Recycling collections from your school
In this sectionThere is little point talking about it if we don't do it, so this page has all the information you should need to get a successful recycling scheme running in your school. |
1) Recycling - Getting Started
Collecting materials for recycling helps save energy and tackles climate change, and can save your school money on rubbish collections. Cost savings will depend on your local authority or other waste services provider.
Waste from schools and colleges is considered household waste, and although a charge can be made for this service none of the local councils in Devon are currently charging for recycling collection from schools.
Local councils may have different collection systems regarding the way in which they collect recycling in their area and the types of recycling that they collect. To find out the options in your area, contact your local council direct to find out about getting involved with recycling schemes in your area (see point 2).
2) Contact your district council
For advice on the practicalities of setting up or improving your recycling system in school, please contact your local District Council on:-
| East Devon | 01395 517528 | South Hams | 01803 861199 | |
| Exeter | 01392 665028 | Teignbridge | 01626 215824 | |
| Mid Devon | 01884 233102 | Torbay | 01803 207744 | |
| North Devon | 01271 318517 | Torridge | 01237 428734 | |
| Plymouth | 01752 304689 | West Devon | 01822 813570 |
3) Join the Waste Education Programme
Working with Devon County Council, Resource Futures offer a comprehensive waste education programme for FREE. Check out our workshops and activities page for more details.
4) Identify key staff to help you
Before you start rolling out the new scheme, you need to engage with a number of key people. It is often one keen member of staff which kick starts a scheme and the key to longevity is getting everyone on board. Often successful schemes are embedded within a schools managerial plan. Key people include -
The Head as the overall person in charge it is important that any project has the backing of the head.
The caretaker/cleaner(s) are essential to making the scheme work smoothly and correctly. They can also help to identify potential problem areas.
Keen green people based at your school – these people can be invaluable. It is tempting to just do it all your self but it can be hard work and if you chose to leave or go on holiday the scheme may fold.
The children. Good participation rates are vital to the success of the scheme. If children are well educated regarding the recycling scheme, the operation generally runs more easily. Recycling is also a huge educational resource.
5) Establish how many waste & recycling bins you need and where
Do you want to set up a green team or recycling monitors to keep the children involved? You need to consider general issues such as health and safety, ideal locations for bins etc.
6) Operational issues to consider
Many schools have been successfully recycling for years and their experiences have shown that it is
important to think about accessibility and contamination.
Material contamination can easily be avoided through the use of recycling monitors who can go around ensuring that the relevant materials are put in the appropriate receptacle. The use of recycling monitors can be taken a step further by holding recycling audits throughout the year which assess how much recycling is going on in each year/class and reporting their findings back to the school. This approach can galvanise involvement and help to hone maths, science and presentation skills.
Once you have the new bins ready to be rolled out, make sure that everyone knows when it will be happening! This includes all of the key people above and could also include the parents. It is particularly important that collections go smoothly in the beginning to ensure that you win over any sceptics. Resource Futures and the Waste Education Team can help by providing you advice on timing of promotions and activities.
8) Assessing Progress & Feed back
Once the scheme is in place you need to monitor it, particularly in the beginning to iron out any niggles and ensure staff and children are using the new scheme. Involve the children by setting up recycling monitors etc
Also remember to listen to feedback about how the scheme is working. It may need to be tweaked to make sure it meets everyone’s needs e.g.: different bin locations or a few extra bins.
You might want to start with the biggest or easiest waste streams like paper, cardboard, cans, glass containers, plastics bottles and cartons. You can also set up schemes for smaller, more specialised waste streams like ink cartridges, light bulbs, batteries and CDs.
Top Tips
Put someone in charge of your scheme, and involve relevant colleagues to work with them.
Make recycling easy: set up collection points in places that are convenient - people are less likely to recycle if they have to go out of their way to do it.
Cover all the areas that the waste is gnerated so that it isn’t easier just to bin it.
Keep the collection areas tidy and make sure that the bins are emptied regularly.
Have clear, uniform labelling for all the recycling bins to make them easy to identify and use.
Include a list of what should not be placed in the bins.
Include everyone and motivate them to take part.
Explain the importance of recycling, what happens during recovery and recycling, and how the success of the scheme depends on participation from everyone.
Keep people informed of how they are doing, set recovery targets and provide incentives.
Calculate your recycling rate and other waste figures periodically (every 6 or 12 months), compare the results with your baseline figures and report progress to the school.
Look out for schemes like cash for cans in your area.
