Trash Hack Campaign
FEE has partnered with the UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) for the Trash Hack educational campaign for a global call to action and encourage schools to engage in action learning on trash, waste management and, more widely, sustainable development! Many students participating in Eco-Schools, Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE), Learning about Forests (LEAF), and especially the Litter Less Campaign, have already made important actions to reduce their waste. Now it’s time to inspire millions of others to do the same!
During this pandemic, disposable protective materials like masks and gloves have created a new stream of hazardous waste. When it comes to tackling the world’s trash, it can be hard to know where to start. But by making “hacks” or changes in our homes, schools and communities, we can reduce our negative impact, increase our understanding and start to be part of transforming the world. The global is connected to the local!
The global campaign “Trash Hack” encourages young people to take action to promote sustainable development, reflect on their actions, and share their learnings. Find out more on the UNESCO Trash Hack website.
Trash Hack stories from around the world
Online Launch of Campaign
The campaign was introduced to students, teachers, and National Operators through a launch webinar. During the webinar, UNESCO presented the initiative and the Guide to Action, FEE will provided insights on how to share and celebrate trash hacks, and a few ASPnet and Eco-School teachers and students shared examples of their trash hacks.
How to participate
Trash Hack: Action Learning for Sustainable Development
All Trash Hack activities follow an action-based and student-oriented approach for transformative learning. Besides action, observation and reflection are key elements throughout the learning process. For learning and multiplying the impact, it is important to celebrate the achievements and to invite peers, parents, and the community to be part of the solution!
“Trash Hacks” comes from “life hacks” and are shareable tips, tricks or actions that are fun, creative ways people can reduce waste or upcycle trash!
The Trash Hacks start with a question or observation of how we can reduce waste, and has three steps:
Observe: Look at the current situation, what is already happening in your context and try to describe it accurately.
Act: Decide a small step you plan to take – by yourself or with friends – to reduce waste.
Reflect and learn: Learn more about waste and reflect while talking to your friends and sharing your experience on social media.
Celebrate and encourage others: Our impact can be multiplied if we reach out to friends! Make a video or a photo story about your Trash Hack and share it online!
Creating Trash Hack Videos or Photo Stories
Students participating in the campaign are highly encouraged to record short videos (max 1 minute) about their activities and share them publicly on social media with all of the following hashtags:
#TrashHack #UNESCO #ASPnetUNESCO #LitterLessCampaign #EcoSchoolsStayActive #YREstayactive #LEAFanywhere
This will help National Operators and the FEE International team to find the posts and share on their channels. If making a video is too big of a challenge, photo stories of max. 5 photos can also be created and shared. Once a video or photo story has been published, it can be submitted as an entry to the Trash Hack Competition.
PLEASE NOTE: All students should first seek their parents' consent before sharing their videos or photo stories publicly.
TRASH HACK IDEAS
Trash Hacks are easy actions to reduce waste which can lead to big ideas for the planet! Education is at the heart of the campaign, where Trash Hackers will learn about sustainability through action. These are just suggestions, so feel free to get creative!
Individual activities:
Find ways to encourage friends, parents and teachers to pack a waste-free lunch!
Turn plastic water bottles into a hanging wall planter for a garden of any size.
Interview someone from your local landfill, city or county public works department, town’s sustainability organization, waste collectors, or department of environmental quality about the effects of waste and litter in your local community.
Research information on the supply chain of a t-shirt and create a learning poster on this topic. Make a tote bag out of a t-shirt to learn about repurposing and upcycling!
Activities in the classroom:
Start a compost or worm bin! Students can then experience how worms and other decomposers recycle fruits and vegetable scraps into compost and create a reportage about ecosystems and biodegradation.
Conduct a classroom audit to identify waste and look for ideas to reduce and reuse. Empower the student to set goals, search for solutions and review progress
Go on a field trip. Visit your local landfill, recycling centre, or a nearby composting facility where the students can see first-hand what is happening to waste and learn about the lifecycle of waste and its effect on the environment.
Design a questionnaire and conduct interviews on food waste with personnel of the school canteen.
More ideas for Trash Hacks will be published on social media for inspiration. Keep checking out Facebook and Instagram page for more.
Teacher’s Guide
UNESCO’s Teacher’s Guide is intended for lower and secondary education teachers, school administrators, and staff and informal educators looking for ways to engage learners and communities around trash, waste management and, more widely, education for sustainable development. The guide’s contents and activities can be adjusted for older or younger ages.
You can access the Teacher’s Guide: Here
Teacher’s Checklist: Planning for Action
Get informed! There’s lots of information and infographics in the Trash Hack Teacher’s Guide
Get inspired by the suggested activities. Adapt them to your local context, students’ ages and the current situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Feel encouraged to create your own activities and projects to trash hack your school.
Think about who you want to involve: your students, colleagues, school staff, parents, local politicians, local media, NGOs, associations, etc.
Define the goals you want to achieve with your Trash Hacks!
Competition
Trash Hack Competition
As part of the campaign, students were invited to submit their Trash Hack ideas to a special competition. The best entries were shared globally through UNESCO's Trash Hack website and across the FEE network.
Types of entries
Video entries (preferred)
Photo Story entries
Acceptance criteria
Entries:
Were submitted in English or accompanied by an English translation.
Demonstrated a clear example of a "Trash Hack".
Video entries were no longer than one minute.
Photo Story entries included no more than five photos.
Were posted on at least one social media platform using the campaign hashtags: #TrashHack #UNESCO #ASPnetUNESCO #LitterLessCampaign #EcoSchoolsStayActive #YREstayactive #LEAFanywhere
Submission period
Entries were accepted between 18 January and 25 March 2021.
Who participated?
The competition was open to students participating in, or interested in joining, the Eco-Schools, Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) and Learning about Ecosystems and Forests (LEAF) programmes, as well as registered International Schools.
Students from outside the FEE network were also welcome to participate and received a certificate of participation, although their entries were not eligible for awards.
Selection process
Depending on the number of submissions, the FEE Education Team carried out a pre-selection before shortlisted entries were evaluated by Eco-Schools, YRE and LEAF National Operators. To ensure a fair process, National Operators did not score entries from their own countries.
Throughout the campaign, selected entries were featured on UNESCO's Trash Hack website. The final winners were determined through the votes of the National Operators.
Recognition
The winning students received FEE diplomas, were featured across FEE's website and social media channels, and were awarded a small prize.