How Much Waste Is Produced By Schools?

Published on Friday, Sep 26 2014

With the new academic year starting, we thought it was the perfect time to look at how much waste is produced by schools each year and what can be done to reduce this.
 
As a packaging business, we do everything we can to ensure waste is kept to a minimum. All our products are quality assured; ensuring our cardboard cartons and sheets will have minimal contribution to a business’s waste stream.
 
In contrast, looking at the paper and card waste that is produced from households (18%) and primary and secondary schools (34.5%), it is surprising to see that the paper and card waste is significantly higher in schools than other outlets.  

How many tonnes are wasted?

Each year in England, approximately 258,300 tonnes of day-to-day waste is produced by primary and secondary schools. Of this waste, an alarming 78% of this waste could be recycled! Secondary schools waste 71,800 tonnes each year and primary school 186,000 tonnes of a year (biffa.co.uk).
 
This equated to the average primary school producing 22kg of waste per secondary school pupil and 45kg a year for primary school pupils.  

What materials are thrown away the most?

Source: biffa.co.uk

Looking at the table above, it shows that the majority of the waste stream is made up from paper and card waste, accounting for over half of the waste in both educational institutions.
 
It is important that paper and card are recycled where they can; otherwise they go to landfills where the decomposition starts and harmful greenhouse gases are emitted.  

How is paper and card recycled?

Source: recyclenow.com

This video shows the recycling process for paper and card. Once the materials are recycled they can be reused as new schoolbooks, textbooks or craft materials.  

How can we encourage paper and card recycling?

Overall, 56% of paper and 64% of cardboard was recycled in primary schools, and 45% for paper and 75% for card in secondary schools. While these figures show that recycling in schools is becoming more prominent, not every school has the recycling facilities that they need. If they did, this would mean a significant reduction of waste in educational institutes, thus saving money and reducing the amount of landfill waste.
 
With additional recycling facilities and a recycling-led strategy implemented, for example using electronic documents where possible and investing in recycled pencils and paper, we can hope to reduce the waste stream even further.
 
Food waste, the second highest source of waste, can also be reduced by new processes, Investigations undertaken by WRAP found initiatives such as pre-ordering meals and improving a school’s canteen environment can actually have a knock on effect on waste levels.
 
While we don’t primarily supply to schools, we do think it’s important that all packaging is disposed of efficiently and recycled wherever possible and that younger generations are educated on the impact waste is having on the environment.
 
Our products are sourced with due respect to the environment, using recycled materials wherever we can.  Find out more here.

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