Recycle Week 2019 Assembly Script

Aim:
• To understand the purpose of Recycle Week.
• To know the three Rs of managing waste.

Resources:
• Interactive Whiteboard

• Recycle Week Assembly Script and PowerPoint

• Examples of rubbish that can be recycled, such as plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, glass jars.

• Examples of foods that have been wrapped in plastic, to highlight the excessive waste.

Recycling. It’s in Our Own Hands.

Slide 1: Title page

Aim
• To understand the purpose of Recycle Week.
• To know the three R’s of managing waste.

Slide 2: Aim and Success Criteria Success Criteria

• I can think about how to recycle rubbish.
• I know why recycling is important.
• I can explain what happens to our waste.

What Is Recycle Week?

Recycle Week is a annual event, held each
September, to promote and celebrate the importance
of reducing our waste.

Managing the waste we produce through our everyday

lives is important because we need to reduce, reuse

Slide 3 & 4: What Is Recycle Week?

and recycle resources.

Local authorities, shops, brands, schools, businesses

and community groups work together during the week.

Recycle Week was started in 2004 by the charity, Recycle Now. It happens This year, Recycle Week starts on Monday 23rd
September and runs until Sunday 29th September.

annually in September. This is the 15th year. It will be held from Monday 23rd
to Sunday 29th September 2019. This year’s theme is ‘Recycling: It’s in our own
hands’. This has a double meaning. If something is ‘in our own hands’ it means What Is Recycle Week?
it is our responsibility. Literally, the recycling might be in our own hands, such
Recycling. It’s in Our Own Hands
as when we’ve opened a toy or bought some takeaway food.
The theme has two
meanings: literal and
metaphorical.

Can you explain them?

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Recycle Week 2019 Assembly Script

What is Recycling?
Slide 5 & 6:What Is Recycling? Food, drink, clothes, toys and many other items we buy often have
lots of packaging around them. The packaging protects them in

Packaging protects items of food, drink, clothes and toys as they are travelling transit to us but after we open the items, we don’t need the
packaging anymore. If we throw the packaging in the bin, it might
be burnt or it might go to landfill.

in transit. When thrown away, packaging is often sent to landfill, or some local To be more responsible with our rubbish, one of the things we can
do is to recycle.

authorities burn it to save on landfill and produce energy. Recycling means taking objects and using the materials
they are made from to make something new and useful.

One way to be more responsible with rubbish is to recycle. The other ways are
to reduce waste and to reuse it.

Recycling means taking objects and using the materials they are made from
What is Recycling?
to make something new and useful.
This is the symbol that
tells us something can
Discuss the symbol, introduced by Recycle Now. Point out the heart at the end be recycled.
Why do you think it
of the circle, signifying caring for our world and feeling good about recycling. was chosen?

The curved arrow represents taking action and the sustainability of recycling.

Slide 7: The Three Rs of Managing Waste

There are three ways we can deal with our rubbish: reduce, reuse and recycle. The Three Rs of Managing Waste
Reduce
Ideally, we can improve our habits in this order. Show the children items of food Try to buy items that don’t have much packaging, or ideally, none at all! Many
shops are reducing plastic wrap around fresh foods, such as cucumbers and

(such as plastic-wrapped cucumbers) and discuss the impact of this excessive

bananas. Or, you could grow your own food in an allotment or school garden.

Reuse
packaging. On the other hand, you could discuss the benefits of such packaging Reuse old packaging for something else. Yoghurt pots can be used as paint pots, a
welly could be used as a planter in the garden and cardboard can be used in the
compost bin to improve the soil.

(that it keeps the food fresher for longer). Recycle

If you’ve reduced and reused as much rubbish as you can, then the next best
thing is to recycle.

Why Is It Important to Recycle?

Slide 8: Why Is It Important to Recycle?
Introduce the four images and discuss with children what they think each means.
Recycling reduces pollution and landfill, and saves energy and resources.
Recycling reduces pollution. Recycling reduces landfill.

Recycling saves energy. Recycling saves resources.

Why Is It Important to Recycle?

Slide 9: Why Is It Important to Recycle? Recycling reduces pollution
Recycling creates less pollution. For
example, making a plastic bottle from

Making new resources from materials uses much more energy and creates recycled plastic bottles creates much
less pollution than making a new one!

more pollution than recycling.

Slide 10: Why Is It Important to Recycle? Why Is It Important to Recycle?

Landfill is a problem. Lots of rubbish which can’t be recycled is sent to landfill. Recycling reduces landfill
Most of the rubbish that isn’t recycled is
put into landfill. This is a huge pit in the

Sadly, plenty of rubbish which can be recycled is also sent there. This is why
ground that gets filled with our rubbish!
It can take over 100 years for the
rubbish to rot down.

it’s so important to think about and sort through our rubbish to send it to the The rubbish in landfill sites gives off
harmful chemicals and gasses which
pollute the ground, water and air.

correct place. The landfill sites in the UK are nearly

full… where will our rubbish go then?

