It was right down at the bottom of the bag, near where parents will often find a squashed banana or important notes from the teacher — a drawing of a sea turtle surrounded by a dozen hungry-looking sharks.
It was almost destined for the recycling bin.
But something about it prompted Newcastle mum Laure de Vaugelas to smooth out the wrinkles and take a second look.
"We had a bit of a laugh and I thought 'well, haven't we all felt that way at some point this year'," Ms de Vaugelas said.
Her 7-year-old son Hugo said when he drew the image he had been imagining what was going through the head of the hungry-looking sharks.
"[They were thinking that] they might get some dinner for themselves," he said.
Ms de Vaugelas posted the image to Instagram, where a marine biologist pointed out that the predicant of the sea turtle was not quite as dire at first blush.
"[The] French marine biologist, also my father [Jean de Vaugelas], shares that passion for animals with Hugo," she said.
"[He] gave us a bit of context and said 'well, actually, the turtle is very well protected against those kinds of predators'."
Mr de Vaugelas said a shark "would probably lose a tooth trying to bite into that shell" and what the sharks and turtles actually share was a common enemy — plastic in the oceans.
Learning how to make a difference
Hugo, who lists orangutans, geckos, American bison, snow leopards and wolves among his favourite animals, has a passion for animals.
Ms de Vaugelas wanted to use his interest to provide a practical lesson for her "fact-collector" son.
With some technical assistance and a few mouse clicks, an online store and social media account was set up to merchandise the design.
She chose NSW central coast not-for-profit organisation Take 3 for the Sea (Take 3) to be the recipient of donations.
The organisation encourages communities to take three items of plastic home and dispose of it responsibly with every visit to the beach.
"Tim Silverwood from Take 3 for the Sea had spoken [at TedXNewy in 2011] and made a very good case for it," she said.
"I think it just works with kids, an easy concept, you just pick up what's on the sand. Nothing complicated about that."
So far, Hugo's design has raised $600 for the organisation.
"I guess I saw that as a way of teaching an experience," she said.
"It was really about, 'How can you make a small difference?'
"We don't think we're going to change the whole world or fix all the problems.
"But for the kids to have a sense of the tools that they have, and if they care about something, they can make a small difference."
According to Take 3, more than 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been made since its mass production began in the 1950s.
Only nine per cent of this plastic has been recycled, the other 91 per cent sits in landfill, floats in our oceans, or has been burned.
Take 3 estimates eight million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean every year.
