Changing Attitudes and Reducing Waste

This is a waste minimisation project for primary schools.

 

Why is this project needed?

The current generations of young people are likely to live their lives when an expanded global population puts pressure on water, food, energy and material resources. Climate Change may increase these pressures.

Helping pupils to reduce waste, in its many forms (e.g. landfill, incineration, carbon or methane pollution), makes good sense.

 

Tried and Tested in 70 schools

The Happy Bin project has been developed and used in more than 70 schools in Powys, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Each project lasts six weeks during which pupils are provided with a variety of experiences which help them:

·       Understand the amount and variety of wastes that are produced to support their lifestyles;

·       Know the likely consequences of producing these wastes;

·       Measure the physical waste (landfill, recyclates and catering waste) produced by a school on a weekly basis;

·       Develop local strategies to reduce that waste.

The project begins with a specially prepared Puppet Show to stimulate pupil's interest.

Details of how the project works are on the About page of this website.

 

How successful has the project been?

Over the course of all previous projects the amount of waste destined for landfill has been halved. Of the remaining waste, most has been recyclable. Total waste (landfill + recyclates) has reduced by more than a third.

The results of the most recent project are shown in the following graph:

The project has been consistently positively reviewed. For example a teacher commented:

"I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed running the project; it was one of my most enjoyable initiatives I've had to run as I think it was such an engaging and relevant topic."

Other teacher's comments on the most recent project are displayed on the forum page of this website.

 

Next projects

Currently Cambridgeshire and Peterborough recycling officers are in the process of recruiting 20 schools for the next Happy Bin.

This will be the largest and most ambitious project that has been attempted.

If you are interested in joining this or a future project please contact Ian Mitchell for details.

 

RATS (Rubbish Abolished Totally in Schools)

Several schools, outside the areas in which the project has previously functioned, have asked if they could join the project.

For those schools a variation of the project, called RATS, has been designed.

It uses a similar approach to the Happy Bin project. However, the classroom experiences are hosted by a cartoon rat rather than the Happy Bin puppet characters.