Educational Activities

Here are some suggestions:

Wasting Away

Make a list of what you have thrown away this week. What could you have done with your rubbish instead?  For each of the following state whether you would:

• Recycle it
• Put in the food caddy
• Put in the general waste bin
• Take it to a charity shop

Cereal packet, yoghurt pot, banana skin, newspaper, glass jar, broken toy, sweet wrapper, T Shirt, potato peelings, comics, cat poo, birthday cards.

Shop Smart

Provide a selection of products and ask pupils to consider:

• Do I really need it?
• Could I have borrowed it from somewhere?
• Can it be shared?
• Can it be reuse or recycled when I have finished with it?
• Is there an alternative product with less packaging?

Get the Litter Bug

Look around your school. Use a site map to mark down where you have found litter. You can use different symbols for each type of rubbish.

Use your map to discuss:

• Why and when people drop litter
• How you can help stop litter
• Differences in the litter inside and outside the school
• Where did the litter come from?
• Is it pupils, parents or visitors?

Litter Danger

Discuss different types of dangerous litter and waste and their impact. For younger pupils, write a story about ‘How Sam the puppy hurt his paw.’

Poster Competition

Ask pupils to design a poster to promote recycling. You could consider contacting your local authority to see if they can use chosen designs.

Rubbish Audit

Look at the schools rubbish. Ask pupils to make a list of common items and come up with suggestions to reduce, reuse or recycle each item. Try to find  out what percentage of your schools rubbish is recyclable.

Little Rotters

Set up a compost and/or wormery scheme. Use only rubbish from your school. It’s a great opportunity for pupils to explore science related topics.

Get Recycling

Could your school become a recycling centre?  Ask pupils to look at how to set up a recycling scheme.  Ask them to consider:

• What kinds of recyclable rubbish does your school produce?
• How and where should collection points be set up?
• ”Can we raise a (small) income from this?”

How Green is your School?

Ask pupils to do a complete environmental survey, e.g. the Eco-Schools Review. They should consider:

• Can more files be stored electronically instead of on paper?
• Could packed lunch rubbish be reduced?
• Does the school buy recycled paper and bio-degradable cleaning materials?

Packaging Pros & Cons

Discuss and compare different types of drinks packaging.

Which is the most environmentally friendly?  Pupils can then design their own eco-friendly drinks packaging.

For younger pupils ask them to consider the design of egg boxes – can they improve on them?

Challenge them to design a protective box for an egg using the least material.