Operation Take Two
Organizing youth to take sustainable action through a community recycling workspace.
Operation Take Two was created by high school students in Kelowna, BC who saw the impact of consumer waste and wanted to take action in our community. Using a model developed by Precious Plastic, we built a plastic recycling workspace in a repurposed shipping container at our school.
Since the project began in 2017, we’ve been named a Champion for the Environment by the City of Kelowna, gained national exposure on the TV show Dragons’ Den, and forged 16 community partnerships.
Reduce Waste
Our process allows students to divert the school’s plastic waste from landfill and recycle it into new items.
Upskill Youth
The workspace is entirely student-run with teacher support, allowing youth to gain skills in leadership, environmental education, and social entrepreneurship by selling recycled creations to sustain the workspace.
Catalyze Action
Building off the successes (and failures) of OTT, we created a toolkit for emerging leaders (coming soon!) and launched the Take Two Community Workspace Fund to resource similar youth-led projects.
How It Works
The Workspace
Our set up is in a 40-foot shipping container at our school sponsored by Big Steel Box, revamped with electricity and ventilation. The workspace currently has three machines: a shredder, an oven, and an injection machine.
The Process
Sort, shred, melt & mold! Plastic must first be cleaned and sorted by type. Then it's shredded into small flakes that become the raw material for new items. Flakes are lastly melted and molded into new items.
The Result
Unique recycled plastic items that can then be sold to sustain the workspace!
Follow our students on Instagram to see what new creations they make!
Want to get involved?
Our Story
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![Rotary Interact students tabling at a fair about Operation Take Two.]()
November 2017
Our small team of high school students (originally all members of our school’s Interact Club) begin crafting a proposal for Operation Take Two.
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![Five students on stage next to trophy after winning the Sustainable Development Challenge.]()
February 2018
OTT goes from a proposal to a green-lit project when we win the 2018 Sustainable Development Challenge and receive our first funding of $5,000.
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![Six students in front of a projector at the iGen Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.]()
May 2018
OTT is developed further and becomes a finalist in the 2018 iGen Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.
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![18 people in front of the Operation Take Two workspace in Kelowna, BC.]()
June 2019
The workspace is complete and celebrates its soft launch!
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![Four students presenting at the CBC Dragons's Den studio.]()
November 2019
OTT is featured on the CBC reality TV show Dragons’ Den and in the Desjardins GoodSpark program, receiving $60,000 to expand the project.
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![Seven students surrounded by recycling while conducting a waste audit.]()
July 2020
OTT receives the Champion for the Environment Award from the City of Kelowna.
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![Keneisha, T and Aaliyah smiling in front of the Operation Take Two shipping container in Kelowna, BC.]()
January 2021
Now-graduated OTT alumni found the Sankofa Sustainability Collective.
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![Operation Take Two workspace in Kelowna, BC.]()
August 2024
We launched the Take Two Community Workspace Fund, helping youth in communities across Canada start their own workspaces!
