Organising your school's waste to be collected.

Get your recycling collected

The recycling department at your local council are the best people to contact to find out about recycling services for schools in your area.

I simply contacted our council’s Waste Project Officer who helped us to organise our recycling collections and talked us through potential problems. It was much easier than I thought to set up a whole school recycling scheme due to the amazing support from our Council and the students’ tremendous enthusiasm.

Martin Edmonds, teacher,
Tamarside Community College

Services in your area

Many local authorities offer their own recycling services to schools. Check the Schools Recycling Service information to find out what your local authority offers. Those that don’t have their own recycling services should be able to put you in touch with organisations who will collect recycling from schools in your area. Contact your local recycling department directly to find out more. Contact details can be found at www.direct.gov.uk.

Further recycling services

There are other local and national organisations offering additional recycling services, such as printer cartridge, old mobile phone or aluminium can recycling. These may offer money saving opportunities or even generate a small income. See details in the section on cost effectiveness.

Things to consider

  • Access – are there any restrictions in terms of timings and vehicle access to your school site?
  • Frequency – how often will your recycling be collected?
  • Storage – where will your school store materials for recycling? 
  • Health and safety – discuss issues with your school’s health and safety representative.
  • Budget considerations – how much will the recycling service cost? Can costs be offset against savings in your general rubbish collection? See cost effectiveness.
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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