Victoria’s students from Glen Waverley South Primary School have proved they are Australia’s future eco warriors after beating more than 400 schools and handing in 97kg of mobile phones and accessories for recycling, to become the national winner of the 2009 MobileMuster ‘Old Phones, New Fence Posts’ Schools Recycling Challenge.

Rose Read, Manager of the Australian Mobile Telecommunication Association’s (AMTA), mobile phone recycling program, MobileMuster, said Glen Waverley South Primary School in Victoria rounded up an incredible 97kg of mobile phones, batteries, chargers and accessories.

This equates to 496 handsets, 13 times the average school collection of 7kg. “We congratulate the students of Glen Waverley South Primary School for their fantastic recycling efforts. It is wonderful to see them working together with their teachers and families to help the environment as well as local farmers and schools whose property were devastated by the bush fires,” said Ms Read.

In recognition of their efforts, Glen Waverley South Public School will receive a Samsung 42” HD Plasma TV courtesy of Samsung Australia and a National School Champion certificate.

Other State winners in the MobileMuster ‘Old Phones, New Fence Posts’ Schools Recycling Challenge were: TAS – St Mary’s College, Hobart – 3kg NT – Woodroffe Primary School, Woodroffe,– 12kg ACT – Holy Family Primary School Gowrie, Gowrie – 16kg WA – Beaumaris Primary School, Ocean Reef – 27kg NSW – International Grammar School, Ultimo – 29kg QLD – Yarrilee State School, Hervey Bay – 38kg SA – Reynella Primary School, Old Reynella – 80kg For their efforts, each school and their students received a School Champion certificate and every school that handed in 8kgs of old mobiles and accessories or more for recycling received a Milton Mobile Reward Pack, consisting of 30 backpacks, stationary pack and slap band wrist watches.