Waste - Eco Schools

On average, every person in Britain throws away 20-25kg of e-waste (same weight as your holiday luggage allowance) each year. Most of these old smart phones, straighteners and games consoles end up in landfills, are incinerated or simply pile-up in drawers and cupboard around your home – just take a look.

Visit out Waste Pinterest to find ways to upcycle everything in school!

Eco-Schools National Waste Survey

If you are a student, staff member, parent, governor or any other member of the school community, please take the time to complete our quick and simple National Waste Survey. This survey will provide valuable insights into how the Eco-Schools England team can encourage more recycling in schools throughout England – it can also be used as evidence towards your Eco-Schools Green Flag Award.

Complete National Waste Survey

(Re)Love Our Stuff

What do you do with the school uniform that no longer fits you (if you don’t have a family member to pass it down to)? What are you going to do with all of your old plastic wallets, files and revision guides when you leave Year 11? With our Eco-Schools campaign you are going to (Re)Love them (any maybe make some money for your school too).

(Re)Love Our Stuff Seven Step Guide

This project will allow you to promote reusing and recycling at the same time as helping your school raise funds and work towards your international Eco-Schools Green Flag. Plus involvement will look great on your CV or UCAS personal statement.

Other Actions

Ideas from other charities and organisations to help you refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle.

Terracycle

Terracycle are a global leader in recycling hard-to-recycle waste. They offer a range of free recycling programmes, so you can start collecting in your school, or alternatively, if there is already a scheme in your area they will tell you where it is and how to get in touch.

Begin recycling with Terracyle

Local Authority Waste Services

The Waste Services department of many councils will offer free support to schools, ranging from helping to organise litter picking events to delivering recycling workshops in your school. In our LEA Support Pages you can find the contacts of many Waste Authorities – if yours isn’t there tell them to get in touch and the Eco-Schools team will add them on.

Eco-Schools LEA Support Pages

STEM Learning’s Domestic Waste Resources

These resources introduce students to the different strategies for dealing with waste problems around the world including investigating what happens to waste in their own community.

STEM Learning’s Waste Resources

Waste Topic Award Winner, Eco-Schools Award Ceremony

Dean Trust Ardwick litter picked, introduced reusable bottles and even invited Manchester City Council in to help when working on the Eco-Schools Waste topic.

Read about Dean Trust Ardwick

School Examples

St Mary's School for Girls, Colchester

Each form at St Marys was challenged with creating a mini garden for their Grub in a Tub Eco-Schools action. The unique aspect - that makes this a waste topic action - is students were only allowed to use recycled items be it: tin cans, old wellies or an adapted squash bottle!
Apart from containers being made from recycled items the only other rules were everything planted must be edible, herbs, fruit, vegetables, or even editable flowers, and the container chosen must not exceed 1m x 1m. Students were provided with a starter kit, which could be supplemented with items from their own homes and gardens, and a bag of compost. They were also encouraged to decorate their containers, the picture shows GLASTHOMEBURY - a tribute to Glastonbury Festival.
A winner from each year group was selected and prizes and certificates awarded.

School Website

Ashfield School, Nottingham

With a massive 2500 Students, Ashfield School is one of the biggest in the country! Having only had an Eco-Committee for less than a year (at the time of writing), they have already used the Eco-Schools Waste Topic to initiate change. They have launched the Big Battery Hunt as an inter-form competition and already sent a shipment of batteries to be recycled. They have also signed up to crisp packet and contact lens recycling with Terracycle. Having completed a whole school waste week they managed to collect 300 plastic bottles, which will now be used to create a bottle greenhouse. Ashfield have even sourced school ties made from recycled plastic! In December 2019, they hosted a Christmas Jumper swap and are following this with a school uniform swap. Next they are planning a women's clothes swap in the local community (great Eco-Schools Step 5: Informing and Involving if you would like to do similar check out our (Re)Love Your Stuff Project above). On top of this, recycling has been greatly increased in the school, not by investing in new, fancy bins or focusing on negativity, but through gradually changing the way people think. In the short time their Eco-Committee has been running they have achieved loads - if a school their size can do it anyone can!

School Website

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Start your Eco-School journey today