Waste Wise Schools | Newsletter | Bin Signs | How to get involved | Chooks in Schools | Case studies | Best Practice Guide | Teacher workshops | Extras | Student's Spot | Useful websites | Get Involved

 

Waste Wise Schools

The ACT Waste Wise Schools program focuses on the minimisation of waste to landfill through recycling of paper and plastic products and composting organic material and smart purchasing.  The program offers support for schools to implement the program which aligns to the new curriculum ‘Every Chance to Learn’.

The program has been highly successful in reducing waste and saving money in schools. The goals of the ACT Waste Wise Schools Program are to foster the development of a Waste Wise ethic throughout the school community and by doing so, change the cultural habits and attitudes from viewing what we would traditionally throw away as ‘waste’ to viewing these materials as ‘resources.’

The Waste Wise Schools Program aims to:

• Encourage all members of a school community to  adopt an active role in planning and implementing strategies to minimise waste and litter,
• Reduce the amount of material going to landfill,
• Reduce the amount of litter being produced,
• Reduce the cost to schools of waste and litter management, and 
• Encourage schools to be a beacon for their local community on waste minimisation practices

What does the ACT Waste Wise Schools Program offer?

• Support and assistance to implement the Waste Wise Program and keep it going
• Individualised program support: the Action Plan will be devised according to your own school
• Comprehensive resources to assist you in implementing the Program. These resources include:
  1. The Waste Wise Schools Best Practice Guide: Your Action Plan
  2. A comprehensive Waste Wise Schools Kit
  3. Waste Wise Schools Teacher Workshops
  4. Educational and awareness raising resources
  5. Free red and blue bins
  6. A network of schools implementing the Waste Wise Schools initiatives

Newsletter

Check out this spot each term to find out what is happening around ACT Schools that are involved with AuSSI ACT.

AuSSI ACT Newsletter April 2007

AuSSI ACT Newsletter October 2007

AuSSI ACT Newsletter June 2008

AuSSI ACT Newsletter September 2008

Bin Signs

The following signs are available for you to download

Organic Material 

Waste to Landfill

Paper Products - blue bin

Mixed Recycling - red bin

How to get involved

The ACT's Waste Wise Schools Program has taken on a new look and feel in 2007 with the development of its Best Practice Guide: Your Action Plan. It is designed to be a living document to hold all of the information your school needs to become a Waste Wise School. The Best Practice Guide is broken down into 6 Best Practice Phases which are outlined in a step-by-step fashion.

1. Arrange a meeting with the School Executive Staff and the Education Officer from Territory and Municipal Services to discuss the program including viewing the Best Practise Guide.
2. Get whole school commitment to becoming a Waste Wise School and complete the 'We Are Becoming A Waste Wise School' Application.
3. Set goals and work through the Best Practice Guide to achieve the goals.

Chooks in Schools

There are many benefits for having chooks in your school.

1. It's a great opportunity to give your students responsibility to care for animals

2. Chooks will eat most of your organic food scraps eg; bread crumbs, fruit and vegetables

3. Chooks will reward you with fresh free range eggs to either sell or use in your canteen

 

For more information on having chooks in your school,

please email vanessal.whelan@act.gov.au

 

           

An example of a simple, easy care chook run that can be built for your school. 

Case Studies

St Francis Xavier College

Bonython Primary School

Hawker Primary School

Florey Primary School

Ainslie Baker Gardens Preschool

Future Friendly Fete

O'Connor Cooperative School

Evatt Primary School Parent Green Team

 

Best Practice Guide

This Best Practice Guide was written with a view to make implementing whole-school Waste Wise initiatives as simple as possible. Each two page spread has a step-by-step guide, presented in order of action. Your school may have already undertaken some or all of these steps, at which point a review of your current system would be valuable to ensure that it is effective for your school environment.

Also provided is a Tips and Hints table which details information and ideas pertaining to each step in that phase. For example, step one of “Getting Started” is establishing a Waste Wise team. The Tips and Hints diagram suggests possible members, establishing commitment, ensuring support of your Principal and gives the purpose of the Waste Wise team.  Ideally, this document should be a ‘living document’ and be written on, added to, so that it contains all of the information and data that you will need to become a recognised Waste Wise School.

We strongly encourage you to take photos of your school’s growth and development for a number of reasons as well as recording notes in The Best Practice Guide because:

• Your photos will in be an invaluable resource to publicise your school’s achievements,
• ACT NOWaste often invites schools to submit photos for widely distributed publications,
• It is a wonderful reminder for the entire school community on your progress, and 
• The photos will support your application for recognition as a Waste Wise School and also support any award submissions

This model consists of implementing six phases in your school:

1. Getting Started
2. Paper Recycling
3. Mixed Recycling Smart Purchasing
4. Organic recycling
5. Special Events: Promoting your practices
6. Smart Purchasing

These phases will drastically improve your school’s waste management while increasing awareness and improving education in your school community.

Teacher Workshops

Waste Wise Schools Workshop - Friday 28th August, 2009

The one-day workshop will cover;

• How to develop and introduce effective waste, recycling and litter reduction strategies in your school. This can save your school money and conserve resources
• Introducing the Waste Best Practice Guide to help you work through the program step by step to achieve the status of Being a Waste Wise School
• How to make full use of the Waste Wise Schools kit and other support services of the Waste Wise Schools program
• Introduction to the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative ACT (AuSSI ACT)

Participants will receive:

• Free 240 litre wheelie bins for your school
• Teacher resources including video, CD Rom and much more!
• A certificate of participation
• A scrumptious lunch !

To register please email Vanessa Whelan on vanessal.whelan@act.gov.au

Extras

There are a number of special wastes that schools can recycle at no cost.  The two main categories are: mobile phones and printer and toner cartridges.  Rather than send these highly manufactured goods to landfill, contact Ros Malouf, the Waste Wise Schools Officer to find out how you can set up an easy collection system in your school - both for the resources used on site, and as a drop-off point for parents.  Offering such services and promoting them in your school newsletter will help reinforce the waste wise message for families at your school. 

Student's Spot

This spot is for students!

We would like to hear from students from any schools who have been involved in the AUSSI ACT or are getting involved!

If you or your class have any great ideas, photos, powerpoints or projects that you have done or are doing and you would like to share it with other students, please email vanessal.whelan@act.gov.au

Useful Websites

www.gould.edu.au 

www.education.vic.gov.au 

www.epa.gov 

www.thiess-services.com.au