The rubbish generated by schools is staggering, from plastic bottles to paper towels and food packaging. But fear not! There are plenty of ways in which we can all do our bit to reduce the amount of rubbish produced at school.
In this blog, we will take a look at some simple yet effective ways to make your school more environmentally friendly and help you become an eco-warrior! Let’s delve to find out how you can do it properly.
Ways to Reduce Rubbish at School
Conduct a Waste Audit
Plan a week where you track each piece of trash your school generate. Ask pupils to only dispose of their trash in the classroom during the week. To prevent anything from being taken from your classroom, ask the school caretaker. Bring rubber gloves or a plastic grabber with you, along with a huge sheet of plastic. Take your garbage cans outside on days which you prefer and dump the contents onto the plastic sheet. Go through the trash and list each thing that has been discarded. The contents will make you all queasy, which will encourage everyone to take waste reduction seriously. The next week, go over the items on your list and talk about potential solutions.
Repurpose Packaging
Some wrapping can be kept and used to create brand-new items. You may therefore attempt producing your own classroom materials rather than purchasing new ones. Egg cartons, for instance, can be used to store supplies for arts and crafts. Instead, a yoghurt container can be used to hold crayons. To prevent spills and kids pouring out more paint than they need, you may also use used hand soap containers as paint dispensers.
Make Recycle Bins Easily Accessible
A simple method to encourage students and adults to adhere to a whole school recycling programme and properly dispose of their trash is by placing containers with visible labels throughout your school. Children will be able to recognise and distinguish between the various recycling bins if they are labelled properly, and they will also know where the various recyclable waste types should go.
No waste lunches
Organics make up most landfills in the UK, which are the main sources of methane gas. Food waste ranges between 30 to 40%. This equates to 20 pounds of food per person every month. What percentage of that is lost in school? Each student wastes an average of 35 pounds of lunch each school year. To make sure they are bringing only food they will eat, encourage pupils to pack their own lunches. Think about the lunches’ contents as well as the way they are packed. Urge students to pack their sandwiches and snacks in reusable containers.
Composting in schools
Composting at school helps the institution send less organic waste to landfills, and student also can learn about how composting help the environment. As an added benefit, children may actually witness the results of their labour as their finished compost is used in the school gardens.
Minimise Paper Waste
Daily paper use in schools is common and frequently unavoidable, but there are ways to make your operations more environmentally friendly. Ask yourself if printing is actually necessary before you do it. Transforming some of your paper forms into digital ones is one of the simplest ways to reduce paper waste. There are also obvious choices, such as printing in black and white or on both sides.
Donate Old School Supplies
Donating old-school supplies is a great way to give back to your community and help children in need.
Here are some steps you can follow to donate your old school supplies:
- Sort through your old school supplies: Go through your old school supplies and separate the items that are still in good condition from those that are damaged or unusable.
- Clean and sanitise the items: Once you have sorted your school supplies, you should clean and sanitise them before donating. This will help to ensure that they are safe for children to use.
- Find a donation centre: There are many organizations and charities that accept donations of school supplies. Some examples include local schools, churches, and community centres. You can also search for the national organization, which helps connect donors with classrooms in need.
- Drop off the supplies: Once you have identified a donation centre, you can drop off your supplies or arrange for a pick-up if that option is available.
Conclusion
In this blog, we have mentioned some of the effective methods to reduce waste in your school. Schools can significantly reduce waste and conserve resources by implementing the strategies outlined in this article.
Schools need to involve students, staff, and parents in the effort to reduce rubbish, as it takes a collective effort to achieve meaningful change. By working together, schools can create a culture of sustainability that benefits the environment and the community as a whole.