Over the last few years, Petco has helped launch numerous school recycling programmes and conducted workshops to teach learners about the importance of recycling. Our goal is to encourage the youth to take an active role in preserving our planet for future generations.

Recently, we were approached by the Catholic organisation Don Bosco Educational Projects (DBEP) to hold a recycling workshop for the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco, together with teachers and learners from four local schools in Ennerdale, Gauteng.

By educating the teachers about the importance of recycling, they in turn can effectively educate their learners and drive separation-at-source (S@S) initiatives at their schools.

Various studies have shown that learners who are introduced to the concepts of recycling and sustainability at a young age are more likely to develop a recycling mindset and minimise their carbon footprint as adults.

This is why Petco is so committed to helping teachers and learners acquire a deeper understanding of the significance of recycling and its environmental benefits.

At these school workshops we delve into how recycling diverts waste from landfills and reduces our use of natural resources. We also focus on ways to overcome some of recycling’s challenges and highlight why the practice of S@S is so critical in reducing waste’s impact on the environment.

Only through illustrating why recycling is so important, and creating an enabling environment for it, can we hope to ignite a passion for sustainability from an early age. Our goal is to raise a generation of lifelong environmental advocates for whom sustainable living becomes a lifestyle, and not a chore or mere duty.