Talks and Education Schools
Waste education in schools
We have a range of interactive engagement activities for schools to use on reuse, recycling, composting and household food waste.
All of our resources are free to Leicestershire schools and academies, ranging from assemblies and workshops to downloadable resources.
Assemblies and workshops
We currently offer face to face assemblies and workshops on the following topics:
- Recycling
- Composting
- Reducing food waste
Please allow 15 to 20 minutes for an assembly and 45 mins to one hour for a workshop.
Activities & Classroom Resources
Recycle Now has developed a range of free classroom resources about recycling in partnership with teachers. The materials are designed to support learning about recycling, materials and waste reduction, with resources available for children aged 5 to 7 and 7 to 11. You can download additional lesson plans, presentations and classroom activities from the Recycle Now Schools Resources website.
Visit the Recycle Now Schools Resources website
Please note that some resources refer to a competition that ran in 2023 and is no longer running. The recycling information within the resources remains current.
Rescue Me – Recycle board game and workshop resources
Rescue Me – Recycle is a printable recycling-themed board game produced by Recycle Now for children aged 7 to 11. The game helps pupils learn which household items can be recycled and what happens to materials after they are collected for recycling.
The resource pack is intended primarily for teachers, educators, youth leaders and other group facilitators. It includes a board game, activity sheets, character fact sheets and supporting materials which can be printed and assembled for classroom or group use.
The downloadable PDFs below form part of the game pack and are designed to be printed and used as physical learning resources.
If you require any of these resources in an alternative format, please contact us and we will do our best to assist.
Download the Rescue Me – Recycle resources
Further activities
We also have our own activities which we can bring to assemblies and workshops or, if you are looking for resources to deliver your own waste focused lesson or workshop, you can borrow or take inspiration from our kit. The following activities are available:
Recycling activity
A range of everyday household items are put on a display board and the children have to say whether the item can be recycled or not at home.
‘Which bin?’ beanbag activity
The beanbags have an image of a household item on the top, and children must decide how to dispose of the items correctly before throwing them through the right hole in the display. This game is fun and engaging and provides an opportunity for educating children in the importance of recycling as well as which items can be recycled.
Food waste storage activity
The children must decide where the best place is to store the different foods by placing the magnet on the correct board. This activity helps to raise awareness of the importance of storing food well and provides an opportunity to gain some useful life skills and an understanding of different food labels, such as ‘best before’ and ‘use by’.
You’ll find more information on these and a range of other free, self-guided resources that are available to download and use on our Leicestershire Traded Services website.
If you are interested in using these resources, would like more information or would like to provide feedback on how we can engage better with yourselves, please make contact;
by email: wasteprevention@leics.gov.uk
by telephone: 0116 305 7005
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