Zero Waste Schools

Hey kids - Have a look at these guidelines to becoming a Zero Waste School

Here are some ideas that will help your school get a  Zero Waste programme going.  It may take a little while to get some of these steps in place, but just take it one step at a time and you will soon see the benefits of Zero Waste. 

They will benefit your school environment and your school community, and they will have positive effects on the wider environment too.

Zero Waste - sharing the Vision

First you need to understand what Zero Waste is about, then spread the word among your friends, your class, and your school.  Maybe you can do a presentation at assembly with some role plays to get the Zero Waste message across.  There is a lot of information on this website, so have a good look around at the different pages and see what you can find out to tell your fellow students, your teachers, and even your principal. 

Remember the essence of Zero Waste is reduce, re-use, and recycle to minimise waste !  You want to minimise the waste that your school is sending to the landfill where it can continue to pollute the environment for hundreds of years.  

You also need to talk to your Board of Trustees and educate and inspire them about Zero Waste for your school.    A target of "Zero Waste" should be included in the school’s policy document by the Board of Trustees.  This will ensure that everyone knows the School’s direction and goal is Zero Waste and makes it official for teachers and students to work towards Zero Waste as a school policy.  

The school’s policy document should state that the school is aiming for a target of Zero Waste within a 2 - 5 year period (or a timeframe deemed more appropriate by the school). This ensures buy-in from the school’s Board of Trustees and the whole school community.
The vision should also include continued self-auditing and monitoring.

What’s a Waste Audit  ?

What is a Waste Audit you ask !?  Well, its when the school (or a class) gathers up all the waste - maybe after a lunch-time or at the end of a whole day - and has a close look at it to see what is being thrown out.  You carry out a waste audit to determine the quantity and composition of your existing waste.  Do one before you start your Zero Waste programme and you will be able to measure the improvement once Zero Waste activities start making a difference at your school.

A Waste Audit will allow the school to decide exactly how it is going to go about reducing waste and what is needed to do this. It will also help to track improvements in your school’s waste reduction programme and determine future plans.

For information on how to carry out a waste audit, download a copy of ’Do it Yourself Waste Audit’, prepared by Waste Not Consulting.

Starting at the beginning

Your school needs to develop a ‘green’ purchasing policy for school equipment and canteen goods. You want to be sure that what comes onto the school grounds and into the tuck shop is as environmentally friendly as possible. 

For example, can you persuade your tuckshop to always use paper bags, and maybe biodegradeable spoons, forks and plates such as the Potatopak range of starch products.  Does your school recycle its printer cartridges, and do they recycle computer paper in the office ? 

Here are some other ideas for green purchasing that you can suggest to your school:

• Buying reusable products and recyclable packaging.
• Ask suppliers to use less packaging.
• School canteen/tuck shop goods are selected for their recyclable packaging (milk in plastic, drinks in glass or number 1 plastic, no plastic wrapped
  ice blocks, pies in paper bags not plastic, no plastic food wrap).
• Suppliers of computers and other large products are asked to take back their packaging after goods have been unwrapped.
• Products made from recycled materials are purchased when possible eg. paper.

For more information on which products are made from recycled materials check out the Buy it Back Guide.

Re-Use it if possible !

Encourage your school to adopt a policy on reusing paper, cardboard and other packaging before recycling.

• Each class, photocopy room and staff room should have a box for paper that can be reused as notepaper.
• Cardboard boxes can be reused before being recycled.
• Envelopes can be reused, using address labels.
• Other materials and packaging can be used in art projects.

Recycling comes next ! 

Your school can install recycling facilities like specially marked bins and other containers and (where possible) recycle things like;

• Plastic No.1 containers e.g. pump, fizzy
• Plastic No.2 containers e.g. milk, primo
• Plastic No.5 containers e.g. certain hard plastics
• Aluminium cans
• Steel cans e.g. coffee tins, spray cans

This will differ from school to school depending on the availability of recycling services to your school, but talk to your local Council about what is available.  Most councils have a Solid Waste Manager or a Zero Waste Co-ordinator, and they will be happy to help you get recycling services established at your school.  You can also have a look at  www.reducerubbish.govt.nz

Now for Organics - Composting and Worm farms ! 

Organic matter is animal or vegetable matter than can be broken down by bacteria, fungi, and other micro-organisms.  These are the things such as food scraps and green waste (leaves, tree trimmings, lawn clippings), that you can put in a compost bin or worm farm. 

You will need to talk to your teachers about setting up an organic waste system at your school to process all the food waste and other organic matter. 

Your school may decide to do this using compost bins or one of many designs of worm farms.  Or they may decide to trial both to see which is the most efficient and student-friendly system.  Another system is the Bokashi bucket (try a site search for more information on this).  

The end-product from composting and worm farming can be used as a fertiliser and mulch on the school’s gardens and some schools even set up vegetable gardens to complete the cycle.  You can also use shredded waste paper on school gardens which makes use of non-recyclable paper and is a great mulch through the summer.

Another great use for your shredded paper is as a bedding for pets.  You may be able to link up with your local pet store and supply them with shredded paper for the rabbits and guinea pigs etc.
 

Does your school use incineration or bury waste ?

Incineration - where rubbish is burned at high temperatures - and burying waste are not part of the path to Zero Waste.  If your school still uses an incinerator or buries waste, you will have to talk to the principal and Board of Trustees about why it is necessary to change. 

(The operation of an incinerator at a school or healthcare institution will be prohibited from October 2006 unless a resource consent has been granted for the discharge produced. Contact the Ministry for the Environment for further details)

You can tell them that Incineration creates dioxins which are a highly toxic pollutant and harmful to human health.  They should of course be avoided, particularly in the vicinity of schools.

Burying waste creates leachate, which pollutes the surrounding soil and possibly the groundwater.  Burning and burying waste is also a waste of resources, which could otherwise be reused, recycled or composted.

Keeping tabs on what’s happening - monitoring !

Your school will need to monitor progress and stick to goals to reach targets within relevant time frames.

The first  waste audit will give you the all important base-line data.  You will need to assess your school’s progress with more waste audits as you go along.

From the initial waste audit you will be able to set firm waste reduction goals and target time frames for your school.

Records - write it down !

Your school needs to keep good historical records of progress in becoming a Zero Waste School.  This is important to the ongoing success of becoming a Zero Waste school and meeting your school’s zero waste goals.

By keeping a record (and it could be as simple as a scrapbook presentation updated yearly) the systems you have put in place have a ’story’ and ’history’ as to how and why they came to be there.

Teachers and pupils change often in a school and this serves as a continuing record and will prove invaluable to the success of each waste minimisation system and keeping your school on the path to Zero Waste.

Remember to take photos to include in your record, for posterity and to use in displays.  Maybe when you go back to check on your school in ten years time, they will still be using the systems you helped to put in place, and they may be very close to their goal of Zero Waste ! 

For more information on Zero Waste Schools, see the links at the bottom of this page and also do a site search above on any topic you want more info on.  

See also Make your own worm farm, Did You Know?, Facts about Paper, Facts & Figures, Waste Works Recycling Systems, Reduce Your Rubbish Campaign, Zero Waste Display Kits, Community Recycling & Education