Recycling in schools
Recycle from school – free service!
Every school in Barnet is entitled to a free recycling collection service. We provide green recycling wheeled bins for paper, cans and glass. We will visit your school to decide where the bins should be located.
- Recycling collections
- How to get the recycle from school service
- The schools' recycling challenge. Are you up for it?
- School visits
- BEARS - Barnet Environmental Action for Real in Schools
Recycling collections
ECT Recycling empties the recycling bins every week. You will need to arrange for an internal collection. If you would like this service please think about the following things:
- Where will you put internal recycling bins e.g. in every classroom, office area, kitchen area, next to the litter bins etc?
- What containers will you use for recycling e.g. cardboard boxes (recommended as a good example of re-use), unused litter bins?
- How will you label the containers e.g. recycling posters designed by students?
- How will you make everyone aware of the recycling scheme e.g. staff meetings, student assemblies, citizenship or PSHE lessons?
- Don’t forget to work with the canteen/kitchen to ensure metal food cans, aluminium foil and glass bottles and jars are collected for recycling.
- Who will look after emptying internal bins e.g. classroom monitors, prefects, school council, environment club, caretaker or cleaners?
How to get the recycle from school service
If your school is not yet recycling and would like to sign up or for further advice, please contact us using the contact details opposite.
Are you up for it? The 'Schools Recycling Challenge'
Our 'Schools Recycling Challenge' educates primary school children about why we all need to recycle and encourages them to make recycling an everyday habit. There are two parts to the challenge:
- Pupils recycling from school. By the end of the schools recycling challenge, the school is actively participating in the free schools recycling collection service.
- Pupils recycling from home. By the end of the schools recycling challenge 60% of the children will be recycling from home.
As part of the 'Schools Recycling Challenge' we will deliver two assemblies on recycling. At the first assembly, we send a letter about recycling in Barnet which includes a reply slip for parent/guardians to request a black box.
At the second assembly, we give every child a recycling diary to record all the materials they recycle from home in one week.
Once the recycling diaries are returned to school, the Mayor of Barnet will visit to celebrate the school’s successful completion of the 'Schools Recycling Challenge'. We present the school with a certificate and give every child a recycled pencil and a bookmark outlining our recycling services.
Congratulations!
Well done to these schools for being the most recent schools to complete the challenge.
- Barnet Hill Primary
- Garden Suburb Junior
- The Fairway
- Annemount
- Grasvenor Avenue Infants
- The Annunciation Infants
- Menorah Foundation
- St Johns C of E
- Hollickwood
- Foulds
- Livingstone
- Tudor
- The Annunciation Junior
Further information
For more information please contact us using the contact details opposite.
School visits
We can visit your school to give talks, assemblies or individual classes. We will tailor our talks to meet your school’s needs. The topics we cover include:
- Recycling - we explain why we need to recycle and encourage everyone to participate fully in the school recycling service. We also promote our Black Box Scheme to make sure that all staff and students are recycling from home.
- Composting - we explain what composting is and why it is important. If you are thinking about buying a composter or wormery then why not book this talk? We can give the composting and recycling talk on the same day.
- Solar energy - we explain that energy is traditionally generated using fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) but these are running out, pollute our atmosphere and add to global warming. We finish this talk by demonstrating a photovoltaic panel which generates electricity from sunlight.
- General environment - we discuss lots of environmental issues including: litter, graffiti, recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, travel to school and nature.
If your school would like one of the above talks, please contact us using the contact details opposite.
BEARS - Barnet Environmental Action for Real in Schools
The BEARS essentials:
- energy efficiency
- nature and school grounds
- travel to school (including the Kidz Conga Club)
- waste and litter
- water conservation.
You can carry out BEARS alongside the environment module of the Barnet Healthy Schools Scheme.
And it can help your school win an award in the Eco Schools scheme.
How does BEARS operate?
We have designed our BEARS scheme to be as flexible as possible. Your school chooses a project to work on and then sets its own targets.
For example, you could set up a lunchtime or after-school club, seek the help of the school council, appoint an environmental co-ordinator or carry out the work as part of the national curriculum.
BEARS is linked to the National Curriculum subjects of maths, science, geography and citizenship at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3.
Further information
At all stages of your BEARS project, you can contact us for help and advice using the contact details opposite.
Why should my school get involved?
- You can use BEARS to help your school reduce its impact on both the local and global environment. You will also save money through lower energy bills and waste costs.
- You can teach your pupils that individuals have the power to make a positive difference. You can help to make your pupils informed and active citizens.
- Joining BEARS is a good way to forge stronger links within your school (for example between pupils and teachers) and with your wider community (for example with parents, governors, external organisations and residents).
- You may able to incorporate projects that your school is already involved in. This will generate extra publicity that may encourage more people to help, so that even greater improvements can be achieved.
Recognition of achievement
Your school will be rewarded for becoming more sustainable. When you join the BEARS scheme, you will be given a poster to display in the school. As your project progresses and you meet your targets, you will be rewarded with ‘Target BEARS’ to hang on the poster – a visible record of your achievements.
All participating schools are invited to termly BEARS network meetings. These provide an opportunity for schools from across Barnet to get together to share ideas and feed back experiences of environmental projects. For details of the next meeting please get in contact with the waste and sustainability team using the contact details opposite.
Once your school has agreed to join the BEARS scheme you can use the BEARS logo for publicity. This lets everyone know of your involvement in environmental improvement projects.
How can my school get involved?
It’s easy for your school to get involved in BEARS. Just contact us using the contact details opposite. We will then arrange an appropriate time to visit your school to meet and discuss the BEARS scheme and project ideas suitable for your school.
