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StartaSchoolRecyclingProgramme

urrent legislation puts more emphasis on waste avoidance, minimisation, reuse and recycling. Implementing a recycling programme at your school instils the right values and behaviour in our children and also presents the school with new learning opportunities. The aim of this booklet is therefore to educate learners and educators about ways to minimise waste and become part of the solution in doing their bit to protect our environment.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
WHAT IS WASTE MANAGEMENT? 3

GREEN SCHOOLS

GENERAL RECYCLING TIPS

WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED?

11

LAST WORDS

17

This booklet was written and designed by Delanie Bezuidenhout (Environmental Manager: Plastics Federation of SA) on behalf of the Recovery Action Group (RAG) and other partners below:

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WHAT IS WASTE MANAGEMENT?

A waste management programme aims to reduce waste generation and increase recycling to reduce waste going to landfill and create a clean and green environment!

THE WASTE MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY

An environmentally sustainable waste management programme is based on the waste management hierarchy as shown below. Reducing waste should be the first step in any programme with disposal to landfill only considered as a last option.

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The figure below is a picture representation of the waste management hierarchy above.

WHAT IS IN MY RUBBISH BIN?

If we take a look at the general contents of our rubbish bin and take the waste management hierarchy into consideration it is clear that we are able to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill for disposal by almost 87%!!!

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GREEN SCHOOLS
What is an Environmentally Green School? How to Run a Green School

WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTALLY GREEN SCHOOL?

An environmentally green school is a school that upholds to the values of good environmental management. Such values include: Natural resource conservation like water conservation Energy conservation Reduce, re-use and recycle activities A safe, clean and green school

HOW TO RUN A GREEN SCHOOL

There are 5 basic steps your school needs to take in order to become a GREEN SCHOOL: 1. Set up a waste management committee for the school 2. Conduct a waste audit 3. Reduce the waste your school produces 4. Reuse materials to prevent them from becoming waste 5. Set up a waste recycling programme at your school

STEP 1: Setting up a Waste Management Committee

You need to make sure that all interested parties (school management, educators, learners, parents) buy into the idea of a Green School and are committed to make it work! The following people will constitute a Waste Management Committee: The Waste Coordinator. This is the leading waste champion elected from the schools top management. He/she will: Page 5 of 17

o o o o o o

Take responsibility for the project Drive the implementation of the project Raise awareness of the project Provide training for all involved Set up regular meetings with the committee Keep the governing body and management team informed

Representative from Top Management. It would be ideal if the schools principle could be directly involved as it would ensure that the project receives full support from management. Representatives from Educators. educator representatives. The committee should include at least 3

Representatives from the Governing Body. The support of the governing body is crucial for the success of the project. Learner Representation. This is vital as learners will assist in generating awareness and support amongst their peers. Representative from the School Cleaning Staff. Although learners, educators and parents can do a great deal to ensure the success of the project, the support and buy-in of cleaning staff is crucial.

STEP 2: Conducting a Waste Audit

It is important to determine how much and what types of waste your school is currently throwing away. The audit will answer the following questions: Where does your school produce the most waste? (ie. classrooms, rugby field, offices) What types of waste is produced? How much waste does your school produce?

STEP 3: Reduce the Waste Your School Generates

Here are some tips on how to reduce the waste you generate: Avoid buying products with excessive packaging Buy in bulk, purchase refills and concentrates Try to buy products made from recycled materials Try to avoid disposable products ie. paper cups

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STEP 4: Reusing the Waste Your School Generates

Waste is not waste until it is wasted! If you identify clever and creative ways in which waste can be reused you not only save your school money, but you also cut down on the amount of waste sent to landfill. For example: Discarded paper can be used for making paper mache Discarded cans can be used in the art class Glass jars can be used to store pens and pencils Repair items that are broken

STEP 5: Setting up the School Recycling Centre

Recycling refers to the separation of recyclable waste from the general waste stream. What are the different aspects of setting up a recycling centre at your school? Lets take a look!

SO WHAT WHERE THOSE STEPS AGAIN?

Reduce your waste!

Set up a waste management committee Do a waste audit

Set up a school recycling centre

Reuse the waste your school generates

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GENERAL RECYCLING TIPS

For more information visit:

www.mywaste.co.za www.recycling.co.za www.moonprint.co.za www.cleanup-sa.co.za www.recyclingday-sa.co.za www.plasticsinfo.co.za www.petco.co.za www.polystyrenepackaging.co.za www.theglassrecyclingcompany.co.za www.collectacan.co.za www.prasa.co.za www.ewasa.co.za

GENERAL RECYCLING TIPS

A little R & R & R!

To reduce, reuse and recycle goes without saying!

Know what you can and cannot recycle

Read up on the recycling rules of your collector and follow those guidelines!

Buy recycled

Supporting recycling means not only feeding the loop but also buying items with recycling content.

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Recycle your water

Use grey water in your garden.

Recycle your greenery

Start a compost heap and worm farm for use in your school garden.

