Living and Learning Pakenham and Swinburne PrimeSCI!: 2023 Finalist – Healthy and fair society
Living and Learning Pakenham and Swinburne PrimeSCI! are a finalist for an Industry Leader award in the Premier's Sustainability Awards 2023 – Healthy and fair society category. Living and Learning Pakenham and Swinburne PrimeSCI!’s Community Alliance for Waste Reduction and Sustainability (CAWRS) brings together community gardens, neighbourhood houses and businesses across Melbourne’s eastern and southern suburbs to act collectively towards a future with fewer landfills.
CAWRS is also working closely with Traditional Owner groups, including the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation and the Wurundjeri Tribe, to ensure that their voices and knowledge base are incorporated into messaging encouraging others to respect the natural environment.
Over 18 months through tailored community education and workshops, working bees, and the establishment of Community Compost Hubs, CAWRS diverted 27 tonnes of organic, recyclable, and reusable resources from landfill, including:
- hardwood pallets
- food waste
- bread lids and tags
- coffee cups
- furniture
- bicycles.
CAWRS’s platform also features voices and perspectives on sustainability and waste reduction from people who identify as Rohingyan, Afghani, South Sudanese, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung, Bunurong/Boon Wurrung and Banyjima/Ngoongar.
