Taking Action on Waste

Most initiatives around reducing waste to landfill focus on recycling – at the Waiheke Resource Trust we reckon priority should be placed instead on reducing the amount of waste produced in the first place and reusing materials that would otherwise be thrown away. Students will love the challenge of coming up with new and inventive ways of reusing materials and even cutting down on their own waste. The challenge might be in getting the teachers on board! Here are some ways your school can reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill every year.

Reduce:

  • Get to know what’s in your rubbish: Have the schools waste audited. This is the best way of knowing what the school is sending to landfill and which areas require the most attention. The Waiheke Resources Trust is able to carry out rubbish audits.
  • Promote the purchase of high quality backpacks and uniforms that will last as long as possible.
  • Replace incandescent lightbulbs with CFL bulbs (compact fluorescent bulbs). These will not only last for years, but will use less energy and reduce the number of lightbulbs going to landfill, ultimately saving school money.
  • Ban the sale of bottled water at school and ensure there are plenty of water fountains installed for students to fill up their own reuseable bottles. This will reduce plastic going to landfill and also protect students against the chemicals released from plastics.
  • Start waste-free lunch days where children bring their lunch to school in lunchboxes or thermoses and without packaging.

Reuse:

  • Start looking at everything that goes into the bin as a resource rather than as waste. With a little imagination, most trash can be reused or upcycled.
  • Make art from items such as old CDs and books, paper hand towel rolls and egg cartons. The school could then hold an exhibition or show of the projects.
  • Get both students and teacher to use refillable pens and pencils.
  • Use printers and copiers that have refillable ink cartridges.
  • Reuse scrap paper for notes and art/craft projects.
  • Use rechargeable batteries.
  • Encourage students to reuse school supplies such as folders and ring binders the following year.
  • Compost coffee grinds from the staffroom on the gardens.
  • Try to get electronic equipment refurbished instead of replacing them. 

Recycle:

  • Compost food scraps from the staffroom and students lunches. Different schools will have different needs so it’s worth investigating the ideal composting system for your school. Some options are Bokashi bins, traditional compost piles or bins or worm farms. Kids will love getting involved in composting and the school will end up with a valuable compost product for the school gardens. For more information on composting systems click here.
  • Use recycled products where possible. For example, buy 100% post consumer, recycled paper, inkjet cartridges and notebooks.
  • If you don’t already have them, provide bins in classrooms or key areas of the school to take separate recyclables: clean paper, # 1-7 plastics, glass and metals.
  • If you can’t use rechargeable batteries, make sure spent batteries are thoughtfully recycled. The Waiheke Resources Trust, Gulf Sound & Vision, PlaceMakers and the transfer station all take old batteries.
  • Set up a recycling dumpster where parents can leave items they don’t want and others can take them home.
  • Hold a recycling competition – the class that recycles the most in a month gets a prize.