It is an important part of modern life that we all take responsibility for our own waste. Britain's waste problem is becoming more and more serious and as landfill sites fill up there has never been a more important time to reduce waste and recycle rubbish.

Reducing the amount of waste produced by your school and also increasing the amount of waste that you recycle can not only save your school money (reducing waste collection charges for example) but you can also make money through recycling schemes where you get paid for the waste you collect - mobile phone recycling schemes are a good example of this.

Some suggestions to help reduce waste:

1. Contact your local council's Recycling Officer to find out if they can provide your school with a recycling bank for paper or other materials.
2. If you have a recycling bank, think about ways in which you can maximise its use. Recycling points in all teaching areas and offices can make a huge difference.
3. make sure that all classrooms and offices have scrap paper trays to ensure that paper is fully used before it is recycled.
4. The introduction of 'free fruit' schemes has greatly increased the amount of waste produced by primary schools. Set up a composting scheme and use the finished product to improve your schools grounds.
5. Promote 'waste-free-lunches' for those who bring a packed lunch. Encourage children to use reuseable bottles and containers instead of disposable packaging.
6. Buy recycled! Recycled paper is not of lower quality and now costs little or no more than 'virgin' paper.

Recycle - and make money

Some recycle schemes will pay you for the recyclable waste that you collect. This would be a great idea for a school business project, teaching pupils how to deal with waste responsibly and also how to run a profitable business.

1. Fones 4 Schools are one of several organisations that offer cash for old mobile phones. It's thought that there could be as many as 75,000,000 old mobile phones languishing in cupboards and drawers throughout the UK. Read more about the scheme.
2. There are over 500 Cash for Cans centres throughout the UK that will pay cash for aluminium cans. Aluminium is one of the resources that can be recycled over and over again. You can learn more about Cash for Cans and raising money by recycling on the Think Cans website

You can read more information about this in our article, supplied by Waste Watch