Recycle your robots

Electronics and electrical goods such a batteries, globes, computer scrap...

Let it go!

Do not store items you are never going to use again! Lots of charities will welcome your donations!

Make recycling easy

Place recycling bins as close to the point of generation as possible. Also put a general bin next to a recycling bin.

Label it!

Label recycling bins so that everyone knows what goes where.

Who will do it?

Decide who will be tasked with emptying the recycling containers.

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Bring it in!

Decide on a day each week on which learners will bring recyclables from home.

Who will collect?

Identify a suitable collector in your area. Make sure that they will be able to provide you with a reliable service!

Generate awareness!

Recycling should be seen as a fun activity! Organise fun events, involve all learners, provide feedback on successes and involve the local media!

INFRASTRUCTURE WHAT DO WE NEED?

Space Sufficient size to accommodate, sort and store the waste that comes in until it can be collected. Access Your centre should be easily accessible to both the collector and parents dropping off recyclables. Health and Safety Consider the possible odour, effect of insects, high traffic areas, possibility of fire, broken glass, etc. Protection from the elements Make sure that your material collected are protected from rain and sun damage. Security To prevent vandalism or illegal dumping you must be able to restrict access to your recycling area. Sorting Tables A number of sorting tables to handle the volume of waste you expect to come in. Bail (Bulk) Bags You will need bulk bags to place the various recyclables in. Make sure your collector supply you with bulk bags in the same condition when they collect your material. Protective Clothing Make sure that all volunteer staff and other cleaning staff have the necessary protective clothing ie. gloves, masks.

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WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED?

Plastics Glass Cans & Tins Cardboard & Paper e-Waste

PLASTICS
For more information on plastics recycling visit www.plasticsinfo.co.za. Packaging plastics are identified by a polymer identification code. The number in the triangle indicates what type of plastic (polymer) was used to manufacture the plastic product. Most types of packaging plastics are recyclable.

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Products like plastic water and cold drink bottles

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Products like: Grocery bags Milk bottles Household cleaning product containers

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Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Products like: Pipes Rigid packaging like blister packs Tubing Wire insulation

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Products like: Squeezable bottles Soft plastics bags ie. Frozen Veggies Shrink wrap

Polypropylene (PP) Products like: Yogurt and margarine containers Bottle caps Flower pots Buckets Polystyrene (PS) Products like: Take away cups Clamshells Protective packaging around electronic equipment such as TVs

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GLASS
For more information on glass recycling visit www.theglassrecyclingcompany.co.za. Glass can be recycled indefinitely as part of a simple process. bottles saves enough energy to boil water for 5 cups of tea. Recycling two glass

Glass that we are familiar with is divided into different streams based on its composition and use: 1. Container glass. Largely bottles and jars 80% of the recycled glass market. 2. Flat glass. Used in long-term applications ie. windscreens. 3. Fibre glass. Currently no recycling in this sector. 4. Domestic and special glass. Pyrex and ornaments, cathode ray tubes in TV sets largely not recyclable and should not be mixed with container glass. What to do? Rinse glass bottles and jars in the same water you washed your dishes Remove metal or plastic tops, corks and rings Separate glass bottles in different colours (clear, green & blue, brown)

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CANS AND TINS

For more information on the recycling of cans and tins visit www.collectacan.co.za. Sort your cans for the best prices e.g. steel cans (colddrink and beer), aluminium cans (Red Bull), food (Milo, dog food, baked beans, coffee tins etc.), paint and aerosol cans and oil cans (used at garages and fuel stations). Cans should be empty.

CARDBOARD AND PAPER

For more information on the recycling of paper and cardboard visit www.prasa.co.za. Remember to remove staples, sellotape, prestick, pins and paper clips from paper items. The following types of paper can be recycled: Old memos and letters Computer paper Used photocopy paper Windowless envelopes Old books Pale coloured paper (ie. invoices) Newspapers Magazines Flattened cardboard

You cannot recycle: Wet or dirty paper Tissue paper Wax of plastic coated packaging Self-adhesive paper Carbon paper Page 14 of 17

Chemically treated fax or photographic paper Dog food bags Potato bags Wax coated boxes Cement bags

REMEMBER! Print only when necessary! Print and copy on both sides of the paper Use scrap paper for internal correspondence Place your waste paper in a paper recycling bin

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E-WASTE
For more information on the recycling of e-waste visit www.ewasa.org. E-waste includes computers, TVs, stereos, DVD players, fax machines, cell phones and other electronic and electrical household appliances that have been thrown away. It is definitely recyclable because it is a valuable source of secondary raw materials. It will become toxic if not treated and discarded properly.

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LAST WORDS

KEEP IT GOING!!!!
Getting a school recycling programme started is one thing... keeping it going is a much harder task! Make sure you have a member of the staff as waste champion. Put measures in place to ensure regular updates from the people who manage the programme. Include waste management activities in the lesson plans and reward the school when the programme works well...

BUT

the most important thing is to have...

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