Tuesday, Nov 26, 2019
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Hampstead school councillors (from left) Brooklyn Wilson, Willow Mata, Otis Scarlett, Thomas Stephens-Tahuri, Brooklyn Aberhart, Lesteena Cosingan and Jacob Cooper are proposing that Fonterra replace their carton milk that comes with straws with containers that can be torn open to form a cup. PHOTO JAIME PITT-MACKAY 221119-JPM-016
Students take up issue with straws Hampstead School students love the milk they get from Fonterra, but not the straws on the individual serve boxes it arrives in. They will be writing to the milk company to suggest a “cup-like” container that opens to a spout and can be used without a straw. Fonterra is surveying all Canterbury schools that take part in its Milk for Schools programme to see how they feel about ditching plastic straws. Hampstead School principal Peter Melrose said the school council was aware of other schools suggesting options to straws, like using jugs and cups
that would need to be washed. He said the council would write to Fonterra to suggest a “cup-like” container that could be used without a straw. Washing 150 cups every day was less appealing for time-strapped teachers. The student council said they wanted Fonterra to get rid of the straws as they could not be recycled and were filling up landfills and could be damaging to marine life such as turtles. Eighteen Mid Canterbury schools are part of the programme and all are being surveyed by Fonterra. The company offers milk every school day.
Fonterra’s director of sustainability Carolyn Mortland said the company recognised the growing concern around plastic packaging. “While our plastic straws and wrappers on our milk packs are recyclable, we appreciate some plastic straws don’t always end up in the recycling bins and are at risk of ending up as litter in the ocean,” she said.
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Motoring Friday,July5,2019
Jenny’s XK8 Jaguar is her dream car.
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