- Schools tackling plastic

Schools are a great place to harness young people's enthusiasm for having a positive impact on the environment. If you're a pupil, parent, guardian or teacher, check out our Eco-Schools NI website and quick access resources below. Also, add your Plastic Promise and inspire others to do the same! Does your school need some inspiration?

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 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 ones. Bring a reusable lunch box and as 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: Don't spend 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:

Know your plastics infographic

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): football template: use this to encourage students to think about the SDGs that link to plastic, issues and the potential solutions. Ask students to add drawings or words in the blank hexagons to show connections and learnings.

More resources

Webinars - #TacklingPlasticNI 

Download here your internationally recognised certificate of attendance!