BELLVILLE HIGH SCHOOL AIMS FOR ZERO WASTE
This year, learners and educators at Bellville High School will be embarking on a programme designed to shift mindsets about waste and to change behaviours around waste disposal, recycling and composting. The school has signed up to the Zero Waste Schools project, a waste-to-landfill reduction programme initiated by the Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP).
The Zero Waste Schools project was conceived as a way to help schools reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, using a simple but effective waste management, composting and recycling system. The waste management system is augmented by a toolkit to help educators incorporate waste education into the classroom curriculum.
Warren Hewitt, GTP CEO, said: “Changing habits starts with changing mindsets, and that starts with education. The project takes a holistic approach, to equip learners and educators with a greater understanding of not only why it’s important to change our waste habits, but also giving them tools to help them in how to change those habits.”
Stefan Kruger, Deputy Headmaster, explained why the project is important to the school, which has 1 200 learners and serves around 1 500 households. “While there are clear economic benefits to reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill, a more important outcome is the broader impact we can have. This impact will extend beyond the school grounds. It creates a ripple effect within the community as learners implement their new knowledge at home. We’re looking forward to seeing the results of the project over time.”
The Zero Waste Schools pilot project is supported by the City of Cape Town, Waste consultancy Waste-Ed and Plant the Seed, a sustainability education consultancy.
We want to expand this project to schools and campuses across Bellville. Get in touch if you want to know more about implementing the programme at your institution. Email the project manager Monique Muller for more details.
