecycleMan Perth has given Viktor the purpose he was looking for and the opportunity to collect and connect with the residents and businesses of the Western Suburbs, as well as providing himself with an income. He also provides residents and businesses with the opportunity to do something good for the environment and the community, all from the luxury of their own home. Viktor collects from various residents and returns them to his local refund point, Return-It Shenton Park.  Through collecting 10¢ containers and returning them to his local refund point, Viktor is funding his independence.

Business of the Year

This award is for a for-profit business operating within Western Australia that has demonstrated excellence and an outstanding level of participation in Containers for Change. This includes implementing sustainability practices in their business to save 10¢ containers consumed at their business and create financial benefits for their business and/or their local community.

Finalists

Freshwater Quality Management

BHP – Containers for Change Initiative

Proudly Productive Pty Ltd

Winner

The recipient of the 2022 Business of the Year Award sponsored by Remondis is Freshwater Quality Management.

Freshwater Quality Management operates in one of the most spectacular places in the world, the UNESCO World Heritage Purnululu National Park in the Kimberleys. 

So, it only made sense for Freshwater Quality Management to jump on board with Containers for Change. This aligned with their business goals of reducing their environmental impact, supporting their local community, and providing educational opportunities for staff and customers to learn about conservation, Aboriginal culture and regional community participation. 

Freshwater Quality Management’s staff training, customer education through their website and welcome packs, and high number of Containers for Change bins and stickers around the apartments and lodges enabled them to not only save thousands of containers from landfill, but also use the funds to support and reward their staff.

Volunteer Refund Point Operator of the Year  

An award for volunteer refund points in WA demonstrating excellence through the implementation of Containers for Change in their local community. These finalists have gone above and beyond to give their community the chance to save containers from landfill, create employment opportunities and achieve incredible things.

Finalists

Newdegate Container Exchange

Gnowangerup Heritage Group Inc

Winner

The recipient of the 2022 Volunteer Refund Point Operator of the Year Award sponsored by Liquor Stores Association is Newdegate Container Exchange.

Newdegate’s passion for their local community is what led Newdegate Container Exchange to be born. It provided the community with the opportunity to reduce landfill, offer recycling to shire residents and farmers who previously did not have access to recycling, and create a new fundraising stream for local clubs and not-for-profits.  

It also provided opportunities for a local young adult with a disability to work at the local refund point. Newdegate Container Exchange contacted local businesses, commenced letter drops, formed partnerships with events and local commercial businesses, as well as created their own Facebook group to inspire the community to save as many containers as possible from landfill. In just over one year of operation, Newdegate has achieved everything they set out to achieve plus much, much, more.

Small Refund Point Operator of the Year

An award for small-sized refund points in WA demonstrating excellence through the implementation of Containers for Change in their local community. These finalists have gone above and beyond to give their community the chance to save containers from landfill, create employment opportunities and achieve incredible things.

Finalists

Ashburton Aboriginal Corporation

Goomalling Toodyay Containers for Change

All Good Refund Centre Pty Ltd

Ethos Recycling

Winner

The recipient of the 2022 Small Refund Point Operator of the Year, sponsored by CES is Ashburton Aboriginal Corporation.

Ashburton Aboriginal Corporation has a passion for unleashing potential. The potential in containers, but also in their local community. Ashburton Aboriginal Corporation has used Containers for Change to enable anyone and everyone with the opportunity to be work-ready and access lasting employment. They have worked with people from all backgrounds to build competencies in safety procedures and accredited training like Forklift training, 4WD training, Load Restraint, and more. From October 2020 to 30 July 2022, the program has helped 51 people gain casual paid employment with Containers for Change, as well as enabled 18 jobseekers to transition into lasting employment with another employer.

Medium Refund Point Operator of the Year 

An award for medium-sized refund points in WA demonstrating excellence through the implementation of Containers for Change in their local community. These finalists have gone above and beyond to give their community the chance to save containers from landfill, create employment opportunities and achieve incredible things.

