Eco-friendly T
With growing concerns about the environment, how can you ensure your events are as green as possible?
he past few years have seen a significant change in our approach to, and attitude towards, climate change.
With new government guidelines aiming to combat the effect we’re having on the planet and large companies putting pledges in place to reduce their environmental impact, the world is slowly becoming greener. But how can
Reuse and recycle
‘We have made multiple steps to become more eco-friendly. We offer a 20p discount on hot drinks for visitors who bring their own reusable cups and we encourage recycling of cans and plastic bottles by having recycling bins at our events. We take any leftover food from events to the local homeless shelter. We try to sell online via PTA Events to avoid so many envelopes of cash – although we always recycle these! At our discos, we’ve started selling battery-operated glow items that can be switched off and used again, rather than the ‘snap’ glow sticks that last the night and then are sent to landfill. We are looking at whether it is viable to use eco- friendly glitter for glitter tattoos. As with everything, it’s slow progress, but with each event we hope more parents will embrace our changes.’ Vicki White, chair, Kempshott Schools Association, Kempshott Infant and Kempshott Junior Schools, Kempshott, Hampshire (654 pupils)
42 SPRING 2019
pta.co.uk
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your PTA do its bit to reduce impact on the planet when running events? One of the biggest issues is, of
course, plastic. Disposable plastic is an all-too-familiar sight at PTA events, thanks to cups, straws, plates, prizes and more, but there are plenty of environmentally friendly alternatives. Whether you choose to recycle, reduce or reuse, there’s an option to suit your school.
Inspiring other schools
‘Our first big push to become more eco-friendly was at our 2018 May Fair, where we served food in biodegradable sugar cane containers. Although they cost around 10p each, we felt people would be happy to pay a bit extra for food and drink. On games stalls, children collected stamps to exchange for bigger, higher value prizes rather than lots of small single-use plastic items. We’ve also made a big effort to provide recycling bins at events, and at our Christmas Fair we’ve cut out pre-wrapping of gifts and we hide lucky dip prizes in paper gift bags. Our efforts have been praised by The Howard Partnership Trust, who have shared these with other partner schools as examples of good practice. Our next steps will be to look at reducing water, travel and energy use.’ Emily von Reibnitz, teaching assistant, Eastwick School, Great Bookham, Surrey (650 pupils)
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