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Sustainable schools: purchasing and waste

Fact - paper can account for as much as 60 per cent of school waste, and preventing one ton of paper waste saves between 15 and 17 mature trees and recycing one ton of paper waste saves enough energy to heat an average home for six months (EIA Energy Kids).

Fact -schools throw out 100,000 tonnes of food each year - food waste makes up 46 per cent of all primary school waste and 31per cent of all secondary school waste (WRAP).

Fact - schools participating in Waste Watch’s Schools Waste Action Club, Global Action Plan’s Action at Schools and Eco-schools waste programme have reduced their landfill waste by 47 per cemt.

This doorway centres on helping children and young people make the connection between the ‘disposable’ society we live in and the effect that mountains of waste have on the environment. By reducing, reusing and recycling schools can instil a culture of sustainable consumption that will spill out of the classroom and into home life.

Doorway booklet - purchasing and waste

Top tips for sustainability in purchasing and waste.

• Involve the whole school in measuring waste and putting together workable ideas for recycling and reusing materials.
• Use continuing professional development (CPD) to get buy-in to sustainability from all staff and share values so they can model good sustainability behaviours.
• Get students involved in creating the vision and collating research.
• Think about how you could instil a culture of waste reduction through teaching and learning: for example, by covering waste product management, compost systems and rates of decay in the science curriculum.
• Communicate your vision to the wider community and encourage it to share your attitudes and values by producing a waste recycling and green consumer guide.
• Look beyond your school to find out what other schools and businesses are doing.
• Involve staff in building a sustainable procurement policy that aims to obtain goods from ethical, sustainable sources and requires existing school suppliers to reduce the amount of packaging coming into school.
• Use the media to celebrate your good work
• Aim to procure goods from organisations that share a sustainable vision, such as Oxfam, Amnesty International and companies carrying kitemarks such as Fairtrade.

Case studies

Improving environmental performance through waste management - Sir John Thursby Community College

A whole-school approach to sustainability - Meare Village Primary School

Maximising student participation in sustainability - Ringwood School

Placing sustainability at the heart of a new school community - St Martin’s at Shouldham Primary School