Top Recycler! Waste Education Project
Working in Cambridgeshire primary schools to support the waste partnership's aim to increase dry recycling.
Overview
The Top Recycler! waste education project was delivered by Resource Futures on behalf of The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership (RECAP) in support of its aim to increase dry recycling performance in the area, with a particular focus on increasing paper and card recycling.
The project aimed to actively engage children and teachers in recycling; educate pupils and staff about waste issues; and motivate all participants to recycle more at home and at school, spreading the recycling message to their friends and families. It focused on Key Stage 2 pupils in 12 primary schools, two schools in each of the six RECAP districts. Schools were selected that had catchment areas including large numbers of ‘dual income families on intermediate incomes living on modern estates’ (MOSAIC Profiling).
Resource Futures developed and delivered all four elements of the project:
- In-school delivery of a package of exciting classroom activities to engage children and teachers in recycling and raise awareness and knowledge of the subject. These workshops took place over a period of three months (January to March 2011). Like all Resource Futures’ education work, they were developed by qualified and experienced teachers and linked very closely with the National Curriculum.
- An inter-school paper and card recycling competition, based on audits conducted by pupils.
- Web-based resources for pupils and their families to use at home, including two competitions. These resources were designed to extend the reach of the project: they were promoted to all schools in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and will be available for use by families for some time after the end of the in-school component of the project. See www.recap.co.uk/education-programme.
- Monitoring and evaluation of all elements of the project.
Results
The project was highly successful and none of the 12 participating schools dropped out, despite many other demands on teachers' time including inspections. Resource Futures delivered 27 assemblies, 26 recycling audits and 39 recycling workshops, with a total of 8269 pupil and 412 adult contacts.
All 12 schools made significant 
improvements to their recycling, as well as running high-profile campaigns that spread the recycling message to families and the local community. The pupils’ audits, conducted six weeks apart, showed that:
- 7 schools increased the amount of paper and card they were recycling
- 12 schools increased the amount of paper that was used on both sides before being recycled
- 11 schools reduced the amount of contamination in their recycling bins