With the average UK family throwing away £700 worth of food a year and about eight million tonnes of plastic waste entering our oceans annually, tackling food and packaging waste is one of our nation’s biggest challenges.
It’s why the Pod, EDF Energy’s award-winning education programme, has made food waste and packaging the theme of this year’s Waste Week campaign (5-9 March). So why should teachers sign up?
1. Waste is an important subject
Barely a week goes by without a major news story on the issue. In the first two weeks of this year alone, the government announced sweeping plans to eradicate avoidable plastic waste within 25 years, including the introduction of plastic-free aisles in supermarkets.
Every year, thousands of schools join in Waste Week, now in its seventh year, to learn about the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling. Teachers like the campaign because waste is a topical issue, while students enjoy it because they can see the impact of any changes they make.
Reducing waste has the additional benefit of potentially saving schools money - and families too, if students take home the campaign message.
2. Waste Week is linked to the curriculum
Waste and recycling have links to the curriculum in a range of subjects, including science, geography, citizenship, maths, English, and design and technology (D&T). These are clearly laid out for each activity on the Pod.
The Pod has launched two new packaging-focused lesson plans - with versions for pupils aged 4-7, 7-11, 11-14- to support the curriculum in D&T and maths. The popular Lunchtime Crunchtime lesson plans have been revamped to include extra science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) content, as well as exploring aspects of the topic such as recycling and electronics waste in more detail. You can download homework and fact sheets to reinforce class learning, too.
3. Students care about the issue
Many young people care deeply about the environment: a survey from the National Union of Students in 2016 found that two-thirds of university students wanted to learn more about sustainability. Waste is a very visible problem, with pupils likely to encounter it on a daily basis, whether it’s the leftovers in their school dining hall or litter on the streets.
Getting students engaged in this topic doesn’t just help the school to reduce the amount of waste it produces; it could also benefit the whole community. In December, primary children in Ullapool in Scotland joined forces to persuade local businesses to stop using plastic straws. Their lobbying resulted in the village becoming the first in the UK to eradicate plastic straws from bars, restaurants and cafés.
4. Students can run the campaign
Waste Week is the perfect campaign for students to take the lead on. Whether they’re taking charge of an Eco Club or an entire class, it will help to build their confidence and boost soft skills such as team working, planning meetings, presenting and project management. All these are useful for the world of work and can be included on CVs and university applications.
5. Waste Week supports your Eco-Schools journey
The Pod’s Waste Week activities are recognised by the Eco-Schools programme in England and can be used as supporting criteria in other regions. Whether you are working with the global environmental initiative towards a Bronze or Silver award or fully certified Green Flag status, taking part in Waste Week could help you move further along your Eco-Schools journey.
Useful resources
Signing up to Waste Week is easy. First, register with the Pod. This is free to join and it’s quick and easy to get started. Then, enter a few further details to enroll in the Waste Week campaign: the first schools to do so will receive a limited-edition resource pack containing stickers, posters, infographics and certificates.
Also on the Pod you’ll find a huge range of waste-themed resources to download, from assembly presentations and curriculum-linked lesson plans to quick activities, games and films. There’s something for all ages, from four- to 16-year-olds, and you can also send pupils direct to the Students area, where they can access lots of fun resources without needing a login.
For inspiration, visit the campaign wall to find out what other schools are doing. More posts will be added as time goes on.
Find out more about Waste Week at https://jointhepod.org/campaigns/waste-week
