Recycling in Your School: Practical Ways to Create a More Sustainable Future

Why is recycling important in schools?

Schools consume large quantities of materials every year.

Paper, stationery, food packaging, classroom resources and catering waste all contribute to a school's environmental footprint.

Recycling helps schools:

• Reduce waste sent to landfill
• Lower environmental impact
• Support sustainability goals
• Improve resource efficiency
• Encourage positive environmental habits
• Engage pupils in climate action

Importantly, recycling can also help schools demonstrate their commitment to wider sustainability objectives, including those outlined in the Department for Education's Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy.

Make recycling easy and visible

One of the biggest barriers to successful recycling is convenience.

If recycling bins are difficult to find or confusing to use, participation rates quickly fall.

Schools should consider:

• Clearly labelled Recycling stations
• Separate bins for paper, plastics and general waste
• Recycling points in classrooms, corridors and communal areas
• Visual signage and labels to support younger pupils
• Student-led recycling initiatives

The easier recycling becomes, the more likely it is to become part of everyday school culture.

Many schools now involve eco committees or pupil leadership groups in monitoring and promoting recycling efforts, helping to build ownership and engagement.

Review your school supplies

School purchasing decisions can have a significant environmental impact.

Many everyday classroom essentials are available in recycled, recyclable or lower-impact alternatives.

Examples include:

• Recycled paper products
• Eco pencils and Recycled plastic pens
• Sustainable notebooks and Refillable stationery systems
• Reusable classroom resources and Reusable classroom materials
• Sustainable art materials
• Organised space-saving via Shared storage systems

At GLS, schools increasingly tell us they want sustainability to be part of their procurement decisions without compromising quality or value. As a result, many are reviewing not only what they buy, but also how long resources last and whether they can be reused across multiple year groups.

Sustainable procurement is often one of the most effective ways schools can reduce waste over the long term.

Reduce single-use plastics

WRAP estimates that single-use plastics continue to be a significant source of avoidable waste across many sectors.

Schools can help reduce plastic consumption by:

• Encouraging reusable water bottles
• Providing water refill stations
• Reducing disposable packaging where possible
• Choosing recyclable packaging
• Replacing single-use classroom items with reusable alternatives

Small changes, when adopted across an entire school community, can have a significant cumulative impact.

Create a school composting scheme

Food waste is another area where schools can make meaningful improvements.

A composting scheme can:

• Reduce organic waste
• Support gardening projects
• Create learning opportunities
• Encourage environmental responsibility
• Support biodiversity initiatives

School compost can be used within gardens, outdoor learning spaces, vegetable plots or wildlife areas.

Where schools do not have suitable outdoor spaces, partnerships with local community gardens or allotments can provide an alternative solution.

Make school meals more sustainable

Sustainability does not stop at classroom resources.

Catering choices can also influence a school's environmental footprint.

Schools may wish to consider:

• Locally sourced ingredients
• Seasonal produce
• Reducing food waste
• Composting food scraps
• Educating pupils about sustainable food systems

Many schools find that sustainability projects become more successful when environmental themes are visible across multiple aspects of school life rather than being confined to a single initiative.

Engage staff and pupils

The most successful recycling programmes are rarely driven by facilities teams alone.

They involve the entire school community.

Staff training and awareness sessions can help ensure everyone understands:

• Why recycling matters
• What can and cannot be recycled
• School sustainability goals
• Individual responsibilities

Pupils can also play an important role.

Many schools establish:

• Eco councils
• Sustainability ambassadors
• Recycling champions
• Environmental action groups

Giving pupils ownership often increases engagement while helping develop leadership skills.

Think beyond recycling

While recycling is important, the most sustainable approach is often to reduce waste before it is created.

Schools should also consider:

• Reducing: Can unnecessary purchases be avoided? Deploy tools like Classroom energy monitors to track utility habits.
• Reusing: Can resources be reused or repurposed?
• Repairing: Can damaged equipment be repaired rather than replaced?
• Recycling: Can unavoidable waste be recycled effectively?

This broader approach often delivers greater environmental benefits than recycling alone.

How can procurement support sustainability goals?

For many schools, sustainability is becoming an increasingly important factor in purchasing decisions.

Leaders are asking questions such as:

• Is this resource recyclable?
• How long will it last?
• Can it be reused?
• Does it reduce waste?
• Is the packaging recyclable?

At GLS, we are seeing growing interest in sustainable procurement as schools look to balance environmental responsibility with budget pressures. Increasingly, the conversation is moving beyond individual products and towards creating systems that reduce waste, improve resource efficiency and support long-term sustainability goals.

Building a greener school community

Creating a more sustainable school does not require a single transformational project.

More often, success comes from a series of practical changes that become embedded over time.

Whether that means improving recycling facilities, reducing plastic waste, composting food scraps or reviewing purchasing decisions, every action contributes to a wider culture of environmental responsibility.

Schools play a powerful role in shaping future generations.

By making sustainability visible in everyday practice, they not only reduce their environmental impact but also help pupils develop habits and values that can last a lifetime.