Recycling paper in our school

The school found that it was producing a lot of paper waste.

They wanted to recycle in order to: 

• demonstrate a practical approach to sustainability at school
• work towards an Eco-Schools award
• encourage all staff and pupils to take pride in the environment and think about environmental responsibility.

The Environmental Projects Co-ordinator made initial enquiries to the council about collecting their paper for recycling.The council’s waste subcontractor, provided a wheelie bin and included the school on the regular recycling collection route.
The school purchased special bins for paper and positioned them in every room. These are a different colour from rubbish bins to make recycling easier. Posters designed by the pupils were displayed at strategic points around the building to promote the recycling scheme.
The school has a ‘Paper Team’ made up of students from Years 3 and 4. Members of the Paper Team collect the paper twice a week and sort through it to remove anything that shouldn’t be in the recycling bin e.g. paper not used on both sides, envelopes, cardboard and so on before emptying it into the external bin. The Environmental Projects Co-ordinator, contacts the council when the external bin needs emptying. The school holds regular assemblies and produces newsletters and a website to keep everyone up to date and maintain awareness of paper recycling.

The school has seen an overall reduction in paper use, but is aiming to build on the increased waste awareness created by the recycling system to reduce the volumes of computer print-outs at school. The recycling project has led to other sustainability initiatives e.g. gardening and energy projects. The aim is to educate the whole school community to respect the environment and to become responsible global citizens.

Materials recycled:
Paper.
Clothes, mobile phones, ink cartridges, toys and books
Containers used:
Blue swing bins for paper. Other containers, for example for toys, vary according to the material.
Who collects your school’s recycling:
Paper –Local authority’s subcontractor - Greater Manchester waste.
Clothes, mobile phones, ink cartridges, toys and books go to special charity collections.
Frequency of collection:
On request
Date/year the recycling scheme was introduced:
2002

• Use different coloured bins for recycling and rubbish so that pupils find the system easy to use.
• Get pupils involved both with the practical recycling and with promoting the scheme.