15,000 students in waste separation project

Nearly 15,000 students are involved in Progett Skart, a waste separation project in schools.

About 2,500 members of staff have also been invited to make use of the bins being used for different types of waste, while several participating schools have adopted the community approach suggested in the National Minimum Curriculum and are encouraging parents to become involved too.

Schools are collecting paper, plastic bottles, metal and glass. The largest amount of waste generated in schools consists of paper and plastic bottles, and the schools are collecting both for recycling.

Several primary schools generate virtually no glass or metal waste. Others have waste reduction measures included in their school policy, such as telling students to bring their lunch to school in a reusable lunchbox or water in a refillable plastic bottle.

A waste audit has been carried out at De La Salle College as part of the school's '3 R's' educational project. Over a five-day period, close to half a ton of waste is thrown away by an average student population of 1,000.

The waste generated consisted mostly of food remains, which amounted to 300kg. With a total of 92 kgs, paper was the second highest fraction of waste. Plastic film and plastic bottles reached 57 kgs.