Zero Waste Week encourages people to reduce landfill waste by rethinking consumption habits and prioritising reuse, repair, and recycling.
What young people, schools & community centres can do
Waste-free lunch challenges
Repair cafés (fix broken items instead of throwing away)
Swap shops (books, clothes, stationery)
Composting initiatives
Plastic-free classroom challenges
Zero-Waste Art Competition – Create artwork using materials that would otherwise be thrown away.
Seed Planting Activity – Reuse containers as plant pots and grow herbs, flowers or vegetables.
Borrow, Don’t Buy Campaign – Create a system for sharing books, equipment, tools or other useful items.
Zero-Waste Pledge Wall – Ask everyone to write one action they will take to reduce waste.
Create a board where people can offer unwanted items for others to reuse.
Whole-school / organisational approaches
Audit school waste streams (food, packaging, paper)
Introduce reusable-only policies for events
Reduce printing and move to digital systems where possible
Partner with local recycling or sustainability organisations
Long-term waste reduction strategy with targets
Social media ideas
“My waste-free day” student diaries
Classroom waste audits visuals
Repair café success stories
Hashtags:
#ZeroWasteWeek #WasteLessLiveMore #ReuseReimagine #EcoSchools #BeyondAllyship