In the past six months, the staff at the Chewton Service Station have sorted more than one million containers as part of the state government’s Container Deposit Scheme, which equates to more than $100,000 back to the community and a huge reduction in waste going to landfill.
To celebrate, the owners of the local service station have given away $2600 worth of vouchers to Nicole Hare, who deposited the millionth container, and another $2600 worth of vouchers to Chewton Primary School and the Mount Alexander Falcons.
Nicole, an assistant coach for the Mount Alexander Falcons and the mother of a child at Chewton Primary School, has been collecting containers and donating the proceeds to the two local organisations since the scheme began in November last year.
“I’ve collected around 4000 cans for the Falcons, which equals about $400,” Nicole said.
“It might not seem like a lot, but it all adds up. We’re a small club and we couldn’t do what we do without sponsorship.
“Julie is the most generous woman, giving away those vouchers, and with everything she does for the community,” she said.
“She’s already sponsored one of our players and now we can use the vouchers for petrol to use in the team bus we take to away games.”
Julie Leach, owner of the local service station, said reaching the 1,000,000 mark was a huge milestone that they could never have anticipated reaching so soon.
“We were all so glad Nicole was the recipient of the vouchers. She comes to the service station a couple of times a week donating her containers to various local organisations and seeing firsthand, the work she puts in to raise money selflessly for community organisations is inspiring,” Julie said.
“We are blown away with the community support we have received since launching the Container Deposit Scheme on November 1 last year.
“We are loving interacting with so many more members of our community and those from further afield,” she said.
Julie noted the most rewarding moments came from the way the service station had assisted in raising money for charities and community organisations, and the stories coming in of how the funds had supported them.
“Fundraising is hard and we will help in any way we can to assist our community in this way,” she said.
“Children learning the value of working hard for reward and saving for specific things is also a highlight.
“Another bonus for the community is that as we earn commission on this additional part of our business, we have committed to reducing our profit margin on fuel, thereby allowing us to consistently offer lower fuel prices,” Julie said.
“Our team has worked really hard in making this initiative a success, ensuring its ongoing viability, and they deserve this recognition with the extra hours and work it has involved. I cannot thank them enough for supporting me in ensuring the success of the Container Deposit Scheme at Chewton Servo.”
