Kicking goals at the Koori Knockout

The Koori Knockout is an Aboriginal rugby league competition that’s been an annual event since 1971. The first knockout had just seven teams, but it now attracts more than 150 participating teams and at least 200,000 spectators. The winning team gets hosting rights for the following year’s knockout.

This year’s event was a great opportunity for the EPA to increase engagement with Aboriginal communities, while at the same time promoting important waste reduction and recycling messages. We teamed up with sustainable waste management service provider Cleanvibes and Exchange for Change and provided 40 Return and Earn bins throughout the event, as well as 10 can-style bins from Cleanvibes. All 50 bins were placed on-site by the organising team, the Newcastle All Blacks.

The bins proved very effective with over 4,300 containers collected during the course of the event. The total refund amount was $436.20 which was then donated to an Aboriginal-owned business nominated by the Newcastle All Blacks.

We also held a guessing competition where participants were asked to guess how many bottle lids fit into our recycling container. The prize was a football signed by NRL players who were participating in the knockout; Latrell Mitchell, Jesse Ramien and Tyrell Felstead-Fuimaono.