Who will be involved?

Who will be involved?

Everyone can contribute to make recycling a success at your school. Click on the titles below to find out how pupils, staff and parents can get involved.

Our Paper Team collects the paper bins on Mondays and Thursdays and removes any unsuitable paper before emptying it into the external bin. I co-ordinate their work and we also have a lot of support from other staff, including office staff, our cleaners and our caretaker.

Freda Eyden, Woodheys Primary School

Try to involve as many people as possible

Involving pupils and staff across your school in setting up and running your recycling scheme is essential to ensure the scheme works successfully. If the school community has ownership of various tasks and responsibilities, participation is likely to be higher and contamination (throwing unsuitable materials into recycling bins) is likely to be lower. Whole school involvement also ensures recycling continues even if enthusiastic staff and pupils move on.

    • All pupils

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Recycle as much of their waste as possible in the appropriate recycling bins.
      • Involvement in setting up and running the recycling scheme
      • Follow instructions on what to recycle and where to recycle it.
      Day-to-day.
      • Class representatives;
      • teachers; and
      • designated teacher.

       

    • Recycling monitors

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Carry out recycling duties.
      • Empty bins at regular intervals.
      • Monitor the scheme and report back to designated teacher (e.g. how full are the bins, contamination)
      • Champion the scheme to classmates.
      Day-to-day, weekly,  monthly.
      • Designated teacher;
      • site manager/ caretaker; and
      • all other pupils.

       

    • School Council, Eco Committee or Environment Team

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Represent their class and feed back to the rest of the school.
      • Develop ideas and take on responsibilities for ongoing scheme.
      • Carry out a waste audit and action plan.
      • Prepare assemblies, newsletters and website updates to feed back to rest of school.
      • Label recycling bins and put up posters.
      Regular meetings.
      • Designated teacher;
      • class teacher; and
      • all other pupils.

       

    • Designated Teacher or Recycling Co-ordinator

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Co-ordinate the recycling scheme.
      • Take responsibility for waste audits and developing action plans.
      • Provide training for other school staff.
      • Raise awareness.
      • Regular meetings with school council/eco committee.
      • Keep head teacher and school management informed.
      Day-to-day.
      • Head teacher;
      • school management;
      • school council/eco committee or environment team;
      • site manager/ caretaker; and
      • pupils.

       

    • Teachers and Teaching Assistants

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Support the recycling scheme.
      • Use and support the scheme.
      • Help pupils to recycle correctly.
      • Feed back to the designated teacher.
      Day-to-day.
      • Own class; and
      • designated teacher.

       

    • Senior Management team

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Prioritise recycling in the school.
      • Monitor progress with designated teacher and report back to head teacher.
      • Lead by example.
      Regular updates to head teacher, governors and parents.
      • Head teacher;
      • designated teacher; and
      • teaching staff.

       

    • Head Teacher

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Focus on core value of recycling within the school.
      • Ensure the whole school is involved.
      • Ensure the development of a school policy.
      Need to be constantly aware of developments in the school.
      • School management;
      • teaching staff;
      • non-teaching staff; and
      • pupils.

       

    • Cleaning Staff

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Support and facilitate the recycling scheme and action plan.
      • Ensure all recyclable materials are collected and emptied into the correct centralised/  external facilities.
      • Inform site manager/ caretaker about contamination issues and when external bins are full.
      Day-to-day
      • Site manager/ caretaker; and
      • pupils.

       

    • Kitchen and Catering Staff

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Maintain recycling in their area of work - kitchen, canteen, hall.
      • Ensure packaging is recycled and bins are emptied regularly and don’t overflow.
      Day-to-day.
      • Site manager/ caretaker; and
      • pupils.

       

    • Site Manager / Caretaker

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Oversee the internal and external bin and collection system.
      • Liaise with the cleaners and designated teacher to help with the day-to-day running of the scheme.
      • Ensure the recycling monitors or cleaners collect and empty the bins into the central/external bins on a regular basis.
      • Liaise with the local authority or service provider regarding the external collections.
      Day-to-day.
      • Head teacher;
      • designated teacher;
      • recycling monitors;
      • cleaners;
      • bursar; and
      • local authority or service provider.

       

    • Office/Administration Staff

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Reduce waste in their area of work.
      • Only print documents if absolutely necessary.
      • Print double sided.
      • Recycle used paper.
      Day-to-day.
      • Head teacher;
      • designated teacher; and
      • site manager/ caretaker.

       

    • Bursar

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Investigate cost-effective recycling solutions, equipment and products.
      • Liaise with the designated teacher and site manager/ caretaker on implementation and cost issues of the recycling scheme.
      • Look into purchasing recycled products.
      During the set-up process and regular reviews thereafter.
      • Head teacher;
      • designated teacher; and
      • site manager/ caretaker.

       

    • School Governors

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Support the head teacher, other teachers and pupils.
      • Take interest in plans and achievements.
      • Ensure head teacher demonstrates progress or maintenance of high recycling performance in the school.
      Governor meetings.
      • Head teacher; and
      • teacher on governing body.

       

    • Parents / Parents associations

    • Possible rolePossible tasks
      Time frame
      Working with
      Support the recycling scheme and help pupils recycle correctly.
      Possibly help generate funding for specific recycling related activities.
      • Support additional activities e.g. run information stalls at parent evenings or after school.
      Whenever possible.
      • Whole school.

       

Top tips

  1. Have a recycling point in every room

    Don’t forget non-teaching areas like the office, staff room and kitchen

  2. Put rubbish bins and recycling points together

    This makes it as easy to recycle as it is to throw something away

  3. Keep people informed

    Make sure everyone knows what can be recycled at school and why it is important to recycle

  4. Label recycling points and waste bins clearly

    This will help avoid the wrong things being put in the wrong bin

  5. Set up a rota

    Set up a rota for emptying the recycling point

  6. Monitor your recycling scheme

    Watch out for any decline in recycling levels. For example, you could keep a record of how full your external recycling bin is each week.

  7. Have regular recycling reports

    Report at assemblies and display amounts of recycling collected on a notice board to keep everyone informed and motivated.

  8. Motivate teachers to lead by example

    Recycle as much as possible and encourage pupils to get involved.

  9. Involve cleaning and support staff

    Ensure cleaning and support staff are informed of changes which affect them and let them know how important their role is.

  10. Spread your success

    Tell other people about successes, especially parents and the local press and praise all the teams involved

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