Waste programs for schools. Council aims to help schools develop school waste management plans and implement waste and minimisation practices with ideas such as. Division of Waste Management > Recycling and Local Assistance > Recycling. Companies rely on recycling programs to provide the raw materials they need to make new. Waste Management helps school boards and administrators to realize greater benefit from their waste and recycling programs. Waste. Wise - schools. The main objectives of the Waste. Wise schools’ programme are: To raise awareness among educators, learners and their families. To enable educators to raise awareness of the cause and effect of poor waste management and the benefits of integrated waste management. To provide environmental tools to enhance quality of life. To assist schools with portfolio development and waste minimisation projects. Eco- schools programme The Department of Solid Waste works with the Western Cape’s Eco- Schools Programme and the City’s Youth Environmental Schools (YES) programme to provide training to learners and educators in waste management and the efficient use of resources. Eco- Schools was launched in South Africa in May 2. Wildlife & Environment Society for South Africa (WESSA), and aims to achieve sustainable environmental management by integrating the environment into the national education curriculum and empowering teachers and learners to implement environmental policies at school level. Get Waste Wise at School If you’re interested in reducing your school’s waste output, your first step is to take a quick look at the various waste streams to give yourself a basic overview. Once you have a good understanding of the various waste streams, take a look at the steps below that your school needs to follow to become a Waste Wise School. Steps to become a Waste Wise School: Waste management committee. The first step in setting up a successful waste management programme in your school is to make sure that all parties which could affect the programme’s success namely; school governing body, teachers, parents, students, and the school cleaning staff, buy- in to the idea and are committed to making it work. One of the best ways to do this is to create a waste project committee that includes representation from each of the key groups. Ideally, this will be a fairly senior teacher within the school (someone from within the school’s senior management team). The waste coordinator will be responsible for heading up the waste management committee and coordinating the waste management programme across the school. It would be ideal if the school’s head teacher or principal were directly involved in the waste management programme since that would ensure it was supported from the top. However, if this is not possible, the waste management committee should set up regular update sessions with the head teacher or principal, to keep them informed on how the initiative is progressing and get support for new ideas, and input on addressing challenges that may arise. The waste management committee should include 2 – 3 other teacher representatives, preferably from different areas within the school (e. Solid Waste Management in Schools. Defined under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Find and compare Waste Management. Waste Management Software for Hazardous Waste.As far as other staff is concerned, also include representation from the school caretaker and/or cleaning staff as their day- to- day activities can play an important role in its success. It’s also important to have parents on the waste management committee. The success of your school’s waste minimisation programme, specifically the recycling centre, will depend on support from parents who will bring waste from home for recycling, and offer to help in the recycling centre. Having students on the committee is also important, as they will help generating awareness and support from their peers. Waste Audit. Now that your waste management committee has been established, you can move onto conducting your waste audit. A waste audit will help you establish how much, and what type of waste your school currently throws away. This audit will give you information such as where your school produces its waste (classrooms, cafeteria, playground etc), what types of waste are produced, and how much is produced. Here are some guidelines on how to conduct your schools waste audit. Materials. You will need: Bagged rubbish. Old carrier bags (eight for each group involved in the audit)1. Spring balances or Newton meter scale. Ground sheet/floor covers. Clipboards with copies of the recording sheet. Rubber gloves (one pair for each adult and child)Overalls or old clothing. Preparation. Identify an average school day on which you will audit your school’s waste. Let all the staff know when the audit will take place. Carry out a risk assessment - consider what the dangers associated with the audit might be and put measures in place to minimise them. You may want to send a letter to the parents to inform them about the activity, ask them to provide old clothing for the children to wear on the day, and possibly to request adult volunteers to support the activity in school. Ask the school caretaker to save one day’s waste from the entire school, including non- teaching areas such as bathrooms, staff rooms, offices and external areas e. Ask the caretaker to look through the bags to remove sharp objects and label each bag with the area of the school it came from (e. Ensure all waste is clearly labeled, kept separately and stored safely and securely. Store all bags of waste safely overnight. The audit. Clearly explain all the health and safety issues to the students involved in the audit. Gloves should be worn at all times and students should call an adult if they see any sharp objects in the rubbish etc. Weigh all bags containing discarded food and capture the results in grams on the recording sheet. Once you are done you can dispose of the waste in the usual manner. Divide the students involved in the audit into three to four groups. Each group should have a ground sheet to work around, a recording sheet and pencil, and a set of spring balances or Newton meter scales. Get each group to empty the contents of one bag of rubbish at a time onto the ground sheet and sort it into the different types of waste shown on a recording sheet. They will sort the waste into these bags and weigh them using an appropriate spring balance or Newton meter scale. Log the results on the recording sheet. Once the contents of the carrier bags in each group have been weighed and recorded, empty them into larger bin bags and re- use the carrier bag. When all bags have been sorted and the data has been recorded, dispose of the waste and recyclables in the usual manner. The follow up. The next step is to calculate the daily, weekly and yearly waste totals for the school. Multiply daily totals by five for the weekly results, and the weekly totals by 3. Work out the percentage