Schools across Northern Ireland are being encouraged to “remove pointless plastics” from campus.
Environmental charity Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful has developed a new guide to help them eliminate their use of single-use plastics using five simple steps.
It asks senior leaders to swap items like plastic bags, straws, bottles and food packaging in favour of sustainable alternatives.
Read more: NI school kids getting classroom furniture made from their plastic waste
KNIB also hopes it will also help teachers start a conversation with pupils about the impact of discarded plastic on the environment and wildlife.
KNIB waste and pollution lead, Chris Gourley, said: “We do not expect schools to be totally plastic-free. Our aim is tackle the single-use plastic: the unnecessary paraphernalia that’s everywhere.
“It’s these throwaway plastic items that are having a huge impact on our environment and with some simple changes in schools, they can be eradicated.”
Some 125 schools across the region have already signed up to the plastic promise with 67 tacking action against plastic drinks bottles, 90 against plastic straws and food containers and 86 against throwaway cups.
St Colm’s High School in Draperstown and Willowbridge School in Enniskillen have already harnessed pupil power and made changes through the charity’s Eco-Schools NI programme, cutting their use of plastic cutlery in canteens and using refillable drinks bottles.
While Brooklands Nursery, Belfast have banned 9 of the 10 proposed single-use items for use in their school including balloons, beverage bottles, carrier bags, cotton buds, cutlery, food containers, lollipop sticks and takeaway cups.
The guide is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
It includes five practical steps to follow so that schools can cut down on the amount of plastic that is used inside and outside of the classroom, helping to create a cleaner, greener environment as soon as possible.
Chris added: “We want to support teachers in enthusing and preparing our young people to solve the plastic-pollution challenge, while helping their schools and local environment to become plastic-waste free.”
The guide can be downloaded here.
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