WasteBuster.co.uk: an environmental awareness campaign for schools on how to help save the planet earth by recycling, reducing, reusing and busting global waste.

How to take part in the Wastebuster Project

Wastebuster specialise in working with local authorities. Essentially, the Wastebuster project provides a way for local authorities to effectively engage their schools in a joined up and localised, national waste minimisation support programme.

Should you wish to discuss the Wastebuster local authority service package or how Wastebuster might work most effectively in your authority, please contact our development team on + (44) 1483 893 550 or email info@wastebuster.co.uk

The Wastebuster education pack has immediate engagement with all schools and with the added value of membership; including new (downloadable) classroom activities each term, a quarterly e-newsletter, local and national news reports and blogs, member’s only competitions and online support. It is a very cost-effective, localised and integrated method of local authorities tieing in all schools to a waste minimisation agenda - to have an impact across their whole area. The project itself has a unifying agenda, which works well in partnership with other recycling awareness programmes and it presents a number of opportunities for local authority engagement in the project:

The Wastebuster Local Authority Partnership

A fully evaluated, comprehensive and ongoing schools waste education programme to compliment waste minimisation campaign delivery
Wastebuster interactive learning tools to inspire children’s interest in local waste issues, events, campaigns and initiatives

Effective, academically evaluated resources to support encourage and measure school waste minimisation
The development of tailored/ localised Wastebuster educational resources exploring local facilities, collections, initiatives, news and events
An opportunity to run local Wastebuster competitions, events and initiatives to generate support for local Eco-Schools activity and school waste minimisation
An opportunity to run Wastebuster school workshops to compliment learning and offer on ground support (with BBC'S It's Not Easy Being Green team)
Local authority branded Wastebuster education and PR materials
A full project administration and schools support service
Subsidised pack costs through sponsor contributions

Well done! Wastebuster is an exciting programme of work that can be delivered directly to all schools in your authority, collectively - increasing access for schools participation and immediate engagement. It is a high quality, video rich, multimedia teaching resource with cross-curricular films, activities, website and localised resources to motivate pupils and support teachers. The Wastebuster education pack is for use in the classroom at Key Stage 2. Key Stage 1, 3 and 4 can enjoy the online Wastebuster films and resources. The Wastebuster pack combines an interactive DVD and feature film with activities and lesson plans, website, online resources and programme membership. As building strong partnerships between local authorities and schools, Sustainable/ Eco-Schools networks, and organisations is an important aspect of the project, Wastebuster provides local authority and schools project introductory training sessions. The Wastebuster education pack, full annual membership and school/ local authority training has a subsidised contract value and is available to local authorities only.

Case study videos of schools working on the Wastebuster activities are now available to view online at: http://www.wastebuster.co.uk/teachers/ecoschools.php

Wastebuster Workshops

The young will grow workshop The Wastebuster workshops are available to all UK local authorities and are currently running in Surrey schools.

The workshops have been developed to give children, teachers and families an opportunity to adopt a positive, practical, creative and fun approach to sustainable living. Knowledge, skills and tools will be provided to encourage long-term behaviour change. Teachers, children and families will have an opportunity to learn about waste, the 3R’s, economic savings through waste reduction and environmental benefits in a fun, informative and inclusive way. The workshops will allow children to put the skills they have learnt into action in a fun and entertaining way, empowering a joint effort to implement positive change at school and in the home. We have found that working with individual schools is most effective. There is a wide range available, a case study video is available to view online at: http://www.wastebuster.co.uk/teachers/workshops.php

The delivery programme is 2x workshops per day, and the schedule for each local authority can be single or multi-location. It is also possible to run a set of workshop training days for groups of schools, tailored to budget and requirement. A set of teacher training workshop videos will be developed - to support schools engaged in the Wastebuster project.

Wastebuster in the Curriculum

The young will grow workshop Wastebuster fits into the DCSF’s Sustainable Schools strategy under three of the nine Eco-Schools themes: Waste, Litter and Global Perspectives and provides a simple and easy to use, “off the shelf” environmental programme of work that can effectively lead your schools to all levels of Eco-Schools accreditation. This is particularly helpful for schools that have not yet engaged in waste minimisation activities or those with limited time and resources to do so.

Curriculum

Wastebuster has been designed to inspire, inform and empower children in your schools to make sustainable lifestyle choices. The project provides a cross-curricular way to cultivate the knowledge, values and skills needed to address waste issues - to think and work in a profoundly different way.

Campus

Wastebuster provides a framework that schools can work within to review their environmental performance on waste. This may lead to further analysis of other issues i.e. energy or water, a reduction in ‘whole-life’ costs, purchasing with environmental consideration and whole school policies on reducing, reusing, recycling and repairing.

Community

Wastebuster provides an opportunity for your schools to maximise communications to promote awareness, raise profile, share best practise and partner with other local and global schools in environmental action, sustainable consumption and waste minimisation initiatives.