Somerset Waste Partnership is offering grants of £500 to up to 50 schools in the county to help them participate in the tried and trusted Eco-Schools programme www.eco-schools.org.uk

This is part of our commitment to encouraging waste reduction, reuse and recycling.

Any school receiving a waste service from SWP is eligible to apply. Closing date is end of May, 2022.

Detailed guidance and an application form are available here.

Please note the application form is designed to be completed electronically. Once downloaded, please type your answers into the answer boxes and save the file before attaching it to your email. The answer boxes are not sized for hand-written text to give sufficient detail.

You can register for free with the Eco-Schools Programme to get started. We are offering the Eco-Schools Grant to help you achieve your project(s) as part of the action plan stage and, if appropriate, cover the costs of applying for Eco-Schools Green Flag status if you have reached that level of progress.

If you are new to the Eco-School programme, it is likely that you will complete our grant application form after you have set up your eco-committee, completed your environmental review and developed your action plan so you are able to outline your project and how this grant will be used to support your participation in the Eco-Schools Programme. It is not dependant on you achieving Eco-Schools Green Flag status in this academic year.

The Eco-Schools website explains how you can log your progress and how to apply for the Eco-Schools Green Flag here. Eco-Coordinators and their Eco-Committees can apply for the Eco-Schools Green Flag status during the annual application window from 1^st May to 31^st July of each school year once they have achieved 100 points on their online Seven Step criteria questions – there is a £200+VAT fee to cover the cost of Eco-Schools Green Flag and programme administration.

Local Education Authority (LEA) and Academy schools can arrange waste and recycling collections, including for food waste, through Somerset County Council. Please phone Somerset County Council on 0300 123 2224 for more information and assistance.

Other non LEA schools make their own arrangements for collections and may find SWP’s Business Recycling page helpful.

Somerset Waste Partnership has had links with the Carymoor Environmental Trust since 2002. The trust is a local charity which provides recycling, waste and environmental education in Somerset.

Carymoor and Somerset Waste Partnership are very pleased to announce that from 1st February 2018 we are able to offer 90 Somerset schools a FREE* visit to promote the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ message in school from members of the Schools Against Waste (SAW) team.  (*subject to availability)

Carymoor’s SAW education team can come into your school and run a half day of activities, including “talking Rubbish” assemblies and classroom activities to help raise awareness among children and staff.  The team will also work with each school to review current recycling schemes in place. To find out more contact education@carymoor.org.uk , visit https://www.carymoor.org.uk/trips/schools-against-waste or download the attached flyer.

Additionally, Carymoor’s outreach education team can provide activities at the Carymoor Environmental Centre, including workshops and tours of a working landfill site at Dimmer, near Castle Cary.

For more information about the great activities offered by Carymoor, including environmental education for primary and secondary schools, after schools clubs, INSET training and school grounds advice, visit the Carymoor website.

You can also download a leaflet which gives an overview of the primary school service, both in school and at Carymoor.

A colourful educational pack is available on food waste and the science behind Somerset’s anaerobic digestion (AD) plant near Bridgwater.

Somerset Waste Partnership commissioned Carymoor Environmental Trust to produce the food waste education pack along with a worksheet on ‘burping bacteria’ from the duo behind best-selling Horrible Science books, writer Nick Arnold and artist Tony De Saulles.

As well as educating Somerset pupils about technology and biology, the pack aims to help children encourage families to recycle food waste rather than add it to their refuse bin. Aimed at Key Stage Two pupils aged seven to 11, the pack includes lesson plans, key facts and educational games to explore where food comes from, and how it can be recycled.

You can download copies of the pack and a PowerPoint presentation to kick off the topic from Carymoor Environment Trust‘s website. Printed copies were sent to primary schools throughout Somerset and a small number are available on request for those wishing to use them on educational projects with schools or youth groups in Somerset. Contact Carymoor for more information.

Bag2school.com – school textile recycling scheme

Circular Economy – free educational resources from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Eco Schools – international awards to guide schools on their sustainable journey

Junk Wise – a recycling guide for children and teachers

Keep Britain Tidy – education resources

Love Your Clothes – national campaign to raise awareness of clothing

Recycle Guide – general educational recycling guides

Recycle More – one stop recycling information

RecycleNow Schools – national recycling information

The Pod – Teaching resources for understanding energy, science and sustainability

Global Dimension – primary and secondary teaching resources for a wide range of topics, including waste and sustainability

Alupro – aluminium recycling

British Aerosol Manufacturers Association – aerosol recycling

Every Can Counts – can recycling

LMB – textile recycling

Recolight – lightbulb recycling

Recoup – plastic bottle recycling

Think Cans – can recycling