of different types of waste produced. Compare waste data from different areas around your school to identify the waste . What are the most common types of waste? Is any of it recyclable? Which type of waste would make the biggest difference if recycled? This is the information you will use in planning how to REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE your school’s waste. Present your findings to the rest of the school through an assembly or newsletter. Reduce Waste at School. The best way to solve our waste problem is to firstly reduce the amount of waste we produce. So, depending on the outcome of your school’s waste audit, your school should try and focus on the waste stream(s) you are producing the most of and see where you can reduce your waste output. Looking at ways to reduce your waste output can be fun. How about allocating each of the classes in your school a specific waste generation area and task the pupils to come up with clever ways to reduce the waste being produced. Implement the viable ideas and track the effect it has on the school’s waste generation. Award the class whose recommendations have the biggest impact on the volume of waste the school produces. Here are some more tips on how to reduce the waste you generate. Avoid buying products with excessively packaging. Reduce packaging by buying the items you use frequently in bulk, and by purchasing refills and concentrates. Try to buy products with packaging that is made from recycled materials Try not to buy disposable products such as paper plates. Choose glass over plastic as it can always be recycled. Avoid all toxic and hazardous products where possible so try and use organic cleaning products in your school and at home. They are safer for you, and for the environment. Reuse Waste at School. Always bear in mind that waste is not waste until it is wasted! Finding clever and effective ways to reuse waste will save your school money, help your school to make money, and help to cut down the volumes of waste being sent to landfills. Based on your waste audit results, allocate each class in your school a waste stream and task them with coming up with different possible ways to reuse that waste. Ask each class to produce a project showcasing the ideas they have come up with. Put the projects on display around the school and implement the viable waste reuse ideas around the school. Here are some more handy tips to help your school reuse the waste that it is generating. Before disposing of something you no longer need, try and think about other ways in which your school could use it e. You could probably think of plenty of other ideas if you put your mind to it. Once you have identified ways to reuse certain waste streams ask the students to bring those streams of waste into school from home, thereby reusing waste that is generated in households as well. Look outside of your school for people who may want to reuse the waste you are producing. For example, artists may use recycled waste to produce their art. You may even be able to sell your waste to external parties thereby making some money for your school. Where possible, repair items that are broken. Support the local seamstress and carpenter. This will both reduce waste and stimulate employment, growth and development in your community. Think about how much organic waste you have access to as well as the time and space you have available for composting. You could also consider using the compost you are making to set up a small- scale commercial vegetable garden. Your school could sell the vegetables to members of your community and generate additional income. Setting up the recycling centre. Waste Management and Disposal . Identify Wastes. Members of the University community must be aware of the wastes that they produce and the appropriate University management system for each type of waste. The diverse University of Minnesota community generates an equally diverse range of wastes that must be properly managed. Individual community members are responsible for the proper management of their waste. The University provides safe, effective and efficient waste management services to each student and staff for all types of waste. Example: A University employee may produce (. Unwanted office paper and newspaper go to the paper recycling bins. Candy wrappers and apple cores go into the solid waste trash basket. Dead batteries go into the battery recycling bucket. The old personal computer contains lead and other toxins in its components so it should be collected for electronics recycling by established collection systems. For assistance in identifying wastes, consult the Resources for Managing Waste Materials listed below. Department of Environmental Health and Safety (6. Evaluate Waste. Members of the University community must evaluate their waste for its physical, chemical, and biological characteristics to determine how it is to be properly managed. Mismanaged waste may endanger human health and the environment. Consider reuse, recycling or composting as part of a waste minimization and pollution prevention strategy. Strategies also include answering the following questions. Why is the waste being generated? Can the waste be eliminated? If the waste is hazardous, can it be replaced by something non- hazardous or can the process generating the waste be modified to render the waste non- hazardous? A waste may be: Recyclable material (e. Compostable organic waste (e. Manage Wastes. Once the waste has been identified and evaluated, generators must manage their waste according to applicable University of Minnesota waste management instructions. These waste management instructions have been developed to keep the University in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and to induce a safe and healthy workplace. When managing wastes, refer to the Resources for Managing Waste Materials listed below for guidance, instructions and to ensure compliance with University programs. The generator must arrange for removal of the waste for proper disposal. The University provides waste management programs for disposal of all types of waste. Waste Management Programs: Non- hazardous Waste (i. Facilities Management on each campus; in the Twin Cities, call FM Waste Customer Service at 6. Duluth contact Waste Disposal and Recycling at 2. Re. Use and Redistribution: contact the Re. Use Program Warehouse at 6. Hazardous Radioactive Waste: call DEHS Radiation Protection at 6. Hazardous Biological Waste: call DEHS Biosafety Program at 6. Hazardous Chemical Waste: call DEHS Chemical Waste Program at 6. Electronic Waste: in the Twin Cities, schedule a pick up through the Office of Information Technology or contact FM Recycling Program at 6. Duluth contact Information Technology Systems and Services. Otherwise Regulated Waste (e. Facilities Management on each campus; in the Twin Cities, call FM Waste Abatement Services at 6. Resources for Managing Waste Materials.
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