Reduce, reuse and recycle: How schools can recycle more

We can all do more to take greater care of the environment. In your home you’re probably doing what you can to reduce waste and use sustainable materials – but schools have a much greater footprint, so what can be done there to reduce waste and recycle more?

In fact, primary schools are said to produce 45kg of waste per pupil per year (secondary schools are 22kg), leaving lots of room for improvement. In this piece we’ll give you plenty of ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle more right across your school.

Recycling in schools: 8 ideas

1. Carry out an audit

The place to start when reducing waste and increasing recycling is getting an idea of where your currently stands. What waste does your school currently incur? What areas could be converted to recycled materials?

The audit will cover everything from the food served in your canteen to the pencils used in the classroom. It’s an essential step to increasing the recycling done in your school. It should also include a review of the contractors you work with. Take your canteen. If it’s run by an external company, what steps are they taking to commit to using recycled materials as much as they can?

Whilst you might prefer to carry out the audit and draw up an action plan yourself, there is a way you can get the whole school involved. Recycle now  has put together a fun, school-wide activity suggestion that gathers together waste from your school and throws in some curriculum learning at the same time.

2. Make it easy to recycle

Raising awareness and shining a spotlight on recycling and its importance is one thing. However, if you have to jump through hoops to do something, we know that some will choose not to.

Make sure recycling isn’t an inconvenience for anyone in your school. If you haven’t already, make sure you convert as many of your school’s bins into ones with separate recycling compartments. Wherever you can get them, add a recycling bin and remove any excuses people might have to not recycling their waste.

Water fountains are another essential purchase. Bottled water is one of the most damaging daily consumables of them all. Encourage pupils to carry reusable water bottles and dot plenty of water fountains around the school to make it easy for everyone.

3. Raise money and reduce waste

There’s a way you can reduce waste in your school, and the local community, and potential raise some valuable money too.

Check out Bag2School, a free fundraising scheme that has been in operation for more than 20 years. They collect old clothing and household textiles and turn those materials into money for your school.

Sign up on their site and communicate the campaign with parents and staff members. No doubt they will be happy to be rid of old jumpers, shoes, handbag and duvet covers. They’ve paid out over £36 million to schools and other organisations – so why not get your school a slice of the action?

A way to enhance the effectiveness of this kind of option is to be transparent with how the money will be spent. Is your school in need of some new equipment or facilities that will excite pupils and parents alike? If they’re onboard with the objective then they’re more likely to get involved.

4. Start a school compost

A lot of the suggestions so far have revolved around recycling packaging or clothing, but there is one other significant source of waste in your school – food waste.

Get in touch with your local council, they’re likely to be able to offer you a free composting bin. It’s a great opportunity to open up your own school garden, which in turn offers a world of opportunities to learn about plant growth, mini beasts and plenty more alongside.

If you’re in need of some composting advice, the RHS have an excellent guide for schools on this topic. 

5. Buy recycled

Many suppliers and brands producing the supplies you buy for your schools everyday are offering more and more environmentally friendly options. You can contribute to a more sustainable ecosystem by introducing some of the recycled products below:

• Recycled sticky notes
• Recycled pencils
• Recycled card
• Recycled clipboards
• Recycled plastic wallets
• Zero Plastic Sellotape

6. Incentivise waste reduction

Some friendly competition never hurt right? Set up a campaign that pits each class’ recycling skills against one another. See who can collect the most recyclable material, from Coke cans to old clothing, and offer a prize to the class that has done the best job.  

7. Training for all staff members

You’re not likely to get far if you don’t have the full support of your staff members. You need to set the best example possible and hope your actions and attitudes permeate down through the rest of the school.

To get that ball rolling, you might need to hold a quick training session with staff. Let them know your plans for improving recycling in the school, what role they can play, and the overall importance of the project. Tailor your sessions depending on the staff too – a teacher can make a positive impact in a different way to the catering staff.

8. Take a trip to a recycling plant

School trips are a marvellous way to inspire a child and engage them in a certain topic. Recycling can be that very topic with a trip to your local recycling plant. Get in touch with one near you and ask them to conduct a tour for the school. Raising awareness of what happens to your waste can offer vital context for pupils (and staff) when they are next faced with the choice of recycling their waste or throwing it in landfill.