Typically, oral-care waste ends up in landfill, but pupils at Big Rock School in Brighton are brushing up their recycling skills by collecting it in a bid to win the Colgate Community Garden Challenge.
The prize includes one garden bed, one park bench and one bin, plus a $300 gardening voucher to buy seeds and plants.
Big Rock School competition co-ordinator and parent Leanne Stenhouse said pupils were collecting all brands of oral-care waste and sending it to a recycling company which converted non-recyclable waste such as toothbrushes, coffee capsules and cigarette butts into sustainable raw materials to be used in manufacturing."This competition is a great opportunity for our school and community to divert more waste from landfill, while also giving us the opportunity to extend our school garden with a recycled community garden set,'" she said.