Are you wondering what to do with old inflatables and pool toys? You can bring them to the Tarragindi Community Garden who collects them and turns them over to Bundaberg-based PLOYS. Get to know what happens to inflatable pools once they reach the facility.
Read: Get To Know Renae McBrien, Founder of Tarragindi Community Garden
PLOYS source the inflatable pools from various organisations throughout Queensland, including the Tarragindi community Garden, by scheduling pickup from these clubs.
They begin by cleaning the pools, before cutting the patterns and sewing them into functional items, such as bags, purses and art smocks. To ensure that the items will be durable, they use the right sewing machine foot and stitch length and reinforce seams.
Husband and wife Carin and Gerhard Sandker started the idea from having discarded pool toys and pool inflatables, that were either punctured or “just not played with anymore” on the side of their pool at home.
Carin, an occupational therapist, is the one designing the items, whilst her husband Gerhard as Systems Architect runs the IT, marketing and dispatching side of the business.
“We just couldn’t throw away all this plastic, knowing that PVC is one of the worst products to decompose; taking up to a 1000 years to disintegrate,” the Sandkers said in their website.
To reduce plastic waste and make the planet a healthier world to live in for all, Carin and Gerhard established PLOYS in 2019.
Through the Tarragindi Community Garden, PLOYS has collected as much as 200 kg of pool inflatable plastic this year. It contributes to a big milestone, as they have saved one tonne of plastics from going to landfills.
Read: Tarragindi Community Garden: Championing Domestic Waste Reduction
PLOYS encourages the public to donate their punctured pool inflatables, air mattresses, broken umbrellas and shower curtains in one of their collection points or post it to them. You can also drop them at the Tarragindi recycling hub at the Tarragindi Community Garden at Wellers Hill Bowls Club.
