Award-winning School Waste Education Day incursion

The School Waste Education Day is a high energy, interactive waste prevention program filled with age-appropriate activities for kids in Years 1-6.

The program teaches the five G.R.E.A.T. behaviours of Gifting, Recycling, Earth-cycling, Avoiding and Taking, encouraging students to do better than landfill and get waste in the right place. The key concepts are:

• Gifting good quality unwanted items to charity or community groups, or swapping and selling items.
• Recycling only the 5: paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and metal cans.
• Earth-cycling food organics and garden organics using a FOGO bin or by using a compost bin or worm farm.
• Avoiding excess waste, packaging, and disposables by switching to reusables.
• Taking batteries, e-waste, and chemicals to hazardous drop-off points, and good quality items to local charities.

This incursion is designed to run the length of a school day, targeting one year group per period, with students divided into small groups and rotated through a suite of activity stations. WMRC can visit your school for 1-3 days to ensure the entire school learns how to be a GREAT sort.

Format:

• The school day is divided up into 60-minute sessions
• Up to 50 students per session
• Students are divided into 7 groups
• The student groups rotate through 7 activity stations.

School to provide:

• Use of an undercover area for duration of the day to run activities. Access to this activity area from 7.30am
• Onsite parking for the WMRC education vehicle
• 3x trestle tables (or similar) with 18 chairs for activity stations
• 4-6 Parent helpers per session or 6-8 student leaders per session to run activity stations. This is a great opportunity to develop the skills and confidence of student leaders.

WMRC to provide:

• Waste education activities
• Staff to run waste education day
• Pre and post incursion activities

Teachers are expected to:

• Divide students into 7 groups before their class session. Many teachers write the group number on the students’ hands or a name tag.
• Monitor student behaviour and assist in running an activity station when necessary

2022 Waste Sorted Award Winner – Local Government Category. Won in collaboration with Resource Recovery Group Recycle Right.

“It was thoroughly enjoyed by all! Everyone, including staff have been regaling the things they have learnt today. Plus, they have been complimenting me on a job well done – it’s you who did all the hard yakka!” -Teacher, Mosman Park Primary School

Textile Waste Education Day

This pioneering incursion educates secondary students about circularity in the textile industry, emphasising the value of adopting sustainable practices such as thrifting, swapping and repairing to prolong the lifespan of our clothes. It empowers students to think critically about their clothing and provides them with simple, accessible ways they can contribute to a more sustainable future.

The incursion is suited to secondary students in years 7-12. It can be run for a single class, club, or year group. WMRC Waste Educators will deliver a presentation on textile waste and discuss how consumer behaviour such as purchasing ultra-fast fashion drives environmental degradation.

What’s included?

• Flexible support from a WMRC Education Officer
• Easy-to-follow clothing swap guidelines
• Inspiring videos from young, local sustainability influencers
• Curriculum-linked textiles factsheets covering sustainability, human rights, animal welfare and more
• Clothes swap equipment loan (tables, racks and signage)

Free tours of the West Metro Recycling Centre

WMRC offers free tours of the West Metro Recycling Centre in Shenton Park. Tours are suitable for high school students, with a maximum group size of 15.

The tour includes an overview of waste management in the Perth & Peel area and discussion on the importance of waste sorting and waste recovery. Students will visit the weighbridge, community recycling facilities, paid recycling facilities and the transfer station tipping floor. Students will leave with:

• A great understanding of how and why waste is managed in Perth, including recent developments.
• How to sort waste into a three-bin system.
• What household hazardous waste is and the importance of managing it.
• Knowledge of local community recycling options.

Students must wear enclosed shoes and sun protection when visiting the site.

Email community@wmrc.wa.gov.au to find out more about tours of the West Metro Recycling Centre.

Waste-themed presentations for student cohorts, staff, and/or parents

WMRC Waste Educators can visit your school to deliver presentations on varied waste topics such as:

• Waste sorting at school
• How to be a GREAT Sort
• Plastic Free July
• Textile waste
• And more.

Presentations can be delivered to classes, student cohorts, staff, and/or parents.

Clothing swaps for school classes or clubs

Clothing swaps encourage resources to continue circulating in the economy at their highest possible value. Hosting a clothing swap for your school will encourage students to consume less, consume better, share resources, and engage in the circular economy. This is a great option for sustainability clubs, student leadership, student cohorts studying sustainability, P&C groups and more.

Schools can coordinate with a WMRC Waste Educator to run a clothing swap OR borrow the clothing swap equipment for free*. Clothing swap equipment available for loan includes:

• 12 collapsable clothing racks
• 2 mirrors
• 4 change tents
• 2 weigh scales
• Weigh in and weigh out sheets
• Coat hangers

*Equipment loan is free, however any damaged equipment must be replaced by the school responsible for the damage.

Other support

• WMRC waste educators can also assist schools by providing Waste Sorted Schools grant application support or reviewing school waste infrastructure. Contact WMRC to discuss how we can best support your school.
• Find out about our low-waste equipment loans.

More information and inspiration

• For teachers – How to reduce waste at school
• For parents – How to reduce waste when going back to school