RE-think, RE-duce, RE-cycle plastics in a brand new workshop!

With a NEW LOOK website comes a brand new workshop: SCRAP that Plastic! 

All fairandfunky workshops encourage participants to look at the world around them and empower people of all ages with the knowledge that their actions can have a positive impact on the world around them; both locally and globally.  Recycling is one simple way in which each of us can take little steps to change the world; and we were delighted to be invited to run the new SCRAP that Plastic workshop at Carlinghow Primary School as a hook to engage them with their ‘Enough for Everyone’ topic .

“A fantastic workshop, the children were engaged throughout the workshop and enjoyed the range of activities. It built on their learning and school council members will feedback their new knowledge to apply it to the school environment.”

The workshop begins with an interactive quiz to discover the history and origin of plastics – many of the students were surprised to learn that plastic was invented in England; and that plastic is made from oil. The quiz provoked a lot of animated discussion and sharing of knowledge amongst peers. 

Plastic is flexible, light, colourful, easy to make, and almost indestructible…..students were asked “Is this good or bad?” The answer is both. Plastic has become an essential part of our lives – used in heart transplant operations and car windscreens; used to make our favourite toys and even found in ice rinks. But there is lots of plastic created that we only use once and that we don’t really need. And it is this single-use plastic which is having devastating environmental consequences to the planet.

Working in small groups students looked at the contents of a plastic shopping bag and asked “What do you do with your rubbish? Can it be recycled?” Students were asked to sort their plastic rubbish into black (rubbish) bins and green (recycling) bins. They were surprised to discover that only 10% of plastic is recycled.

The problem is that there is simply too much plastic. There are not enough recycling plants, recycling costs a lot of money, many are the ‘wrong’ type of plastics to recycle. Governments, industry, businesses and consumers ALL need to change.

By thinking about where our rubbish goes, and what we do with it we’re starting to make a difference to our local and global environments. When you throw something away – stop, and think – can this be recycled? Can this be reused? When you buy something new – is it recycled? Am I living sustainably? Am I taking little steps to change the world?

The students were shown that each item from the plastic rubbish bags could actually be re-used and made into something new: “Don’t throw it away…… make something!” And each student created their very own whale from an old plastic bottle, to take home, and spread the message to RE-think, RE-duce, RE-cycle plastics.

“Really informative and engaging; my students were constantly being inquisitive into the topic and asking lots of questions!”

If you’d like to book a SCRAP that Plastic workshop for your school please click here to get in touch!