Georges River Council School Yard Litter Audit

SCHOOL YARD LITTER AUDIT

WASTE SMART

www.georgesriver.nsw.gov.au

1

SCHOOL YARD LITTER AUDIT Congratulations on deciding to run a Georges River Council school litter audit. You have just taken a big step in helping your school become more sustainable by reducing the amount of litter your school leaves in the natural environment.

GETTING STARTED

TEAMS

Before you begin, make sure you have all the following equipment for your students:

We recommend that you create teams of two. Assign one person to hold the bag and one person to pick up the litter.

Alternate the two members of the team so each has a turn at both jobs.

• Aprons (optional) • Gloves • Safety glasses (optional) • Tongs or grabbers (optional) • Large rubbish bags (hessian preferred) • Tarpaulins or painters drop sheets to sort litter on • Rake and/or broom (optional) • Clip boards and pens for recording • Felt tip marker for labeling bags

2

Waste Smart School Yard Litter Audit

Following the litter collection, the teacher is to lead the class in sorting the three types of litter that have been collected (recycling, rubbish and food scraps).

Please note: this is just a recommendation and teachers are advised to adapt this as they wish dependent on their class’ individual needs.

LET’S BEGIN! 1

2

3

COLLECT THE LITTER

SORTING THE LITTER

MEASURING AND RECORDING

To get an idea of your school’s waste profile, you need to collect one day’s worth of litter.

Students can sit in a large circle to sort through the litter from the different areas.

After you have sorted all the litter, weigh the bags and carefully record the weights on the ‘Measuring and Recording Table’ (page 4).

Make sure you label where the litter has come from. Write down the locations of the litter collected on the Measuring and Recording Table (page 4).

This exercise could also be completed in smaller groups if easier for the teacher to supervise.

Add up all the recycling from each of the locations you have sorted and record it under ‘recycling’ in the ‘grand total’ box. Repeat this process for rubbish and food scraps.

Finally, add up all the weights in the ‘grand total’ box for the total amount of waste you have sorted.

Follow the instructions in the booklet to calculate your total waste profile.

3

MEASURING LITTER To understand your school’s litter profile, you will need to collect one day’s worth of litter Area 1 Recycling

Rubbish

Food Scraps

Rubbish

Food Scraps

Rubbish

Food Scraps

Rubbish

Food Scraps

Rubbish

Food Scraps

Rubbish

Food Scraps

Rubbish

Food Scraps

Rubbish

Food Scraps

Litter (pieces): Area 2 Recycling Litter (pieces): Area 3 Recycling Litter (pieces): Area 4 Recycling Litter (pieces): Area 5 Recycling Litter (pieces): Area 6 Recycling Litter (pieces): Area 7 Recycling Litter (pieces): Area 8 Recycling Litter (pieces):

TOTAL AMOUNT OF LITTER MEASURED

Add up the amounts of waste for each category and record the total amount of litter sorted Recycling Total Litter (pieces):

4

Waste Smart School Yard Litter Audit

Rubbish

Food Scraps

REPORTING

Pieces of litter

Create a graph to show the amount of litter in each category. Colour in each column up to the right amount. Use the lines as a guide.

Recycling

Rubbish

Food Scraps

EXTENSION ACTIVITY For greater accuracy, you can make a table for each of the litter locations and use the data to formulate targeted strategies to reduce littering in your school.

5

REPORTING WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL LITTER AUDITED FOR EACH TYPE CATEGORY? EXAMPLE: Total litter = 24 pieces. Food litter = 13 pieces

Food litter

13 pieces

Total litter

24 pieces

x 100 =

54.16%

Create a visual representation of the percentages of litter generated in the school by using the pie chart below. The chart is divided into 10 segments, with each segment representing 10%.

HINT Choose colours appropriate to the type of litter – Purple for food, yellow for recyclable containers and red for non-recyclable rubbish.

6

Waste Smart School Yard Litter Audit

ANALYSIS What is the most common type of litter in your school yard? ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................

Why do you think this is the most common type of litter in your school? ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................

TAKE ACTION What are some of the problems that encourage littering within your school? ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................

What strategies could be used to reduce littering rates in your school? ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................

GROUP TASK As a class, come up with a plan to improve the use of waste and recycling bins within the school.

7

WASTE SMART Georges River Council provides in-school recycling and waste education services to promote and enhance student understanding of the relationships between waste and the environment.

For more information on waste education programs for your school, contact Council’s Waste Education Officer on 9330 6400 or mail@georgesriver.nsw,gov.au

www.georgesriver.nsw.gov.au

f

GeorgesRiverCouncil

i

@grcouncil

t

@georges_river