Wipe Out Waste in Moonee Valley 2018

     

Moonee Valley City Council (MVCC) worked with Tomorrow’s Leaders for Sustainability (TLfS) during 2018 to offer local schools the chance to reduce their expenses and wipe out waste for good in the Wipe Out Waste Program.

Wipe out Waste provides free expert advice, curriculum support and resources to help schools reduce waste and get students involved in hands-on environmentally friendly activities. The program started in 2018 with the following schools attending the original workshop in March.

• Ascot Vale Primary School
• Ascotvale West Primary School
• Avondale PS
• Essendon North Primary School
• Keilor Heights PS
• Moonee Ponds West Primary School
• Mt Alexander College
• Our Lady of Nativity PS
• Rosehill Secondary College
• St Bernard’s College
• St John Bosco Primary School
• Strathmore Primary School

All schools who participated in the year long program received the following;

• litter and waste audits to learn more about where their waste is coming from
• a professional development session
• one on one expert advice to develop a waste action plan
• resources to support a waste action plan such as recycling bins, compost systems, signage and worm farms
• a waste school incursion by CERES
• an invitation to a graduation ceremony to celebrate with other schools
• the potential to lower the school’s waste disposal expenses if resources are used correctly.

TLfS worked closely with MVCC and the schools and achieved some great successes along the way. Some of the key learnings during the year include;

• Many schools made a lot of progress in a short period of time, introducing some quite innovative approaches.
• Several schools involved the student leaders in the planning of their programs, and this really enhanced the outcomes from the schools.
• One secondary school had vegetable gardens linked to a chicken coup, linked to their composting system.
• The workshop and the accompanying manual were highly valued by the teachers.
• The follow-up visit to the school was essential to provide individual coaching for the teachers and to meet with and assist the student leaders. 
• The waste and litter audits at the start of the program gave terrific insights into quantities & composition of the waste and litter generated by each school.
• The workshop, follow-up meeting & celebration event gave teachers & students opportunities to showcase achievements & learn from other schools.
• The extra resources provided by the Council were also highly valued by the schools ie cash for equipment, recycling bins, food waste bins, in school visits and incursions by CERES.
• During the year there were some excellent television programs on waste and litter, such as the ABC’s War on Waste to help inspire participants.

TLfS will now run a new program called Flick the Switch with schools in Moonee Valley in 2020. This will focus on eery efficiency in schools and homes.