How To Do a Waste Audit in your school

Purpose: A waste audit is an activity where students look at the different types of waste that is found in the bins across the school.

The purpose of the audit is for the students to learn about what kind of waste is in their school bins and how much of this waste is recyclable.

Time: 1-2hours

Equipment and materials:

Sheet to empty the waste onto an old sheet etc (if conducting the audit indoors)
Scales (if measuring my weight)
Buckets/ Containers to be used as sorting containers
Papers and pencils
Worksheet printed
Signs for the sorting bins:

1. General waste
2. Organics – food scraps/ plant material
3. Paper
4. Recyclable/reusable items

How to conduct the waste audit in your school

The waste audit will be conducted by students working in groups to sort the waste from bins.

Safety

-Wear protective gloves while handling the waste.

-Check for sharp objects or toxic substances.

-Be careful not to trip on the waste or sheet.

Collect bins across the school (e.g. classrooms, staffroom, office, yard).

https://greenforeverenvironmental.com/what-is-a-waste-audit-benefits-and-why-every-business-needs-a-waste-audit-in-2020-and-beyond/

2. Allocate bins to each group of 4-5 students.

3. Empty the bins onto an old sheet (if indoors) or on the grass outside.

4. Sort the waste into general waste, organic waste, reusable waste, paper waste (use tarpaulin/old sheet if necessary).

5. Measure the waste for each category – either by weighing the waste in each bin (or assessing the volume in each bin).

6. Record the measurements for each waste category on the worksheet (Click here to download the worksheet).

7. Present the results. For example: make a chart or graph of the result. These charts can be displayed by the students at the school assembly and pinned to the school notice board. Creating these charts could be done as part of a Mathematics lesson.

Potential curriculum links

Mathematics – scope for measurement activities, graphing results

Science and Social Studies – learning about resource management, where materials come from, organic and inorganic matter, health education

English –related children’s stories about waste management: https://sustainability-and-stories.org/stories-waste/. This website includes teaching resources with story recordings, worksheets and PowerPoints. Or students can write out instructions (procedural writing) about how to conduct a waste audit.

Design – plastic bottle design challenge

For example: Design Challenge: Repurposing Used Plastic Bottles

Extension Activities

Start a class discussion about what has been learnt in the classroom audit.
Ask the class what they think needs to be done to reduce waste going into landfill in your community.
Are there other places besides school where waste could be audited?
In your school use separate bins for waste so that it can be composted, recycled or reused.
The class could elect students to act as waste monitors.
If the class decides on separate bins, another waste audit could be done to see if these actions have reduced landfill waste.
Students could think about ways to spread the message of reducing waste at school and in the community.
Students could complete the Plastic Bottle Design Challenge.

Video examples – waste sorting and reduction in schools

You can also search for waste free schools, plastic free schools, bin free schools.

Wipe Out Waste school program – Immanuel Primary School and Star of the Sea School

War On Waste: Waste Sorting — Sturt Primary School

War on Waste school programs – North Adelaide Primary School

War On Waste — Kiama High School

Useful website links for reference

The Wheelie Big Challenge

https://eco-schoolsni.etinu.net/cgi-bin/publications?instanceID=1&do=publications&selectedTag=%%

Pioneering the Simple Life

https://pioneeringthesimplelife.org/2017/05/05/how-to-do-a-classroom-waste-aud