The UK sends 18.8 million tonnes

of household waste to landfill
every year.

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Recycle Week 2019 Assembly Script

Why Is It Important to Recycle?

Slide 11: Why Is It Important to Recycle? Recycling saves energy!
Making a recycled item rather than a whole new one from scratch uses
less energy!

Read through the information on the slide, discussing the examples of how 1 recycled tin can
would save enough
1 recycled glass
bottle would save
1 recycled plastic
bottle would save
enough energy to

recycling items can save energy

energy to power enough energy to
a television for power a computer power a 60-watt
3 hours. for 25 minutes. light bulb for
3 hours.

Slide 12: How Can We Help?

3 1
In the UK in 2018, only 4 of food cans and 2 of drinks cans were recycled.
Discuss with children how it should be that all of the recyclable waste is
recycled. If you have real-life examples of recyclable materials and packaging, How Can We Help?
In the UK now, ¾ of food cans (such as tins of baked beans or dog food)

share them now.

and ½ of drinks cans (such as cola or lemonade cans) are recycled.

We should think carefully about where to put our rubbish. We can choose to This means that one quarter of food cans and
one half of drinks cans are thrown in the bin!
What
could an

buy items that have less packaging or no packaging at all (reduce) or we can
old plastic
We can think carefully about where to put our bottle be
rubbish and recycle as much as we can. used for?

reuse and repurpose old packaging (reuse) in our homes. What could an old We can choose to buy items which have less packaging or no
packaging at all. We can also reuse the old packaging we do have.

plastic bottle be used for? For watering plants, as a planter, as a bird feeder in
the garden, decorated as an art project on recycling, and any other ideas that
the children can think of!

Slide 13: What Can Be Recycled? What Can Be Recycled?

Glass, plastic, metal and cardboard can all be recycled. There is a way to check Glass

what each council in the UK recycles. The Recycling Locator page at https://
[Link]/local-recycling is a good way to find out what is recycled Plastic Metal

in your school’s area.

Click
me!

Cardboard

Slide 14: What Can Be Recycled?

There are many different recycling symbols in use by manufacturers. For more
information, please visit:
[Link] What Can Be Recycled?

symbols-explained
Simply check the packaging and look for a symbol.

Although not all packaging may have a recycling label, this doesn’t mean
you can’t recycle it. The widely recycled label is applied to packaging that
If you see this symbol, then it can Most councils will not recycle this.

is collected by 75% or more of local authorities across the UK, for example be recycled. Wash the container
out and put it in your recycling
bin or take it to a recycling
Put it in the bin.
Don’t litter because this harms
wildlife. This waste may go to

plastic bottles. The black label means that only 20% of councils will recycle
collection point. landfill or be burnt if it can’t be
Click
Job done! recycled.
me!

this material.

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Recycle Week 2019 Assembly Script

Slide 15: How to Recycle How To Recycle

Use this checklist of top tips for recycling. It is important to rinse old Rinse old plastic bottles and
containers.

containers squash packaging to save space, sort the recycling and then put it Squash packaging to save space in
your recycling bin.

in the correct bin. Sort the recycling into different

materials; plastic milk bottles, glass
jars, food tins and cardboard boxes
may all need to go into different bins.

Put it in the correct recycling bin.

Feel great about helping our environment!

Slide 16: Where to Recycle Where To Recycle

Many councils collect recycling at the kerb but you can also take your As well as home recycling bins, there are many recycling banks
across the UK that can be used to recycle different materials. They

recycling to the local tip or recycling bank. Recycling banks are often located
are located on streets across the UK as well as in supermarkets
and outside housing estates.

near supermarkets.

Oxfam Recycling Bank by Howard Lake @[Link] is licenced under CC 2.0

Slide 17: Conclusion

Recap the theme for 2019: ‘Recycling: It’s in our own hands’. Ask children what
the three ways of managing waste are (the 3 Rs). Discuss ways of reducing, Conclusion

reusing and recycling waste in your school or local group. Consider starting a
Encourage your friends and family to follow the three Rs.

Talk about why recycling is important.

litter picking group of children for your school grounds or local area. Consider Demonstrate how to be an effective recycler.

Motivate people and teaching them how to recycle more.

making a compost bin for old fruit and vegetable waste. Discuss ways of Do a litter pick in your local area and recycling the litter.

helping our friends and family to make good choices with their waste. Can you remember
the three Rs of
managing waste?

Recycling. It’s in Our Own Hands.

Slide 18: Recycling. It’s in Our Own Hands Each and every one of us can make a difference.

Each and every one of us can make a [Link] about the rubbish you
Think about the rubbish you have in your hands and
make the right choice about what to do with it.

have in your hands and make the right choice about what to do with it.

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