Monitoring the amount of rubbish a school creates, while also taking steps to minimise this amount, takes time, effort and the co-operation of the whole school.

Waste minimisation can, however, be a very rewarding topic. As well as encouraging the school community to consider the wider impact of their buying habits, this topic will give pupils a chance to discover the hidden value of some types of waste. Schools may also see direct, immediate benefits - such as a reduction in waste disposal costs.

Use the icons below to find out more. Our Winter 2005 newsletter also has more information on this topic.

What is waste?

Waste or rubbish is what people throw away because they no longer need it or want it. Almost everything we do creates waste and as a society we are currently producing more waste than ever before. In 2005, Scotland produced nearly 20 million tonnes of waste. Household waste accounted for approximately 3.7 million tonnes of this - more than half a tonne for every person in the country.

What happens to our waste?

Disposing of all this waste is difficult and costly. Much of it ends up buried in holes in the ground (landfill sites) or is burnt in incinerators. These landfill sites are, however, rapidly becoming full and there are concerns about the impact on people’s health from pollution caused by both landfill sites and incinerators.

How can we tackle the problem?

Increasingly, the government is encouraging people to reduce the amount of rubbish they produce in the first place. Wherever possible, we should consider the "Three Rs" - Reduce, Re-use and Recycle:

• Reduce waste - changing manufacturing processes and changing buying habits so that less material is used or future waste material bought.
• Reuse - choosing goods and products that can be used again.
• Recycle - making sure that waste is processed and made into another product wherever possible. This also includes composting.

Recycling our rubbish means that less rubbish will need to be buried in the ground or incinerated. Making new things from this 'ex-rubbish' often uses less energy and causes less pollution than making new things from brand-new raw materials.

Schools and Waste

Any building or environment where people live or work will produce a certain amount of waste, and schools are no exception.

In general, most school waste is made up of food, paper and packaging waste such as sweet wrappers. It may also contain some glass, metals and plastics.

Minimising waste has a number of benefits for schools. Depending on the waste disposal system in your area, schools can save money on disposal costs by reducing the amount of waste they produce, and may also be able to make money by selling materials to be recycled. Reducing waste may involve reviewing the types of resources schools buy and the suppliers they buy from.

To work out how best to minimise the waste your school produces, you will need to look at each type of waste in turn and work out what the best approach for dealing with it would be.

The Eco-Schools Scotland Environmental Review and the Waste Audit Form can help with this and as previously mentioned, the 'Three Rs' provide a good general rule:

• Can we reduce the waste generated in the first place?
• If not, can we re-use it?
• If we can't re-use it, can we recycle it?

The Useful Local Contacts section of this website contains further helpful information, and our Activities pages have additional ideas for you to try.

Has your school had a great idea for minimising the waste it produces? If so, why not share it with everyone in our Forum ?