Merryhills Primary School in World’s End has managed to cut waste by a whopping 37%

Merryhill Primary School pupils (credit NLWA)

Pupils at an Enfield primary school have been praised for their efforts to reduce waste and boost recycling.

Merryhills Primary School in World’s End has managed to cut waste by a whopping 37%, based on measurements taken at the start and end of the year.

The school has been taking part in North London Waste Authority’s (NLWA) ‘In the Know‘ education programme, with pupils and teachers carrying out ‘audits’ of their bins, before putting in place a range of waste and recycling interventions that lead to a reduction in overall waste.

During the programme, Merryhills School put in place a new food waste recycling service and end-of-year results recorded a 50% reduction in food waste, an indication that their efforts to reduce it had paid off. Pupils learnt about why waste reduction is more important than recycling, especially with something like food, which is high in embedded carbon and yet often thrown away because too much was prepared, or it wasn’t eaten in time.

If extrapolated across the whole school year, the waste savings achieved at Merryhills would equate to around 24 tonnes of waste – about the same weight as four African elephants.

Students led much of the change, for instance, by devising and running their own classroom recycling campaigns. Teachers received tailored resources to embed sustainability into everyday learning and NLWA officers also checked the school recycling infrastructure, providing advice to solve problems or improve participation.

Merryhills teacher Philippa Newham said: “The children have loved being part of the waste audits, and the whole school has really embraced a new way of thinking and ensuring that we all do as much as we can to reuse, repair and overall think about what we are doing with our waste.

“We will definitely be continuing our waste journey and ensuring that our children and staff keep spreading the word about what we can all do to help. Thank you to the whole team that worked with us!”

NLWA’s In the Know programme worked with one school in each North London borough and engaged with almost 3,000 pupils, staff, governors, and parents in its first year. From September, NLWA will expand the programme to more schools and will provide a professional development away day for teachers and a new partnership bringing food waste education and sustainable cooking into schools.

For more information about the In the Know programme:
Visit nlwa.gov.uk/InTheKnow

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