- Schools tackling plastic

What else can schools do?

1. Make reusable water bottles part of school culture: fill your bottle up as part of your morning routine and it keep it in your school bag. Make sure your school has a refill station and that pupils know where to locate it
2. Ban single-use plastic straws: if pupils need a straw, encourage metal, paper or bamboo alternatives
3. Switch to reusable plates and cutlery: use ceramic plates and metal cutlery instead of pointless single-use plastic. Bring a reusable lunch box to school and ask the canteen manager if it can be filled up instead. This will save the school money in the long term
4. Bring reusable lunch boxes or sandwiches wrapped in beeswax wraps: cling film isn't currently recycled in NI so get creative with alternatives!
5. Have a reusable party kit: avoid spending money on disposable cups and plates for parties in or out of school. Ask the school to purchase a reusable party kit, use it in school and encourage parents to use it for after school birthday parties

Quick access resources:

Marine topic: asks schools to look at all aspects of our diverse marine environment: what lives in our seas, why it is important to us, what threats is it under and how can we help protect it?