DOLLARD-DES-ORMEAUX – Walk into the West Island College’s cafeteria and it is a noisy lunchtime as students are clinking their cutlery away.
But this racket is nothing but music to the Green Warriors’ ears – the student group that started the initiative.
“This is what we have been using at our school for the past years,” said the club’s president Yoan Vered, as he points at a white plastic fork and spoon.
“So we decided to replace it with this kind of cutlery,” he said, showing steel knives and forks.
With that, they’re saving 150,000 pieces of plastic cutlery.
This was the Green Warriors’ first big initiative.
“It was a big first step to another number of steps that we wish to take in the cafeteria,” said Holly Ruddock, a Green Warriors executive.
“I think this first step of getting new cutlery will allow us to go further in the future.”
The Green Warriors are working on a number of projects.
They are collecting leftover Halloween candy to donate to a less fortunate school and they’ve set up a decorated bin in their hallway.
“It’s a cuter way,” said Cydney Rimok, Green Warriors executive.
“A regular bin is less inviting.”
They’re also collecting batteries and old cellphones.
“The reason why we’re collecting phones is because they would otherwise be sorted in a drawer at home or thrown away in the garbage,” said Ruddock.
The club will be recycling the phones properly.
After organizing a “free-clothes” day, they’ve managed to collect enough money to plant a tree in front of their school.
“We wanted people to see this and think,” said Vered.
“Think how they should make a change in the environment.”
With money from that same collection, they sponsored Juno the bear cub at the Eco-Museum.
Their teacher, Marie-Joelle Rheaume, who is in charge of the club, swells up every time she talks about her warriors.
“My God, you can’t imagine how proud I am of them – and they have great ideas,” Rheaume told Global News.
Comments