APPENDIX 42
Memorandum from Waste Watch
INTRODUCTION
1. Waste Watch is a leading NGO, promoting
action on the "3Rs"—waste reduction, reuse and
recycling—as a means of achieving more sustainable resource
use. Waste Watch has over 400 members from a wide cross-section
of local authorities, the community and social economy sector,
business, other agencies and individuals. It is supported nationally
by funding from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs' Environmental Action Fund, together with project funding
from a number of waste management companies through the Landfill
Tax Credits Scheme, the National Lottery, a range of corporate
supporters and our membership.
2. Waste Watch's expertise lies in communication,
education and information-provision relating to waste and resource
issues. Much of our education work has been based within the formal
education sector, with both primary and secondary schools. Our
activities are delivered through two education projects. First,
our Schools Waste Action Club (SWAC) projects are undertaken in
specific local authority areas, working directly with schools
providing them hands-on assistance with waste reduction. We have
eight county-wide SWACs, leading schools from awareness raising
activities to taking action to reduce waste. Schools involved
in this project have achieved between 30-80% in the amount of
waste they send for disposal. A new project covering four West
London Boroughs combines SWAC with broader community education
and awareness raising activities. Second, Cycler the Rapping Robot,
is an interactive presentation-based programme highlighting waste
issues to primary schools and encouraging pupils to take action
at home and at school.
3. More recently, Waste Watch has been expanding
its "education" activities beyond educational institutions
and into local authorities and businesses. Through the recently
developed Waste Education Support Programme (WESP), Waste Watch
provides training for others to implement good quality waste education.
The Waste Watch Business Network, a business-focused support network,
covers other areas of informal learning within the workplace and
community. The education projects Waste Watch run lead to actual
reductions in waste, and active participation by schools, businesses
and Local Authorities in the debate on issues relating to waste
management and sustainable resource use.
EDUCATION FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(ESD)
4. Education is a cornerstone to achieving
sustainable development. A shift in thinking and emphasis is needed
to put sustainable development at the centre of society. Change
can only truly be brought about by education. To be effective
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) needs:
— A national strategy addressing ESD
within all key areas of learning: formal education, the work place
and community.
— Integration within existing initiatives
across sectors.
— Secure and sufficient funding to
deliver measurable sustainable outcomes.
— Promotion of best practice.
INTEGRATION WITHIN
DFES & FORMAL
EDUCATION
5. The inclusion of sustainable development
within the National Curriculum 2000 and Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority (QCA) guidance provided on the web, is welcomed and
has heightened awareness of ESD within schools. Further opportunity
is available through the subject of Citizenship, as this aims
to develop social and moral responsibility, community involvement
and political literacy. These developments have enabled practitioners
to more effectively encourage teachers to participate in ESD as
they can see the direct curriculum links.
6. As a cross-curricular subject within
a number of initiatives ESD can easily be forgotten unless the
benefits are brought to the attention of schools. It needs to
be more fully integrated and imbedded within education strategies
and initiatives providing an overarching framework covering both
the curriculum and school management. The proliferation of initiatives
targeted at schools means that to be fully successful ESD needs
to be seen as a tool assisting the implementation of existing
initiatives rather than an additional requirement.
7. Considerable resources are needed to
aid the implementation of ESD projects as schools need the assistance
and expertise of outside agencies. There are numerous education
packs addressing ESD issues and initiatives such as Eco-Schools
which have provided a framework but have been unable to provide
on-the-ground support. There is willingness among schools, but
lack of time and money are often seen as inhibiting factors and
often lead to poor, or no, implementation. Through SWAC, Waste
Watch has been able to provide on-the-ground support through Education
Officers who work directly with staff and pupils throughout the
life of the project. Feedback from schools has indicated that
teachers want outside agencies to come into schools to provide
advice, curriculum linked activities and support in the classroom.
Direct support is key to the success of the projects. However
continuation of these projects in particular is now under threat
due to the recent changes in the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS),
through which all our education work (with the exception of WESP),
is currently funded. Secure funding is needed to provide training
and ESD projects, which can provide direct support to schools.
8. The increased health and safety measures
have made school trips less appealing to teachers—this in
itself threatens ESD, as much effective ESD learning is outdoors—but
again this emphasises the need for funding. Further funding would
enable outside agencies to go into schools to provide assistance
in the learning and development of ESD, through training and activity
support.
