Encouraging Recycling and Attacking the Littering Menace

For safety, hygiene and environmental responsibility, it is very important to encourage students in schools and education facilities, as well as employees to use bins or recycling bins for litter. A number of factors need to be considered:

Location of the waste bin

It is very important to ensure bins are sited strategically so as to minimise littering and to assist efficient management of waste disposal.
Exterior mounted waste bins are best installed close to school entrances or exits. Care should be taken in the method of installation to prevent accidents and frustrate vandalism.
Interior school bins should be in located in busy areas such as foyers and main corridors, and in areas where there are hygiene considerations such as toilets, canteens, and break-out areas adjacent to vending machines.

Size of the waste bins

The size of the litter bin should be decided by the anticipated usage and the frequency of collection for disposal. There will be practical considerations in deciding the frequency of collections dictated by staff availability and other factors such as the nature of the refuse, for example, in the case of food waste or food packaging, it will be necessary to have a stricter collection cycle than paper waste.

Encouraging recycling

In support of the increasing sense of environmental responsibility felt by most organisations, recycling bins are becoming a vital and visible part of waste disposal management. Colour coding of litter bins not only assists efficiency in recycling programmes but is a constant visual reminder of an environmentally-conscious corporate culture.
For classrooms where space may be limited, triple and double compartment recycling bins can be used.
Cup collectors, can and bottle bins can be supplied to schools for vending machines and canteens. Many schools now use paper recycling bins to increase the amount of paper to recycle or reuse if possible.

Specialised Waste Bins

There are many other specialised bin requirements in schools to be considered, for example, large kitchen bins for canteens that may be serving hundreds of meals at a sitting. Washrooms need to be fitted with not only bins for towels but also with sanitary bins as well. 

In specifying the requirements for your particular school, it will be important to choose an experienced school supplier that can help guide you through the options available.

At Springfield, you can draw on 40 years of experience supported by a comprehensive design and planning service to create a truly great learning environment for you and your students. For advice, recommendations and a free no-obligation quote,