Author(s): Sandy McKay

Children & Young Adult

During a year an average family will probably throw away 1.5 tonnes of rubbish - the equivalent of half the weight of an elephant.Colin takes his recycling school project to heart and tries to convert his own family first, with great difficulty, before he tries to save the world. He becomes a self-appointed eco-warrior and comes up against his sister, who delivers junk mail, his mother, who sells real estate and hang-glides for de-stressing and his father who spends a lot of time in the garage. Colin becomes involved with the Roseview Rubbish Rescue Centre and the character who runs it. They along with others, organize a campaign to protest selling off the centre for development. This book was the Junior Fiction winner in the 2002 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards.