Swansea Golf Club life member Mal Sinclair collects the club’s containers so the area’s golfing community can enjoy a free barbie at the end of the year!
Mal explains that collecting containers is easy. “First, we keep the cartons that our drinks come in – they come in handy later. An extra bin behind the bar makes separating containers from rubbish and recycling easy for staff. When the bin is full, I stack the empty containers back into cartons and put them in the storeroom until I’ve got enough to take to the machine in town.”
After his first trip to the refund point, Mal added a bucket to the bin behind the bar, so that he can properly empty the containers before putting them back into cartons. “You don’t want to end up with drink down your arm when you make your returns!” he laughs.
After just six weeks of collecting, Mal has already raised $700 for the golf club. But the benefits aren’t solely measured in refunds. “Before we began separating our containers to return to the Recycle Rewards refund point, we put out three 240l co-mingled recycling bins every week. Now we put out one. It’s mainly wine bottles – and of course all the cartons we use to transport the empties to the refund point.”
Mal has now extended his collection to the course itself. Golfers are reminded before they tee off to leave their empties in the bins provided, which Mal empties after the course closes. At this rate, it’s looking like it’ll be a bang-up end-of-year party at the Swansea Gold Club!