The Collie Bowls Club newspaper recycling program has been raising vital funds for the club for the past ten years.
The program is entirely run by volunteers, who collect, sort, and stack the newspapers, which are then bundled up before going to Bunbury where they are recycled.
Project Co-ordinator, Tom Edwards said “The money goes towards fixing the green and general maintenance around the club”.
The program manages to recycle on average 80 tonne of newspaper a year, which Mr Edwards said is not only good for fundraising, but also helps with the environment as well.
“When we get ten or eleven tonne we load up the truck and take it down to Bunbury to be recycled”, he said.
Mr Edwards said that the volunteers are dedicated and without them they would have to find other avenues of fundraising for the club.
“Some days we have anywhere up to 15 volunteers that help out on the recycling project”, he said.
“We meet up most mornings at about 7.30, and go through the papers and take out all of the staples and glossy pages."
The volunteers from the recycling project also help out at the local Foodbank.
“When the Foodbank trucks come in to town, once a month, the people from the paper shed go up and help unload the truck and stack the shelves in the Foodbank”, said Mr Edwards.
He said that the papers are sourced from various places around town and that many community members kindly drop their papers at the club to be recycled.
The project was started in October 2004 by Mr Edwards, and has been growing with the support of the community and bowls club ever since.
