| Food waste can become
fertiliser for the school
gardens and even generate
income for the school
coffers. |
| |
| Policy
Create a framework that
allows everybody to get
onboard - that's not just
students and teachers,
but administration and
maintenance staff and
parents. Drafting a waste
reduction policy and setting
up a dedicated team will
also establish the school's
commitment to taking action,
and communicating that
to the whole school community. |
| |
| Here are some ideas
to get you started |
- reduce the waste
the school produces
by careful purchasing
and using resources
such as paper more
efficiently
|
- reuse materials
wherever possible
(e.g. as art resources)
|
- recycle all materials
efficiently, particularly
where there is no
other use
|
- recognise the efforts
and achievements of
the waste reduction
team and publicise
the initiative to
the community
|
- revise the policy
and practises regularly
to ensure waste is
being reduced as efficiently
as possible
|
| Waste
Survey To create
a good policy the school
will need to find out
just how much waste is
being generated and where
it's going. Conducting
a simple waste survey,
which could form the basis
of a classroom project,
will help decide what
waste reduction measures
the school should take.
Paper usually accounts
for most, then organic
(food) waste and plastics.
If you still have loads
of paper, once you have
printed or used both sides,
a shredder could render
the rest into perfect
worm farm food or compost
ingredients. |
| |
| Organic
Waste Lunch
scraps, shredded paper
and kitchen waste are
all potential fodder for
thousands of school pets
- worms. They eat their
own weight in food each
day and produce vermicast
and liquid fertiliser.
Highly prized by gardeners,
this is ideal fundraising
stock. To make sorting
easier, provide bins for
food scraps using colourful
signs. Other composting
systems can deal with
cut grass, prunings, weeds,
manure, etc. Make sure
that your grounds maintenance
team is fully onboard
with your waste policy
too. |
| |
| Educational
Visit Bring your
students and staff to
visit us at the Sustainable
Living Centre to see
a variety of composting
systems in action. |
| |
| Enviroschools
Join the biggest green
kids club in the country
- if your school isn't
a member already. It's
all about educating and
empowering children to
take positive action that
has long-term educational
and environmental impacts
in their communities.
Taking a sustainable and
creative approach to reducing
waste in your school is
all part of this initiative.
Enviroschools
has an extraordinary wealth
of ideas and resources
to offer… |
| |
| Resources
West Auckland Resource
Centre operating from
Seabrook Ave in New Lynn
(open Wednesdays 12noon-2
pm and Saturdays 10am-12
pm) is a great resource
for schools with lots
of craft supplies. The
aim of the Centre is to
collect and distribute
excess or waste materials
to be used by any non-profit
organisation in the continuing
education of children
and adults. |
| |
| Waste
Blasters Game Show
Kids 4 Drama with support
from Keep Waitakere Beautiful
Trust delivers a series
of fun shows promoting
the 're-use, re-duce,
re-cycle, re-fuse' message
in primary and intermediate
schools. Contact Keep
Waitakere Beautiful Trust
for more details. |
| |
| Sustainability
at school Browse
through our other 'school'
related pages for ideas
on reducing waste - both
solid and otherwise -
by saving water; setting
up a walking school bus;
'adopting a spot' or getting
involved in Project
Twin Streams. |
| |