Finalists

MR Refund

City of Fremantle

Care for Hedland Environmental Association Inc

Avonvalley Cash 4 Containers

Winner

The recipient of the 2022 Medium Refund Point Operator of Year sponsored by Container Deposit Systems is MR Refund.

MR Refund lives and breathes for their South West community, which is why they are so passionate about making Containers for Change as accessible as possible for their local community. They operate two depots, as well as two bag drops, and a commercial collection service from Busselton to Witchcliffe, servicing more than 150 businesses, charities and clubs across the South West. This commitment to making it easy for everyone to participate in Containers for Change led MR Refund to achieve a 19% growth rate compared to the previous year.  MR Refund treat their staff like family, and make customer service, safety, and ease a priority for both customers and staff alike.

Large Refund Point Operator of the Year

An award for large-sized refund points in WA demonstrating excellence through the implementation of Containers for Change in their local community. These finalists have gone above and beyond to give their community the chance to save containers from landfill, create employment opportunities and achieve incredible things.

Finalists

Return-It WA

Community Recycling WA

City of Stirling Container Refund Centre

North West Recycling

The recipient of the 2022 Large Refund Point Operator of Year sponsored by Orora is Return-It WA.

Winner

Return-It knew they wanted their refund point to be about more than environmental outcomes. Return-It WA has provided incredible opportunities for charities and social enterprises, not just through the recipient of donations, but through making charities and social enterprises key stakeholders and partners in their refund points. 

Some of these partners include St Patrick’s Community Centre, Regional Alliance West and Paraquad Industries. Return-It has had significant success with these partner depots and has been able to distribute over $300,000 to these partners in the last year, giving these hard-working charities a reliable source of income. 

Return-It has entered agreements with a range of partners, spanning a variety of focus areas and local communities in order to ensure they can deliver social benefits across their community. 

Change Maker of the Year

Celebrating the best of the best, the Change Maker of the Year award recognises demonstrated excellence through the implementation of Containers for Change across all the award categories. The Change Maker of the Year has gone above and beyond in the fight against the fill.

Finalists

MR Refund

Albany Secondary Education Support Centre

Viktor Strizek: Recycle Man Perth

Return-It WA

Winner

The recipients of the 2022 Change Maker of the Year Award, sponsored by Coles, Albany Secondary Education Support Centre and MR Refund.

Albany Secondary Education Support Centre

Albany Secondary Education Support Centre is an Independent Public School that caters for students with mild to moderate disabilities from Years 7-12. Their purpose is to support all students to reach their potential and become lifelong learners. This was how ‘ASESC Rec Collection’ was born. In 2020, this business was built from the ground up by the students, who collaboratively wrote a business plan, letters to business partners and voted on the business name. The ASESC Rec Collection business program incorporates subjects including English, STEAM, Design, and Media by simulating real life business scenarios in order to develop key employability skills. The business collects containers from a number of City of Albany sites, providing the invaluable experience of learning key skills, whilst also servicing the Albany community.

Albany Secondary Education Support Centre’s creation of ASESC Rec Collection has had a positive impact on the students, the environment and the wider Albany community. It has seen the students grow in teamwork, social skills, customer service, computer skills, money handling, team work and most importantly, confidence, whilst also providing an additional fundraising stream and environmental service for businesses around town. 

MR Refund

MR Refund is a family-run refund point in the South West. MR Refund services Margaret River and Dunsborough Cowaramup, Nannup as well as providing a Commercial Collection Service from Busselton to Witchcliffe. Run by Jackie and Marc Dickson, who are affectionally referred to as Mr and Mrs Refund by their staff and customers, MR Refund is on a mission to make Containers for Change as accessible as possible for their local community, so every business, customer and community can save their containers from landfill. 

MR Refund have gone above and beyond for their Southwest customers. They have implemented many initiatives across their business to improve volume, customer satisfaction, accessibility and continue to grow as a result.