A shared passion for recycling bottles and cans has seen 12-year-old Greek Australian triplets, Aidan, Bryce and Cooper, join up with their Serbian friends, Tad and Desan, to form the Kaleen Recycle Kids.
The group of youngsters, who range in age from 10 to 13, saw an opportunity to help their neighbours deposit their recyclables whilst in lockdown and now spend their permitted exercise hours collecting bags of cans and bottles on their bikes.
“They went and did a mail drop to all the homes within Kaleen on their bike one afternoon and within the next day, they were receiving phone calls saying, ‘we’ve got bottles, we were keeping them but we’re locked up and we’re happy to donate to you guys’,” Nektaria Stuart, who is mum to the Greek triplets, tells The Greek Herald.
Photos supplied. 
“It took off really well. Their first week was mayhem. They were spending the entire hour [which was permitted with COVID restrictions] just literally going out on their bike with their little trailer, bringing back bags and then going to the next house.”
Nektaria says the Kaleen Recycle Kids have so far collected roughly “9,264 containers, they have saved the greenhouse gases by 900 kilograms and 474 kilos they spared to landfill.”
Along the way, they’ve also learnt valuable business skills as sometimes they have to purchase the bottles for five cents each.
“The community has been amazing. We’ve had people where the boys have had to purchase their five cents per bottle, which I think is great because you only learn about money like that,” Nektaria says.
“And they’re getting return customers.”
With such a thriving small business, we just had to ask what’s next for these young entrepreneurs. Nektaria says they plan on taking their initiative to the kids party scene as well and she couldn’t be prouder of them.
“I just think it was really cute that they’re doing this. They are working really hard which I and the other mums, we know they’re good kids, but they’re actually taking it on and they’re working really hard,” Nektaria says.
“It’s not the cleanest job either and we’re just really proud of them to tell you the truth.”