9. The Government's education watch-dog
(?), OFSTED, has reported on ESD in some cases and indirect benefits
are often noted, for example an OFSTED report for Lord Deramore's
Primary School, York, noted SWAC, "raised awareness of
environmental issues" and provided pupils with "opportunities
to take on roles and responsibilities, which support their personal
development". However, while ESD is not within the framework
for monitoring and review, it is not consistently reported upon
or seen as important by schools. ESD needs more recognition within
OFSTED and schools should be given guidance to set and achieve
their own sustainable outcomes. To be effective ESD needs cultural
and behavioural change that comes from a belief in sustainable
development. Monitoring must allow for flexibility, creativity
and involvement in local, as well as national initiatives. ESD
schools of excellence could be held up as examples of good practice.
INTEGRATION IN
THE WORK
OF OTHER
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS
AND AGENCIES:
10. ESD needs to be co-ordinated across
Government Departments and within other agencies. ESD is fundamental
to achieving a number of Government strategies including the Sustainable
Development Strategy, the Biodiversity Strategy, the Climate Change
Strategy and national and regional Waste Strategies. However there
is confusion, misunderstanding and lack of awareness of sustainability
issues. The word sustainable itself is used in a number of ways.
These issues were raised in the research "Towards a Language
of Sustainable Development" commissioned by the Sustainable
Development Education panel. Recommendations within the report
include "a coherent communications framework which could
catalyse the evolution of a better, more relevant language for
sustainable development." Implementation of these recommendations
could considerably assist in educating people about sustainable
development throughout the different sectors of society and as
part of an evolutionary process leading to real understanding.
11. Regional funding needs to be provided
to support strategic ESD developments. The Yorkshire and Humber
Government Office established a regional forum for sustainable
development education, which led to the production of a regional
strategy funded by the Regional Development Agency. The Yorkshire
and Humber Sustainable Development Education Forum schools sub-group
produced ESD guidance for teachers, which was distributed across
the region. This involved considerable voluntary time from a number
of individuals within the group. Most participants come from organisations
that cannot afford involvement in implementation of the Forum's
goals unless it provides income to the organisation. Effectiveness
of such groups is reduced by lack of resources. In order to be
successful such a Forum requires funding to implement strategic
projects, it cannot continually rely on goodwill from individuals.
The disbanding of the Yorkshire and Humber Government Office sustainability
unit has also hindered the furthering of this forum's work.
12. Currently messages are mixed from many
areas. For example The DfES and DHSS promote the Healthy Schools
Standard (HSS), which cuts across a number of sustainable development
issues. At the same time as schools signed up to the HSS, Walkers
Crisps were running a "Books for Schools" promotion.
This encouraged young people to eat unhealthy food and increase
the amount of non-recyclable waste packaging they used. This commercial
scheme directly opposed the principals of sustainable development
the HSS and the national waste strategy. A voluntary sustainable
development code would enable organisations to monitor whether
schemes meet sustainability principles and assist in the integration
of these issues within many areas of learning and work, for example
when setting catering contracts or purchasing materials for the
school, ie "greening" procurement.
AN ESD STRATEGY
13. A national strategy for ESD, covering
both formal and informal learning, would provide a more co-ordinated
framework. Formal and informal learning involves many different
individuals, organisations and sectors and a strategic framework
is needed to enable them to work more effectively in partnership.
The production of seven key concepts for ESD, publicised on the
QCA website and the eight key concepts for Global Citizenship
developed by the QCA and DEA,—areas which link closely together—created
confusion and duplication.
14. An ESD strategy will also encourage
the implementation of projects that meet all of the needs of sustainable
development—economic, social and environmental. There is
a wide range of both national and local education programmes,
which address the issues of sustainable development, for example
Waste Watch's WESP provides training and resources for others
to implement good quality waste education, based on our project
experiences. It is important to recognise the work that has been
developed to date and build upon it. A strategy will provide a
framework which many groups can work towards both in partnership
and individually.
15. Consultation across the sectors is important
and necessary to increase awareness and understanding of ESD goals
and to encourage the many sectors to assist in the implementation
of the adopted strategy.
16. Delivery of the strategy would require
provision of additional resources to include funding and training.
This would enable organisations across formal education, the work
place and community, to further develop and deliver current programmes
and to design new programmes within a coherent framework. As project
development is often funding led it is crucial that increased
funding is available to facilitate the development of ESD projects.
Further research is needed, across a number of sectors, to identify
the amount of funding that would be required to fully resource
ESD and enable the achievement of the Governments sustainable
development goals.
February 2003
| 
