Wheelie Bin Surrounds: An easy way to teach kids about recycling

Keeping school grounds litter free is a continual challenge for the school community. One way to help support a clean and tidy outdoor space and keep litter at bay is to provide adequate bins and recycling facilities and incentive programs for kids to get involved. Through working with schools for many years Felton Industries designed the Wheelie Bin Surrounds to support recycling schemes and litter-free school playgrounds.

Felton‘s Wheelie Bin Surrounds constitute 2 bin options, a red container for rubbish and a yellow one for recycling. Recycling can include paper and cardboard, plastic bottles, containers and trays, plastic plates, cutlery and cups, aluminium cans, steel cans and tins, glass jars and bottles, milk and juice cartons. Wheelie Bin Surrounds with different colours are one of the most common ways to make recycling simple. Red and yellow are the principal colours used to identify how to dispose of different types of waste Australia-wide.

Why is it important to teach kids about recycling?
Research indicates that the earlier children learn about recycling and sustainability the more likely they are to have lifelong learning on these issues and take their recycling habits and actions into adulthood.

What programs can schools run and what guides and resources are available for teachers?
Kids learn how to recycle better when they have a role to play. Keep Australia Beautiful NSW has been a leading organisation on recycling and provides guidance and assistance for New South Wales schools to educate their students in recycling. In addition there are a number of fantastic resources for schools and teachers

Top resources for recycling in schools

Planet Ark – How to Set Up A recycling system – A Schools Guide
The Schools Recycle Right Challenge offers a wide range of recycling themed activities, lesson plans and events ideas that have been developed specifically for Australian schools. Each resource has been developed to enable learning by doing, and learning by having fun!
https://schoolsrecycle.planetark.org/documents/doc-885-recycling-system-guide-final.pdf

Eco Schools
Eco-Schools is part of Keep Australia Beautiful. For useful teacher resources – https://www.eco-schools.org.au/teacher-resources-2

Education NSW
Offers action process learning resources for students which includes recycling programs
https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-across-the-curriculum/sustainability/teaching-and-learning/waste

Brisbane City Council
Has free online lesson plans and fact sheets to help teachers with information on waste miminmisation, recycling and litter prevention
https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/clean-and-green/rubbish-tips-and-bins/recycling-and-reducing-waste/school-recycling/teacher-resources

Netwaste.Org
Provides a number of useful resources for teachers including lesson plans, posters, videos and school activity kits informing kids about recycling, waste and litter and the environment. Find out more http://www.netwaste.org.au/education/school-education-resources/

How does Australia fair for recycling in global terms?
According to Kids News Australia, Australia is ranked 21st in the World: “…with a recycling rate of 41 per cent”. So there remains room for improvement.
In 2018, Australia started introducing their program “Containers for Change” in Queensland, and it has reached New South Wales as well as other states in Australia: drinking containers made from glass, plastic, aluminium, steel and liquid paper board can be cashed in for a 10 cents refund. This program has been proven successful at schools as the kids get motivated raising money while recycling.

Back to the Bin: Where else can Wheelie Bin Surrounds be used?
Felton Wheelie Bin Surrounds support waste collection not just in our schools but across all outdoor areas whether it be parklands, country or urban metropolitan settings. They offer an effective solution for waste with our red Wheelie Bin Surround featuring a sloped frogmouth opening for rubbish and the yellow recycle Bin Surround with a rossette opening for all recycling. Bins Surrounds are constructed with a zinc seal steel and include adjustable footstraps for unlevel areas.

Find out more about how Wheelie Bins Surrounds can be used in your community. Call our friendly team on 1 800 834 016,