Masterton Intermediate School Year 7 student Maddy Porter with some of the entries for the Trash to Flash competition she came up with. PHOTO/PAM GRAHAM
It turns out the Times-Age looks pretty good recycled into a dress, and plastic bottles combined with a bucket can be turned into a pretty useful stool.
Prizes were awarded in Trash to Flash at Masterton Intermediate School on Tuesday, a competition developed from an idea by Year 7 pupil Maddy Porter.
The 11-year-old said she was looking at pictures of what people had made from old tyres as part of work for the Enviro Group at the school.
“I just saw all these cool pictures and I just thought that it would be really cool if our school had something like that when students had to make stuff out of old stuff,” she said.
She proposed the idea as something the Enviro Group could follow up on.
“I put that idea on there not expecting anything to come from it,” she said.
She talked to principal Russell Thompson and members of the leadership team at the school, and the idea took off.
The competition ran from June 26-July 27.
The school provided $100 for the first prize, $50 for the second and $25 for the third.
There were 12 entries, some of which were worked on by more than one pupil.
The materials used were many and varied – old books, old newspapers, plastic bottles, and plants.
There was an impressive bench seat made from wood and one entry used stones.
“There weren’t any rules. It just had to be recyclable,” Maddy said.
First place went to Skye Sexton, with a three-piece entry including a bowl made of melted ice cream containers.
Second was Mackenzie Tait, who crafted a table from recycled wood.
Stella Gooding was third with a stool made from recycled plastic bottles and fabric which was successfully strength-tested by judges.
