
8 Sustainability Tips for London Schools
Now that UK schools are opening their doors again after the national lockdown is lifted for the second time, schools should carefully look into procedures to be more sustainable and eco-friendly while Covid-19 restrictions are still in place, leading to more waste and use of plastic packaging potentially.
But first, let’s see what “living sustainably” actually means?
Sustainability is about enabling future generations to have a good life on our planet by leading a greener lifestyle. Reducing the use of finite resources such as coal or crude oil to generate energy or harmful substances in the air supports sustainability. Governments, companies, organisations and individuals are equally responsible and the team at Top Wasters take this very seriously.
They have therefore compiled the following tips for London Schools to develop more sustainable approaches in the future.
Best 8 Tips for a Sustainable School
Young people and school children are the main key players when it comes to the environment for several reasons:
- they will live on earth for many years and will therefore experience the negative consequences of an unsustainable way of life themselves.
- Children and young people still have their whole life ahead of them to stand up for environmental protection with full strength.
- Many everyday habits creep in during school days such as learning how to reduce rubbish, recycling or saving energy. Anyone who learns these at an early stage will also do so almost automatically later in their own home and working environment. By that environmental protection can be increased.
- The sustainable school concept is easy to implement even with small changes in everyday life.
In the following overview you will find practical suggestions that you can implement yourself, with your family or friends and in the whole school.
Tip 1: Reduce Rubbish
Valuable resources are required for every new product purchased. On the other hand, if you use an object for a long time, you can do a lot to protect the environment. In everyday school life, waste can be avoided particularly well with the daily lunch routine. Using a reusable lunch box or lunch tray instead of disposable paper or plastic packaging makes a big difference. You can also save resources like paper by using more online homework resources instead of printed worksheets.
Tip 2: Separate Trash
Certain items can be reused, upcycled or made from rubbish or clutter. If there are no recycling bins at school, you can encourage this. Ideally, paper waste, packaging, organic waste and residual waste should end up in different bins.
Tip 3: Eat Sustainably
At least as important as the lunch box is its content. Fresh, seasonal ingredients from the region combine several advantages: Thanks to the short transport routes, a lot of CO2 is initially saved. In addition, fewer resources such as water are used in production. And last but not least, a breakfast made from fresh foods is also much healthier and usually tastes better than the packaged competition.
Tip 4: Collect Electronic Devices for Recycling in Class
Various companies such as Top Wasters who are committed to junk collections in London are now collecting and recycling computers, digital cameras or any other digital devices to ensure that they are adequately recycled.
Tip 5: Save Heating Energy
It should be nice and warm at school, but at the same time you need fresh air regularly to concentrate better and avoid the spread of diseases. Unfortunately, a lot of heating energy is lost, especially with continuous ventilation. Instead of leaving the windows permanently tilted, it is better to ventilate the rooms regularly. Five minutes after every hour is ideal for changing the air.
Tip 6: Save Electricity
If there are multiple lights in the classroom, check to see if they all need to be on to provide enough light. You can save a lot of electricity with other electrical devices in addition to the lamps. CD players, computers and the like should not run on standby, but should be switched off completely when they are no longer needed. If the purchase of new devices is planned, it is also worth investing in particularly energy-saving models as they also save money.
Tip 7: Sustainable Classroom Materials
Exercise books made from sustainably sourced wood contribute just as much to environmental protection as unpainted pens or pocket calculators that are powered by solar energy.
Tip 8: Become a Sustainable School in London
Environmental and climate protection are part of all curricula. If a unit on these topics is planned, you can initiate sustainable projects in order to apply the knowledge you have acquired directly in practice. You can also invite rubbish removal companies to share their knowledge on recycling and reducing waste with the students. In this way you can teach the future generations important lessons about sustainability, who can make a contribution to the protection of our planet.