Case Study - ManchesterManchester kids cut waste billsManchester children are helping their schools to protect the environment and cut waste bills. EMERGE is working with the schools’ eco-clubs to carry out waste audits and prove that recycling leads to savings in waste disposal costs. EMERGE Recycling is a pioneering not-for-profit social enterprise delivering free schools’ recycling in Manchester. The schools’ programme is nearing the end of its funding period and the organisation will soon have to ask schools to begin paying for recycling services. As a consequence EMERGE is now proving the necessity of recycling waste. Waste auditsCarrying out waste audits can be a useful diagnostic tool to help organisations pinpoint their worst waste problems. For example, a waste audit carried out in Didsbury C of E Primary School found that half of the non-recyclable waste produced was made up of tetra-pak milk cartons. Most of them were full or half drunk. The waste audit meant the school’s eco-club was prompted to look at alternative less wasteful ways of serving milk at breaktimes.
Eco-club in LevenshulmeA small waste audit was carried out in October 2006 in a primary school without pupils participating. This experience gave EMERGE the expertise necessary to carry out an audit in a high school with the participation of students. The waste audit in Levenshulme High School for Girls began in December when EMERGE met with teaching staff to plan a meeting with the school’s eco-club. The necessary equipment was bought in December thanks to funding from the IMPACT fund. EMERGE met with the eco-club one week before the audit was carried out in January to prepare collecting the waste to be analysed within the school. Labelling bin bagsOn the day of the audit eco-club students collected waste from all over the school and ended up with 205 kg. They then labelled the bags with their source, re-lined the bins and took the waste to a central point to be sorted and weighed. The data produced at the end of the day included volume and weight of recyclable, non-recyclable and compostable waste and the main sources of waste. The next step is to set up a plan of action for the next year, involving the students. For example, the school currently recycles 72 per cent of its paper waste; the target for next year is 100 per cent.
Nicola set up the club in her own time, putting up a notice in school stating that she was looking for eco-club volunteers. Savings to be madeWaste audits also help organisations to identify the financial savings schools could make by reducing and recycling waste. For example, if half of the waste schools throw away per year is recyclable, recycling could cut their waste disposal bills in half. This is no small feat considering that an average school spends between £300 and £1,000 a year on waste disposal.
A Masters student from Manchester Metropolitan University is helping with the waste audit project and will write up the findings. 385 tonnes of waste recycledFor almost the past three years EMERGE has been funded by the national lottery (CRED) to conduct free schools’ recycling to Manchester schools, and collects on average about 6 and a half tonnes of paper a month from 150 schools. Since January 2004 the scheme has diverted a total of 385 tonnes of schools’ waste to be recycled instead of being dumped in landfill.
EMERGE is currently looking for funding opportunities for the scheme. ‘EMERGE’ stands for East Manchester Environment and Resources Group Emerge. EMERGE was formed in 1994 by a community group in East Manchester and has gone on to become one of the city’s most successful community organisations. It promotes the 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – and supports local community development. For further details, please contact Jo-Anne Witcombe at schools@emergemanchester.co.uk |
