Term 1 Newsletter 2025

The team at WasteSorted Schools are here to support you and your schools in your efforts to reduce waste to landfill. We can offer advice and support across a range of areas including applying for accreditation, grant applications, setting up waste stations, school visits and waste audits.

Please feel free to get in touch at wastesortedschools@dwer.wa.gov.au, we are always here to help.  

The Year 5 students at Dalwallinu District High School had lots of small successes to celebrate last year as they worked hard to reduce their school’s waste to landfill.

Starting off with a waste audit in Term 1, Ms Ford and her class identified that general waste, paper and food waste were all areas that could be improved upon.

Term 2 saw the start of their waste reduction projects. General waste bins were removed from all classrooms and were replaced with paper bins and organic waste tubs. The Year 5s developed rotating teams to manage and collect these new bins on a weekly basis. These actions helped the school reduce the number of 240L general waste bins that were getting collected each week from nine, down to just five.

As well as helping to reduce their waste to landfill, being able to use the compost they were producing from their food scraps, helped the Years 5s turn a profit. They made over $100 from selling garden produce to both their canteen and the school community! This money was spent on an excursion to buy more seeds for future growing projects.

The Year 5 students compared results from their first audit with a second audit carried out in Term 3 and proudly observed a reduction in paper and food waste in the general waste bins. This has spurred them on to further actions to reduce their general waste.

As the successful recipients of a WasteSorted Schools grant in 2024, Dalwallinu District High School have plans to strengthen their organics processes, and incorporate more High School involvement in 2025.

If you have stories of your own that you would like to share, get in touch at wastesortedschools@dwer.wa.gov.au.

The 2025 Accreditation survey is now open!

Accreditation provides recognition of a school’s commitment to reducing waste. It helps to embed waste avoidance and recovery into the school culture and provides support for projects and initiatives.

You can apply or renew your school’s accreditation via our Online Portal.

Round 1: Opened 28 January and closes 4pm, 11 March

Round 2: Opens 2 June and closes 5 August.

WasteSorted Schools grants provide funding for schools to set up infrastructure and initiatives that avoid and recover school waste. Grants of up to $5,500 are available and all accredited WasteSorted Schools are eligible to apply.

Please contact one of our team to chat about your project before you start. We would be happy to support you with project ideas and tips on the grant application process.

High schools – Hannah Lalor,  Hannah.Lalor@dwer.wa.gov.au 

Primary Schools – Kate MacRae,  Kate.MacRae@dwer.wa.gov.au

Regional schools – Megan Mentz,  Megan.Mentz@dwer.wa.gov.au

Please see the website for more information on how to apply.

WasteSorted Schools grants | Waste Authority WA

WasteSorted Schools beginners workshop

Date: Tuesday 25 February

Time: 9am–3pm

Venue: Herdsman Lake Discovery Centre, Wembley

Join the team from WasteSorted Schools to find out how to get started with waste avoidance and reduction at your school. This workshop is for people who are new to the WasteSorted Schools program.

Register: WasteSorted Schools beginners workshop

Teach Meet: waste and sustainability in primary and secondary schools

Date: Tuesday 18 March

Time: 4pm–6.30pm

Venue: City of Melville EcoHub, Winthrop

Hear from primary and secondary accredited WasteSorted Schools about successful waste management practices implemented at their school. They will share ideas and experiences about how they have created a successful program including set up, maintenance, and engaging students and the wider school community.

Register: Teach Meet: waste and sustainability in primary and secondary schools

WasteSorted Schools curriculum workshop

Date: Tuesday 25 March

Time: 9am–3pm

Venue: Canning River Eco Education Centre, Wilson

Join the team from WasteSorted Schools for a hands-on look at how waste avoidance and resource recovery can be integrated across the curriculum.

Register: WasteSorted Schools curriculum workshop - CREEC

Webinar: WasteSorted Schools for beginners in regional settings

Date: Thursday 13 March 2025

Time: 12:30–3pm

Venue: Online

Join us to learn about the benefits of the WasteSorted Schools program and how to get your regional school involved.

This webinar will include specific examples of what other regional schools are doing, as well as breakout rooms to allow you to discuss what comes next.

The workshop is suitable for primary and secondary school staff including teachers, principals, administration staff, gardeners and parents. This webinar is free to attend and a  half day relief reimbursement is available for two staff from each school.

Register: Regional webinar for beginners

Getting organised

To help you plan for the year, you will find an overview of all 2025 metro workshops on the WasteSorted Schools website. Dates and venues are subject to minor changes, however, the topics covered will remain the same. Information on regional workshops will be posted as they become available.

Workshops and Events | WasteSorted Schools | Waste Authority WA

Recycling in the Kimberley: get your 10c containers WasteSorted

WasteSorted Schools has partnered with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) to provide schools in the Kimberley region of WA support in implementing waste avoidance and resource recovery strategies. This resource was developed by DBCA with support from WasteSorted Schools and Containers for Change and provides information and class activities relevant to schools in the Kimberley.

Download your copy here. 

Containers for Change in a school setting – webinar recording available now! 

WasteSorted Schools hosted Bethany Moore from Containers for Change to discuss how to set up a Containers for Change collection at school. The recording includes:

How to get a Containers for Change collection started at school

Examples of infrastructure that can be used to collect containers at school

How to arrange the 10c containers to be collected by a refund point

How to arrange for a fundraising toolkit to be delivered to your school for free

Examples of classroom activities and resources available through Containers for Change and Cool.org.

Containers for Change | WasteSorted Schools | Waste Authority WA

OzHarvest FEAST

OzHarvest FEAST is a 10-week STEM aligned program for primary (years 5 and 6) and a design and technologies aligned program for high schools (years 7 and 8), which explores the issue of food waste and its environmental impact, positive food choices, and easy classroom cooking. Like any good FEAST, it’s designed to be fun, engaging, and filled with good food!

