Waste education
Recycling Facility Tour
Programs
Events
Reducing waste in your school
Other school programs and information

Waste education 

Randwick City Council aims to increase community awareness of waste and recycling issues, encourage residents to utilise Council's waste services and participate in waste minimisation activities.                                                 

Randwick City Council supports waste reduction events throughout the year and provides information to schools and the community on how to reduce their waste and recover resources. Council delivers and organises the following programs and events to achieve a high level of waste reduction and resource recovery.

Recycling Facility Tour

Ever wonder what happens to your recyclables after you put your household recycling bin out for collection?

Randwick City Council conducts two tours a year to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) where Randwick City's recyclables are sent for processing. Residents can see first-hand the technologies and processes used to sort their recyclables and gain an understanding of why only the specified materials can be accepted in the household recycling bin.

The next tour will be advertised on this page once details become availble.

Programs

• Recycling talks and workshops for school and community groups
  Recycling talks and workshops are provided by council staff to school and community groups to promote correct recycling practices and the benefits of recycling for our environment. For more information or to arrange a talk or workshop contact Council's Waste Education Officer.                                                               
• Whole school paper and container recycling for schools
  Randwick City Council offers a free fortnightly paper and container recycling collection service for schools in the council area. If your school does not currently receive a recycling service please contact Council's Waste Education Officer and Council staff will visit your school to determine your collection needs and organise this service.                                                                      

For more information about these programs phone Council's Waste Education
Officer on 02 9665 9031 or email guada.lado@randwick.nsw.gov.au

Events                                          

• Clean Up Australia Day - 1st Sunday in March
  Randwick City Council supports Clean Up Australia Day. You can get involved and help clean up your local environment. Register and coordinate your own site or volunteer and join an existing site - it's easy and you can make a real difference. Schools can participate in Clean Up Australia Day activities by holding a Schools Clean Up Day on the Friday before Clean Up Austalia Day. Participation in the Schools Clean Up Day allows students the opportunity to learn more about the impact of waste on the environment. For more information visit the Clean Up Australia Day website.
                                                          
• National Recycling Week - November
  Planet Ark's National Recycling Week is an annual event supported by Randwick City Council to promote recycling and the benefits recycling has for our environment. Council promotes correct recycling practices and encourages residents to learn more about how to recycle correctly. Schools can participate in a range of recycling activities to promote National Recycling Week. For more information visit Planet Ark's website.
                                                                                          
• Chemical CleanOut events
  Randwick City Council hosts twice yearly Chemical CleanOut events. Residents can drop off household chemicals for safe disposal. Chemical CleanOut events are advertised in the Southern Courier and on this website. For more information call the Environment Line on 131 555 or visit the CleanOut website.

For more information about these events phone Council's Waste Education Officer on 9665 9031 or email guada.lado@randwick.nsw.gov.au  

Reducing waste in your school

• reduce paper - set up scrap paper trays in your classroom for students to reuse old paper
• recycle - start paper and container recycling collections
• remove chemicals - get rid of any unwanted chemicals
• Green Team - set up a 'Green Team' of students to monitor programs
• waste audits - participate in a whole school waste audit to determine where your waste is coming from and how much waste your school is collecting. This information can then be used to plan ways to reduce your overall waste through avoidance, reuse and recycling. For information on how to carry out a school waste audit visit the Department of Education's Sustainable Schools website or get a complete DIY (Do-It-Yourself) solid waste audit kit from SCRAP for a small fee. 
• low waste lunch days - a low waste lunch day involves asking children to bring lunches with no, or minimal packaging. The aim of the low waste lunch day is to develop a greater awareness of how students and parents can minimise waste through avoiding, reducing, reusing and recycling. It encourages children and parents to look at alternatives to packaging and choose products with no or minimal packaging made with recycled content. You can carry out simple lunch box audits prior to and on the day to compare the difference in the volume of waste. This can also be a weekly or annual event for National Recycling Week.
• backyard composting or worm farming - reduce your school's waste by setting up a compost or worm farm system for food waste. Special food collection buckets can be placed out at recess and lunch time and emptied into your compost or worm farm. The compost or worm castings can be used on your school grounds. Compost bins and worm farms are available for purchase at Council's Community Nursery. For more information on how to set up a compost or worm farm check out the Office of Environment and Heritage Easy Guides to Composting and Wormfarming.

Other school programs and information    

• Sustainable Schools NSW - Department of Education and Training - provides information on how to develop your School Environment Management Plan, units of work, grants and funding, audit tools, activities and much more.  
• SCRAP - provides information on solid waste audits, 'Avoid, Reduce and Reuse' kits, paper and cartridge recycling.
• Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) - provides information on the benefits of recycling and a 'Recycling Benefits' calculator.            
• Powerhouse Museum - 'Eco'tude' website - allows you to calculate your school's ecological footprint.          
• SITA Australia - Randwick City Council contracts SITA Australia for waste and recycling collection and disposal. Visit SITA's website for helpful information about waste and landfills, recycling and resource recovery, alternative waste technologies and more.      

For more information about these programs, events and activities phone Council's Waste Education Officer on 02 9665 9031 or email guada.lado@randwick.nsw.gov.au