The idea of sustainability has been around for decades, indeed the Brundtland Report published by the United Nations in 1987 defined 'sustainable development' as "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. But it is only recently that we have seen sustainability really begin to trend. Sustainability is not to stop using resources but to make decisions that maintain equilibrium between the environment, the economy and society. Over the past few decades, we have been consuming resources faster than they can be replaced and this is not maintaining that balance. As older generations start to learn to make more sustainable decisions, it is also important to educate our younger generations so they too can enjoy a prosperous future economically, environmentally and socially, and what better place to start than at school. In this post, we will look at 3 key ways to make your school more sustainable and some useful technology such as smart food waste recycling bins that can help our children form more sustainable habits.
There is now a multitude of media available on the topic of sustainability. Fascinating books such as How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates and enlightening documentaries such as Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet, narrated by David Attenborough and Professor Johan Rockström can all help to educate students on the benefits of sustainability and the dangers if we don’t start making changes now.
Discuss what the students have learnt and set engaging activities to empower them by linking the topic to their daily lives. For instance, they could analyse and report on how sustainable their lunches have been over a week (including packaging) or have them conduct their own research on perhaps which are the most sustainable companies and why.
Sustainability is not just theoretical, it is also practical. Conduct workshops where students can work in teams to sort between the most and least sustainable items of waste for instance. Have them explain their choices.
You could have also students create their own recycling campaigns for food waste, plastic, paper, etc. They could design flyers and posters for their campaign with a prize for the winner at the end of the week.
Encourage your students to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle in and out of school by helping them form good habits such as turning off lights, computers etc. and closing the door when they leave a room to reduce energy consumption.
This is the age of tech-savvy kids so why not make use of technology to encourage your students to live more sustainably. GF Technovation’s Auto-Sorting Recycling Bin seen below, for instance, not only manages the whole recycling process, from waste recognition (plastic, paper, metal, glass) to sorting and compaction, it is also a fun, high-tech way to encourage kids to recycle as much as possible.
Or perhaps you could try another of GF Technovation’s innovations, the Smart Food Waste Recycling Bin to encourage food waste recycling for composing. This device is equipped with IoT technology to alert relevant staff to its fill level and auto-deodorizes and sterilizes regularly to keep the bin free of odors and germs.
Both of these state-of-the-art recycling bins have built-in user identification making them not only great for campus and campaign use but also for installation in other large premises such as offices and hospitals.
Every small step we take to making our lives more sustainable and educating younger generations on its importance is changing our planet for the better. To learn more about GF Technovation’s smart recycling devices and how they help everyone form better habits, contact us today.