When enrolled, schools receive a FREE full curriculum package, professional development training, support from the OzHarvest’s FEAST team and more!

Find out more about FEAST here or register your interest in FEAST via the form here.

Events and awareness planner

Cool.org have a school events and awareness days calendar that is available to download for free from their website. Awareness events are a great way to get kids, parents and educators involved in meaningful learning. Get your free copy here.

Waste Audit

Conducting a waste audit is a necessary step to becoming an accredited WasteSorted School. This fun and informative incursion helps you find out the types and amount of waste your school produces. The data collected can be used to prioritise and improve existing waste projects.

WasteSorted Race

Are your students struggling with the correct waste sorting behaviours? Or have you introduced a new bin system at your school, like paper recycling or FOGO? Book our WasteSorted Race incursion to help students learn the importance of source separation.

Paper Making Kit

If you are looking for a hands-on way to educate your student about the recycling process, why not borrow our paper making kit? This kit contains all the equipment needed for you and your students to participate in the process of turning old, scrap paper into new, usable paper.

To organise a booking in the metro area, please contact us at wastesortedschool@dwer.wa.gov.au

City of Swan

The City of Swan is transitioning to a three-bin kerbside collection system, introducing the new FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) bin to the waste services. To help prepare families for the change, the Waste Education team is offering free incursions.  

The incursion cycles students through various stations where they engage in fun, interactive activities related to the City’s three-bin kerbside collection system. These activities have been designed by teachers and include a complementary takeaway item to encourage students to continue their learning and initiate discussions at home.

The program has been designed for primary school students, suited best for Years 3–6.  

These incursions are FREE. Bookings are available for one or multiple sessions to fit in with school schedules and volume of students.  

For more information or to book an incursion, contact the team at ResourceRecoveryEducation@swan.wa.gov.au

Western Metropolitan Regional Council

WMRC are excited to offer free incursions, presentations, and support to schools in their Member Council areas (Town of Cottesloe, Town of Claremont, Town of Mosman Park, Shire of Peppermint Grove, and City of Subiaco).

If you are interested in their:

• Award-winning School Waste Education Day incursion for primary schools
• Textile waste clothing swap and presentation for high schools
• Waste-themed presentations for student cohorts, staff, and/or parents
• Clothing swaps for school classes or clubs
• Free tours of the West Metro Recycling Centre (high school students only)
• Other support such as grant application support, reviewing waste infrastructure, or more

then please contact their friendly waste-educators by emailing community@wmrc.wa.gov.au

City of Kwinana

The City of Kwinana is thrilled to offer a FREE school assembly incursion to celebrate the rollout of the new Garden Organics Bin.

Their friendly Waste Officers can deliver a fun and engaging assembly presentation about Kwinana’s journey toward a greener future and how the new Garden Organics Bin is part of this exciting change.

They can also provide in-depth waste education sessions for specific classes across 2025. They bring along educational games and prizes to reward students for learning about the new three-bin GO system and how they can help reduce waste in Kwinana. 

For more information or to book your assembly or classroom session contact the City of Kwinana Waste Team at Environmentwaste@kwinana.wa.gov.au or call 08 9439 0275

They are also offering schools a free bincursion from Bin-Off creator Jake Bamford.

Follow this link to find out more information about the Bincursions, and this link to sign up for one.

City of Wanneroo

WasteSorted – Talking My Language is a translated learning resource that builds language skills and waste sorting behaviors using flashcards with images and text of common household items.

Contained within a handy carry bag, the toolkit includes waste sorting cards, three mini bins available in: Garden Organic three bin system or Food Organic and Garden Organic three bin system.

Through a series of games, puzzles and quizzes, participants are challenged to correctly identify common household items and their English translation, before sorting them into one of three mini bins that mirror those at home.

The toolkit is available in 12 different languages including Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Macedonian, Simplified Chinese/ Mandarin, Tagalog, Vietnamese and English.

They are available to loan from City of Wanneroo Libraires or you can purchase them from the City of Wanneroo website Resources and downloads - Waste services - City of Wanneroo.

For more information, follow the link: Waste Sorted – Talking My Language - City of Wanneroo

Paint Australia Beautiful Schools Mural Competition

The Keep Australia Beautiful Paint Australia Beautiful Schools Mural Competition is back for 2025. This competition invites students to create nature-inspired murals that capture their vision for a cleaner, more sustainable Australia. 

The competition opens in Term 1 2025, submissions will close around Term 1 holidays and public voting will open early Term 2.

For more information see the Paint Australia Beautiful website.

Clean Up Australia Day

Schools Clean Up Day is happening this year on Friday 28 February. A School Clean Up is a great way to inspire students to learn about the impact of rubbish on their local environment while playing an active role in their community.

Register your school and receive your free School Clean Up Kit: Get Involved as a School - Clean Up Australia

How-To Video Series - Clean Ups for Schools

Clean Up Australia has teamed up with Cool.org to create resources and curriculum-linked lesson plans to help you maximise the learning potential of your School Clean Up event.

Clean Up Australia Day Education Resources | Cool.org

Earth Hour Schools Day

Your school can help shine a spotlight on nature loss by Wearing it Wild this Earth Hour Schools Day on Friday 21 March.

When you register for Wearing it Wild, you'll gain access to a wide range of resources, including curriculum-aligned lesson plans, fundraising guides and exciting activities to help you make the most of this Earth Hour.

Sign up to switch off this Earth Hour : Schools Day

What do you call a group of baby rubbish bins? - A litter.