Petitioner: Les Wallace
Status:
Closed
Date Lodged:
28 September 2012
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ensure the provision of recycling facilities within school playgrounds is mandatory. In addition to call for a national survey of in school practice and teaching on reduce, reuse and recycle to ensure current best practice becomes the standard practice.
Fig.1: Source separated recycling facilities in school playgrounds will help develop the recycling habit early in life to be applied in the home and workplace. Children can also influence their parents to participate in existing kerbside recycling schemes and promoting recycling probably does more to develop anti litter attitudes than traditional anti litter work. Playground recycling should be mandatory.
Fig.2: The aftermath of T in the Park 2006. If we fail to provide the best possible education and practice on reduce, reuse, recycle in schools as possible the consequences for the environment and society are dire. Image courtesy of John Ferguson.
Summary:
30 October 2012: The Committee took evidence from Les Wallace. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government/Education Scotland, COSLA, Zero Waste Scotland, Eco-Schools Scotland, the General Teaching Council for Scotland and Falkirk Council. Link to Official Report 30 October 2012 (474KB pdf)
8 January 2013: The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 on the grounds that matters are being addressed through various current and forthcoming regulations, projects and initiatives. The Committee also agreed to write to COSLA reminding it of the duties that fall to local authorities. Link to Official Report 8 January 2013 (474KB pdf)
Written Submissions:
After more than twenty years since kerbside recycling began in earnest in Scotland we are STILL NOT ensuring that children are being taught about reducing waste and being encouraged to recycle effectively. Investment in domestic recycling schemes and the success of workplace waste reduction is suffering badly because of this. It also means that anti litter work is compromised as recycling is almost certainly a better method of preventing litter than traditional anti litter work.
There are no basic mandatory requirements for how well waste reduction is taught or practiced. As a basic requirement ALL school children should have recycling facilities in their playgrounds. We also need a national survey on how well reduce, reuse, recycle is taught and practiced in schools to ensure that best practice becomes standard practice.