Education - Sectoral Activity
School Actions
Schools, particularly primary schools, have been a focus for environmental education activity for some time. A number of organisations are involved in the provision of resource material, activities and other support services on waste and resource use themes. Coverage and resource allocation, however, vary across the country. The recent adoption of Eco Schools by the Scottish Executive as a performance indicator for citizenship (one of the suite of National Priorities for education) is heightening waste as an education theme in schools.
- Provide guidance for local authorities and schools on the drivers and benefits of improved resource efficiency and waste management.
- Consider any particular issues associated with arrangements for the building and management of PPP schools and, if necessary, make representation to the Scottish Executive regarding future communication and planning.
- Conduct and publish ongoing surveys of attitudes towards resource use and waste among young people.
- Review existing curriculum links for waste and resource use issues, and highlight any requirement for addition or revision.
- Review initial teacher training and available in-service training and identify any requirements for change or additional provision. This might be best conducted within an education for sustainable development framework.
Further & Higher Education Actions
Scotland
’s 46 colleges ad 14 universities have an important role to play in providing post-school education and training, and driving scientific and technological advancement through research and development. They are also a potential source of cultural change.
Colleges and universities are significant establishments in their own right, recruiting over 500,000 students each year and employing around 30 000 staff. They have a range of waste management issues, and provide learning opportunities both through their curricula and institutional management and culture.
- Promote, and contribute to, the development of a sustainable development toolkit (including waste and resource use issues) for colleges and universities, covering the institution, the curriculum and professional bodies.
- Develop opportunities to engage directly with students.
- Develop further and higher education staff development training modules focusing both on curricular and institutional management.
- Review existing university research programmes and identify gaps and opportunities for research into waste and resource use issues and technological developments, for example the Scottish Institute for
Enterprise
.
Professional and workplace training actions
Commercial and industrial wastes account for 75% of the total disposals to landfill in
Scotland
. Compliance with waste regulations is an important consideration for businesses and considerable cost savings can be realised through waste reduction measures. Furthermore, attractive potential new markets exist, and are being developed, in the waste management and resource recovery sectors.
Several initiatives are already under way to improve waste awareness and waste minimization in workplaces. Several players are active in this sector, including Envirowise, WRAP, ReMADE, WAMITAB and the CIWM.
- Consider the potential for improved integration and consistency in delivering NWP education and awareness requirements in the workplace.
- Promote good practice to organizations associated with priority waste streams.
- Assess professional training implications of implementation of the NWP, for example the CIWM certificate.
- Identify and promote resource efficiency potential and new business opportunities in relation to waste issues.
Public Awareness & Education Actions
Household waste reduction and recycling are key elements of the National Waste Plan. Significant investment by the Scottish Executive in new facilities and services is already under way through local authorities and partner organisations implementing area waste plans. Public awareness of, and engagement with, these new facilities and services is essential to their success.
- Develop education & awareness programmes, both locally and nationally, to promote ‘reduce, re-use and recycle’ and in support of Area Waste Plans.
