Any building or environment where people live or work will produce a certain amount of waste, and schools are no exception. In general, most school waste is made up of food, paper and packaging waste such as sweet wrappers. It may also contain some glass, metals and plastics. Some forms of waste - broken glass bottles and tin cans on the playing field, for example - can also pose a serious safety hazard for anyone using the school grounds.
Most of the waste produced, ends up in mountains of buried refuse called landfills. Even when managed properly, landfills can harm the local environment, poisoning the ground, atmosphere and any nearby water. By reducing waste (Reduce - Reuse - Recycle), schools will not only help to raise awareness of the issue, but will also be making an important contribution to environmental protection.