Archived press release

Shout About Friends of the Earth's New Education Week on Waste

22 August 2003

Secondary school pupils around the country will be joining Friends of the Earth's first ever Shout About activity week from 3^rd - 7^th November 2003 when they take on the waste challenge. And Friends of the Earth has launched a new free resource pack to support the week, aimed at classes and youth groups at key stage three.

The Shout About Waste pack [1], includes notes for teachers and youth workers, information cards on the history of waste, packaging, reducing, re-using and recycling your waste and activity sheets to encourage people to think about and get active on the topic of waste.

For teachers and youth workers, the pack offers fresh ideas for teaching citizenship, as well as providing examples of living maths, use of language, and key concepts in science. And schools are invited to enter the Spotlight competition which is backed by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) - designed to highlight the most exciting waste activities going on in Shout About Week.

There will be on-line support on Shout About at www.foe.co.uk/learning from mid September.

Friends of the Earth Waste Campaigner Claire Wilton said:

"We throw away our own body weight in waste every 2 months, and only 12 per cent of it is recycled. The Shout About Waste pack gives young people a great way to find out about the impact of the products we use then dispose of. Tomorrow's adults hold the key to turning around our throw-away society."

Friends of the Earth's Education Officer Karen Jesnick said:

"Waste is a great issue for 11-13 year-olds. It raises many key issues that young people and their families experience day to day, such as finding time to recycle and avoiding over- packaged snacks and drinks. The Shout About pack presents facts about rubbish in a fresh way and is full of activity ideas. It gives young people an opportunity to decide on the problems and create their own solutions for dealing with our rubbish."

Note

[1] The Shout About Waste pack, printed on 100 per cent post consumer waste using vegetable-based inks, is available free of charge from Friends of the Earth on 0808 800 1111.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust