Look at this cool way of recycling used oral care products!
Solway
Primary School in Masterton recently unveiled its recycled
community garden made from oral care waste after winning a national recycling competition in which schools all around the country recycled over 51,000 toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, and dental floss containers.
Run by Colgate and recycling pioneers, TerraCycle, between 1 August and 16 November 2018, the Colgate Community Garden Challenge invited preschools, primary and secondary schools nationwide to collect all brands of oral care waste and send it to TerraCycle, who will give the waste a second life by creating new products.
By taking part in the competition, Solway Primary School were the lucky winner of a recycled community garden sets, which includes garden bed, custom made bench, rubbish bin,
and a $300 Mitre 10 gift voucher to buy seeds, plants and gardening supplies.
Besides showing how recycled materials can be used as a sustainable alternative to virgin plastic, Colgate and TerraCycle hope the garden sets will promote gardening and healthy eating among schools. Solway Primary School teacher, Steve Hornby, said the children were delighted to receive their community garden set after embracing the challenge of recycling during the competition.
“Even though we’re a small community, we still wanted to make a difference recycling all our old toothbrushes and floss containers for the chance to win a recycled garden. The students were so happy when we won and the garden will be used to promote gardening skills and healthy eating,” Mr Hornby said.
Colgate Vice President and General Manager of South Pacific, Julie Dillon, congratulated Solway Primary School for their win.
“The success of the 2018 Colgate Community Garden Challenge is down to the commitment of the kids who participated. Colgate is delighted to see this hard work has paid off and the kids being awarded their gardening prizes. We look forward to seeing how their gardens grow in the coming months,” Mrs Dillon said.
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52% Human-centred experience and communication
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15.3% Critical thinking
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29.8% Resilience and adaptability
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2.9% Other - I will share below!
Brain Teaser of the Day 🧠✨ Can You Solve It? 🤔💬
Make a hearty dish. Take just half a minute. Add four parts of kestrel. Then just add one. What have you made?
(Trev from Silverdale kindly provided this head-scratcher ... thanks, Trev!)
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm on the day!
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