That is the message from recently-appointed Enviroschools regional co-ordinator lead Leisa de Klerk, who said that encouraging simple choices around products which could end up in landfill or be recycled resulted in positives for schools.
"Rubbish, even when there is good recycling happening, is a financial cost to schools for storage, transport and disposal. Reducing waste is a simple way to decrease expenses," Mrs de Klerk said.
Now in its 22nd year in Otago, Enviroschools reaches about 25,000 young people from early childhood education centres to high schools every year, including pupils at 35 schools in the greater Dunedin area.
Mrs de Klerk, who has been in the regional co-ordinator role since April, said the Enviroschools project was a partnership between councils, communities and schools, and helped to support long-term environmental change through education.
The nationwide programme was supported by Toimata Foundation and founding partner Te Mauri Tau, and administered by a network of 15 regional partners.
Environmental issues were highlighted during Enviroschools hui across Otago every year, where students gained hands-on experience through a range of initiatives — many of which became ongoing projects.
Mrs de Klerk said participating Enviroschools were seeing less litter in their school grounds, spending less on rubbish disposal, and less external rubbish being dumped at the schools.
This was due to parents making more conscious and healthier choices about lunch box food.
"With the new green-lidded compost bins now more easily accessible in Dunedin, more parents are choosing unpackaged fruit and vegetables which can be composted through kerbside collections," she said.
Enviroschools participants started small, by getting students to take their lunch rubbish home with them.
"Many schools have found that when students bring home their rubbish, parents are less likely to choose items for the lunch box that creates a mess.
"All it takes is one half-eaten yoghurt pottle to come home in a lunch box for parents to start to rethink their choices.
"Yoghurt pottles are not recyclable, so they just end up in landfill, but it’s the user in this example who deals with the end product, not the school," Mrs de Klerk said.
For schools with their own composting, these choices also supported their environmental goals and school-wide curriculum.
Many Enviroschools also had their own community gardens, or collaborate with their local community garden to support young people learning how to grow their own food.
Mrs de Klerk said local schools had embarked on a fascinating range of projects, including a carbon-neutral transport pilot at North East Valley School and an eco-building "play hut" at Warrington School, where pupils could go to relax.
At present, Mrs de Klerk was working towards creating a region-wide Enviroschools focus for next year around encouraging pupils to learn about biodiversity in the region.
"The aim will be for schools to support their pupils to learn more about what creatures are living in our region, and where they can be found."
An Enviroschools hui for primary schools in Dunedin is planned for November on the theme of "The Great Southern Bio-Blitz — what is in our southern environment".
