Building a Waste Free Future collaborated with six primary schools in the Chester-le-Street area to raise awareness about litter and waste issues, fostering positive action and awareness-raising activities. The schools involved were:
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Red Rose Primary School
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West Pelton Primary School
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Roseberry Primary School
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Ouston Primary School
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St Benet’s RCVA Primary School
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Edmondsley Primary School
While Building a Waste Free Future closely worked with six classes in each of the six schools, the remaining students in these schools also participated and benefited from various project elements. This included an educational introductory assembly, a final showcase assembly (where they could see the project’s achievements), and creating their own ecobricks (to understand the amount of non-recyclable, single-use plastic waste generated in their households).
Building a Waste Free Future comprised an introductory assembly, three awareness-raising workshops (including ecobrick creation), an intergenerational workshop (where children learned about life before single-use plastic from older members of their local community), a litter pick, ecobrick sculpture creation, and a final showcase assembly in each of the six settings.
Following the project, the ecobrick sculptures are intended to be displayed alongside information boards, featuring photographs of each school’s journey and general educational material, at Chester-le-Street AAP’s Participatory Budgeting event. This will further enhance awareness of single-use plastic issues. The schools involved have also been given the opportunity to reuse their ecobricks to create outdoor furniture or planters, ensuring the project’s sustainability. Other avenues for project sustainability, such as using the ecobricks for an art installation, are being explored.
Building a Waste Free Future achieved its three outcomes:
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Young people gained a greater awareness of self-care and environmental responsibility.
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Young people were empowered to clean up their community from litter and waste.
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Young people built intergenerational connections.
This success is evident in the ‘What Difference Did Your Project Make’ form and OASES’s detailed final report.
Building a Waste Free Future was completed in March 2020. Overall, the project proved to be highly valuable, yielding positive outcomes for the children, staff, volunteers, the wider community, and the local natural environment.
Building a Waste Free Future reached a significant number of people throughout the Chester-le-Street area, including children and staff from six primary schools, children’s parents, and local residents. The positive feedback received from recipients and the observed behavioral changes in schools underscore the project’s success in raising awareness and inspiring responsible resource consumption and waste disposal practices.
All evaluation forms and feedback from children and staff were highly positive, with teachers expressing interest in participating in similar projects in the future and recommending it to other schools.”
