Recycling in schools
Schools and recycling activities
We invite all Cheshire East schools to join the Junior Recycling Officers scheme and the Secondary Recycling Challenge. Schools can nominate up to 4 pupils from Years 4 to 6 (ideally Year 5) each year to become Junior Recycling Officers and to take forward the message ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ to school, friends and family. They get a starter pack full of information and recycled stationery from the Waste Education Officer visiting their school.
The Waste Education Officer can lead assemblies and run recycling workshops. Pupils are encouraged to present assemblies, run competitions and set up recycling schemes and collections. Supporting material linked to current recycling campaigns is provided throughout the year, via newsletters, posters and ideas for competitions. For example, recycled robots, creating recipes from leftover food and poster designs promoting recycling.
Both schemes are open to special schools. Contact us if you would like more information about the activities we're running or would like support with your own activities.
For Primary schools
For Secondary schools
We have useful materials on the Junior Recycling Officers Resource page.
Junior Recycling Officer of the year 2018
This year’s Junior Recycling Officer of the year awards event took place on Wednesday 4 July 2018 at Lord Egerton’s Apartments, Tatton Park. The standard was very high so the Award was shared between Lindow Community Primary School and Alderley Edge Community Primary School. Winning themes were collecting mobile phones to raise funds for a defibrillator (Alderley Edge) and initiating a new school paper collection (Lindow). Other finalists were St John’s CE Primary, Sandbach Heath and Warmingham CE Academy.
Junior Recycling Officers were invited to submit their applications, stating what they had done to improve recycling and composting in and around their school. They let us know about assemblies, recycling collections and competitions they had undertaken.
Each schools’ application had 5 digital photographs attached and the Junior Recycling Officers of the shortlisted schools gave a talk to Councillors and officers at Tatton Park, about their work this year, with the photos projected.
There were certificates for Best Recycling Idea, Best Change in School, Best Recycling Collection and Best Community Involvement.
The winning schools received £150 towards the Environmental Project of their choice at school.
After the Awards, the Junior Recycling Officers visited the gardens at Tatton Park with the Head Gardener to find out about crops grown and composting.
For further information and application forms, contact Lucinda Hodges.
Junior Recycling Officers of the year 2017
The finals of the junior recycling officers of the Year event took place at Reaseheath Hall, Reaseheath College on Wednesday 5 July 2017.
Four schools took part, giving presentations on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle activities they had been carrying out during the year: St John’s CE Sandbach Heath, St Mary’s Catholic Primary, Congleton, St Vincent’s Catholic Primary, Knutsford and St Mary’s Catholic Primary, Crewe to members of the Ansa board.
The winning school, St Vincent’s, had organised a superb Recycled Fashion Show, using card, paper and plastic items to make clothing, collected fruit peelings from the infants for making compost and prepared a recycled garden for the RHS Tatton show.
All schools received a certificate for their outstanding work in one area, and all junior recycling officers from the finalist schools received a medal, a set of waste and recycling top trumps and a book called ‘Why should I recycle?’.
The overall winning school won £150 for an environmental project of their choice and the shield to hold for the year.
All finalists visited Reaseheath Zoo and found out about the composting and use of recycled materials there.
Junior Recycling Officer awards
At the end of the year the junior recycling officers are invited to apply for the award of Junior Recycling Officer of the year. Teachers and parents are invited to a ceremony where the Junior Recycling Officers from each finalist school give a short presentation on the work they have done, and the winning school is selected. All finalists get a medal and prize and the school gets a shield for the year. For more information contact Lucinda Hodges, Waste Education Officer.
- Phone: 01270 686684 or 0776 444 2708 (leave name and number)
Secondary recycling challenge
During the Secondary Recycling Challenge (popular with Year 7, but open to all years) We run a number of practical activities to show students what they can do to improve the sustainability of their actions. We focus on waste and recycling and how we can view waste as a resource. Activities include recycled robot model-making and recycled fashion shows. You will get fully funded support for this project from Jon Hutchinson, Education Project Manager at Groundwork Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside. Jon guides you through each stage of the challenge and works directly with teachers and students to help achieve their goals.
The great big upcycled design awards
This event, launched in September 2015 was the first inter-school upcycled design competition in the UK. Schools were given a set of waste materials and asked to create the most innovative, saleable and creative products. The initial materials included textiles, bicycle parts and reclaimed timber. The schools ran workshops with Design and Technology departments and those interested in Art and Design. An awards ceremony was in Congleton Town Hall and four winners were selected to be awarded with an upcycled trophy. All who entered got a certificate.
Love food hate waste cook-off
We challenge Year 7 students working with professional chefs to create delicious meals from leftover foods that would otherwise end up in landfill. This event takes place after school and uses the commercial training kitchens at South Cheshire and Macclesfield Colleges. The event runs just before the Easter break and is linked to the Love Food Hate Waste programme.
Outdoor education sessions
Moving learning outside the classroom, we take a hands-on look at composting, create bug hotels from waste materials and learn about growing, harvesting and cooking with fresh produce. This activity is aimed at lower year students, Years 7 and 8, and runs over the Spring term at the community garden of Grozone in Northwich.
School garden development
We also work with students of any age to develop on-site school gardens and composting initiatives, build reclaimed timber benches and create planters from waste materials. This activity can be run at any point throughout the year.
Other projects
We’re able to deliver anything from a one-off assembly to a series of practical workshops. Any school can take part and we can tailor activities to different age groups. We are happy to work with any school and are able to support students who have Special Educational Needs and disabilities.