School’s ‘zero waste’ gains praise
Heidi Newland is passionate about protecting the planet.
‘‘If one family makes a change, and they’re not having rubbish or waste in their lunchboxes ... that’s success,’’ enthuses the teacher, whose efforts in helping implement a ‘‘Zero Waste’’ initiative at Tahunanui Primary School are soon to be held up as a national example.
The scheme has seen rubbish bins in the playground covered, with students encouraged to use food scraps and recycling bins, bring their food in reusable containers rather than nonbiodegradable packaging, and to take their rubbish home.
The measures were launched three years ago under the nationwide ‘‘Enviroschools’’ programme, aimed at making children’s education centres across the country more sustainable.
Programme co-ordinators are now compiling Tahunanui school’s evolving initiative as a case study for the 1100 other Enviroschools in New Zealand.
Newland credits the children for the project’s progress.
‘‘It just feels so fun, like you’re important,’’ says 8-year-old student Aaliyah Marshall describing the incentive of handing out reward cards to other pupils using the bins properly.
‘‘Now we’re giving out cards, more people are food scrapping,’’ adds the Year 4 student, who takes part in the ‘‘Green Ninjas’’, a group led by Enviroschools lead teacher Newland, to discuss the environment and get involved in activities like waste audits.
Newland concedes that while there’s been a noticeable reduction in rubbish, implementing the scheme hasn’t always been easy.
‘‘It’s really hard to get families to make change, especially in our current economic climate.
‘‘It’s $6 for a pound of butter; it’s cheaper to buy three boxes of muesli bars than to use a pound of butter for baking,’’ Newland acknowledges, alluding to a suggestion that families can help reduce the amount of food wrappers going into landfills by making things like cereal bars instead of buying them.
She says it’s the children’s passion that keeps the plan alive.
‘‘They’re so enthusiastic, they just want to make this change, and the Green Ninjas are making a change,’’ says Heidi, singling out their recent success of making and selling bees wax food wraps.
‘‘We had 50 and they all got sold, so that’s 50 families who are now thinking about cutting down the rubbish in their lunchboxes.’’
The Nelson region’s 23 ‘‘Enviroschools’’ are among more than a third of centres across the country that have joined the programme since its launch in 2001.