Low waste and reuse activities
Looking for some low or zero waste activities? Here are some fun suggestions for the home or classroom that can be adapted for all age groups.
Recycle - Create a sorting and recycling station
Sorting your waste may seem like a daunting task, but customising bins around your home, school or workplace makes recycling easy.
You don’t need to buy anything new, try repurposing (and redecorating) baskets, boxes or buckets.
Tip: You can use the pre-made templates in the activity and worksheet section.
Reduce - Conduct a waste audit
What does your home or classroom throw away the most? The best way to reduce waste is to know what is used the most and how these could be replaced with sustainable alternatives.
What you need:
How:
- Put on some gloves and, if conducting audit indoors, place newspaper or tarp down to prevent mess.
- Tip contents of the bin you are auditing on the ground.
- Sort the waste items into categories. For example: rigid plastics, soft plastics, paper, cardboard, non-recyclables.
- Count the items in each category and record on a piece of paper or activity sheet.
- If you have scales, weigh each category.
- Things to think about when auditing the general waste bin:
- Are there any recyclable items that could go in the recycling or glass bin?
- Are there items that could be taken to a resource recovery facility and recycled?
- Are there any food scraps or organic materials that could go in a compost bin, worm farm or FOGO bin?
- Determine the most commonly thrown away items.
- Can you find a sustainable alternative that could be used instead? Get creative with your thinking. Here are some common examples:
- Replace takeaway coffee cups with a reusable cup.
- Replace plastic produce bags with reusable fabric ones.
- Reduce water bottles with a refillable drink bottle.
- Buying products in bulk often means less packaging.
- Replace tissues with handkerchiefs.
- Use reusable containers and jars instead of foil and cling wrap.
- Share this information with your family or class.
- Discuss how you could make changes and reduce waste together.
- With this new knowledge, try conducting another waste audit in 4 weeks time and see if you've reduced the number of items in your rubbish/general waste bin.
When you're finished, remember to sort your waste into the right bins and clean up.
Reuse - Regrow food from scraps
Did you know you can regrow fruit and vegetables from scraps? This is a fun activity where you can reduce waste, save money on groceries and learn about how plants grow.
There are lots of different ways to regrow food, this is a simple method to get you started.
What you need:
- Shallow bowl or dish
- Water
- Base of left over vegetable such as lettuce, celery or cabbage
How:
- In a shallow dish or bowl, place the root base of your vegetable in water.
- Place in a sunny, warm position like a window sill.
- Check on your veggie daily but be patient.
- Change the water every couple of days.
- Once you have lots of roots, you can plant the veggie directly into your garden.
Tip: One of the easiest and quickest vegetables to regrow are spring onions.
Reuse - Turn an old shirt into a tote bag
What do you do when your favourite t-shirt no longer fits or the collar is overstretched? Give that shirt a second life by turning it into a no-sew tote bag! This step by step guide shows you how.
Reuse - Upcycle into seedling pots
Toilet paper rolls and egg cartons are common items that could be re-used in gardening. This method for planting seeds can reduce plastic waste and help avoid delicate seedling roots getting tangled by keeping the seedlings separated.
What you need:
- Toilet paper rolls
- Scissors
- Water
- Watering can or spray bottle
- Potting mix
- Seeds
- Waterproof tray or container
How:
- With your scissors, cut the toilet rolls in half. Then make some small 2cm cuts in one end of the roll and fold in ends flat like you're closing a box.
- Place the pots in the waterproof tray or container. Fill the pots with moist potting mix, place seeds at the recommended depth (found on the seed packet). Cover with potting mix and water. (The waterproof tray prevents water from leaking everywhere.)
- Place in a sunny, warm position like a window sill.
- Check on your seeds daily and keep the soil moist. Within days you will see your seedlings starting to sprout.
- Once your seedling is strong enough, you can plant straight into the garden.
Tip: Remember to label your seeds when you plant. You can re-use icy pole sticks for this.
Reuse - Create a mini hothouse for seeds
Not sure what to do with those leftover fruit and veg punnets? Perhaps you’ve got a plastic storage container not in use? You can even use plastic bottles for this activity.
Any plastic container can be turned into a mini hothouse for speeding up seed germination (great for the colder months!). This list has lots of creative re-use ideas to get your garden sprouting.
Reuse - Make an insect or bee hotel
A healthy garden has a varied ecosystem. Help bugs find a home in your garden by building a bug hotel made out of items found around your home and garden.
The hotel can be as big or as small as you’d like. This tutorial shows how to make a large insect hotel, but you may want to start smaller like in this guide.
These are just a few suggestions to get you started. The internet is full of great blogs, videos and how-to-guides. Get creative and have fun with repurposing waste!