Waste and Litter Management

Litter Each class helps keep our school grounds litter free. We have a litter rota posted on our Green Schools Notice Board. Each classroom has a copy of the rota too.The rota for the whole year is done out each September. This saves ink, paper and photocopying. It takes just a few minutes every day to clear away the litter and it makes a big difference. Our Code is “All pitch in and use the bin”. Litter Free Grounds

Waste In Scoil Mhuire, our waste is separated. Before taking part in Green Schools, all our waste went to landfill. Each room in our school has three bins. One is for recyclable materials, another is for compostable waste and the third is for general waste. The recyclables bin and the compost caddy are clearly labelled. We have a “Rate my Bin” system. At the end of each month, a prize is awarded to the class best at separating its waste. We bring home our non-recyclable lunch waste. We encourage everyone to use a lunchbox. Recycling Bin and Compost Caddy

Recycling We recycle cardboard, plastic bottles, card, paper, glass etc. Each Christmas, we collect unwanted cards and recycle them. Our Christmas tree is sent for chipping. We send empty ink cartridges to charities or have them refilled locally. We collect mobile phones for recycling. One class managed to collect enough mobiles to get a Promethean Interactive Whiteboard for its room. We take part in clothes recycling initiatives. As part of Green Week, we held a Redesign our School Jumper competition and used old jumpers. We encourage our pupils to buy their school books from other students. A jumper redesigned by Second Class

Photocopying Before taking part in Green Schools, all photocopying done in our school was single-sided. Now we try our best to do as much double-sided photocopying as we can. Having interactive whiteboards in each classroom has made a huge difference to the amount of photocopying being done. Our photocopier goes into energy saver mode when not in use. Our photocopying results are posted on our Green Schools Notice Board

Composting We wanted to divert our food waste from landfill. We installed two composters. They were sited in a side shrubbery, adjacent to the front of the school. We composted fruit and vegetable waste, tea bags and pencil parings. We did not put in meat or cooked food waste as this would attract rodents. We bring home any leftover lunch. This means our parents can check what we have eaten! We are replacing our composters with three Green Cones. They will enjoy full sun in the rose bed. A green cone is a food digester!! It will eat cooked food as well as fish and meat. We hope the roses enjoy their new diet! Our old composters Site for the Green Cones