• There are many ways a school community could take an active part and contribute to reducing plastic shopping bags in the wider community.  Students and young people at all ages benefit from experiencing how community change takes place and can be leaders in influencing the perceptions and actions of adults.

The issue of plastic shopping bags is receiving a lot of airtime at present and we see this campaign as a way to raise the community’s interest and commitment to the wider topic of sustainability.

This section of the website provides teachers, educators and parents with some thought starters of what a school approach could look like

How to get involved

Suggested Steps

1. Gauge the interest of teachers and students and how it could be connected to students education program

2. Register your school - as per attached.

3. Organise  incentives for students and classroom participation  e.g.

• Incorporate into existing student reward systems of the school
• Approach local businesses or organisations for prizes

4. Conduct educational sessions with students to enable them to understand

• the value of recycling
• the issue with the excessive use of plastic shopping bags

5. Inform parents – this could be any combination of approaches

• Students conducting a survey of their homes
• Students taking home a poster/brochure designed by themselves
• Students taking home a generic brochure as per attached

6. Conduct some fun activities with students on the day students bring the bags to school eg

• Tie the bags together to create a plastic bag chain for each class – longest chain gets an incentive
• Use a barometer in measure the total number of bags collected by the school

7. Celebrate the achievement of the  students and the school

• Present the incentives at an assembly
• Announce the total number of plastic shopping bags collected
• Provide Feedback to parents