This year, Ballina Shire Council supported participating schools to wage their own 'war on waste' through the Let's Get It Sorted School Challenge.
The program empowers schools to reduce waste to landfill and improve resource recovery by providing tailored advice, waste wise student activities, and funding support for relevant infrastructure needs.
One of the most interesting discoveries in the program's inaugural year was that some schools had implemented great initiatives before COVID-19 restrictions and the 2022 floods. The Let's Get It Sorted Challenge provided the perfect opportunity to get back on track, upgrade resources and infrastructure as needed, and renew their commitment to sustainability education.
While most participating schools set up clearly labelled recycling and organics bins and took advantage of free waste wise workshops, there were some out-of-the-box initiatives.
For example, Emmanuel Anglican College had a sustainability captain school leadership role with an associated sustainability club. The club actively engaged students in understanding and adopting more sustainable behaviours by creating a school specific recycling video and regularly talking at assemblies. They also involved their students in food waste avoidance 'leftover makeover' recipes such as pesto and jam making.
Emmanuel Anglican College and Wollongbar Public School both implemented popular Waste Free Wednesday programs, with the latter regularly sharing waste-wise learnings with their school community and implementing food scrap containers for composting during Crunch and Sip time.
Lennox Head Public School held an inspiring whole-school sustainability day and ran creative writing activities relating to litter. Wardell Public School started a Return and Earn container collection, introduced ink cartridge recycling, and supported Years 5 and 6 students to teach students about recycling through a variety of mediums including posters and presentations.
The power of peer-to-peer learning was evident where schools engaged student leaders in waste wise education.
"We commend the schools for their participation and dedication to sustainability. These initiatives set a positive example for the community at large," said Council's Resource Recovery Education Officer, Samala Heart.
Schools interested in joining the 2024 program are encouraged to submit an expression of interest at ballina.nsw.gov.au/school-programs
