Zero Waste Challenge Week - Schools

Zero Waste as a concept started in New Zealand in 1996. Since then many towns and communities have adopted the challenge, but this is the first time Gloucestershire has tried to see 'how low we can go'. The essence of ZWCW is to try to create little or no rubbish for one week! It’s not the winning but the taking part that counts, so it doesn’t matter at all if no-one reaches zero - we’d be amazed if you did! This is a fun opportunity for individuals, families and communities to make an extra special effort to

• Reduce (e.g. buy goods that have less packaging)
• Reuse (take an old bag shopping)
• Recycle (look around for packaging that can easily be recycled)
• Compost (get a bin or build a wormery)

Research from WRAP indicates that up to 78% of day-to-day waste produced by households and schools could be easily recycled or composted. England's 20,871 primary and secondary schools produce around 250,000 tonnes of waste each year - enough to fill Wembley Stadium. Recycling or composting this waste could save local authorities around 6.4 million pounds in Landfill Tax. It could also potentially save an estimated 176,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions. We understand that not everyone will want to take part in the Zero Waste Challenge Week, however, if we can all encourage as many people as possible to do something as basic as recycling one extra material, this will add up to a great waste reduction across the County.

Schools are at the hub of the local community, and are therefore ideally placed to promote the challenge. We would love to see you, your families, Governors etc all taking part in the Zero Waste Challenge.

To make life easier, we have produced a comprehensive guidance pack for schools, available here. Ideas in the pack include:

• Spread the word! Publicise the week in advance and encourage people to take part. Talk about the challenge at a family assembly (suggested assembly script is in the pack) or at any events you hold. See if you can encourage children, friends, family, staff and Governors to get involved. Tell parents about the event in your newsletters (sample newsletter text available in the pack). Design posters for school and local information points such as the Library.
• Publicise www.recycleforgloucestershire.com where people can register to take part, and download the pack for individuals. The pack contains an important record sheet, which ideally needs to be started a week in advance.
• Run a competition. You could see which class can get the most number of people to take part, or which class has the least rubbish left over from a Zero Waste Lunchbox Challenge Day ( details on the lunchbox challenge is in the pack ) 'Trashion Shows' are great ways to get the media interested in what you're up to. Gloucestershire Resource Centre is a veritable treasure trove for Zero Heroes! www.grcltd.org.
• Hold a class a Class/Year/whole-school waste audit before the challenge, to see what your ‘normal’ waste levels are (waste audit instructions are in the schools pack, available here).
• Have a Go! In our schools pack we have included some fun classroom activities for you to help promote the 'reduce, reuse, recycle and compost' message.
• Show it off! Have a display in the foyer to explain what Zero Waste is all about. It could include different types of packaging for food, such as a soup can, pouch, and tetrapak. You might like to show the ‘ideal’ lunchbox.
• January 26th - February 1st. Zero Waste Challenge Week! Enjoy the challenge and be creative with your solutions! Take photos! Let us know of any novel ways you dealt with your trash.
• Finally, don’t forget to remind your community to send their record sheets back to us. All record sheets we receive will be entered into a prize draw, with various eco-friendly gifts available.

Zero Waste isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. However, sometimes gentle persuasion may encourage someone who is undecided. Do the challenge yourself. Sharing your plans and pitfalls is one of the best ways to give others the confidence to take part too. It can’t be stressed too highly that you CANNOT LOSE! The challenge is trying to reduce the amount you normally throw away. Reaching Zero (or getting very close) is a bonus. It doesn’t mean you can’t use anything this week, as things can still be reused, recycled or composted as normal.

If you would like to get in touch with us to know anything more contact katherine.cole@gloucestershire.gov.uk