Waste Education & Volunteering

About

Waste management and avoidance is essential; teaching the community about the impacts of waste, where it ends up, how it is sorted and processed can have a major impact on the environment.

Resources

Watch our Early childhood journey of waste video featuring the City’s three bin; Ollie, Wally and Ruby.

View our guided flip chart which you can download and print.

ResourceSmart Schools Waste Module helps schools minimise waste sent to landfill through the operational practices of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, and save on bills. Get in touch with ResourceSmart Schools Education Team, Sustainability Victoria at [email protected] to learn more about the program.

Download our Waste Activity Booklet – filled with puzzles and activities to learn about reducing and sorting waste correctly.

To access more free learning material on waste, recycling and organics for a variety of ages, visit www.coolaustralia.org

Schools

The City of Greater Bendigo offers free waste education sessions for primary and secondary schools throughout Greater Bendigo.

Cost:

Free

Time:

• 35-45 minutes (dependent on group size)
• 25 minutes for prep and grade 1 sessions
• You can book multiple classes over one day
• We cater for afterschool care times.

Content:

Sessions are tailored to accommodate group sizes and age ranges and include the following: group games, activities, worksheets and presentations (secondary schools).

What’s covered in the session:

• Sorting your waste properly
• Tips for better recycling
• Where does Greater Bendigo’s waste go
• What individuals can do differently to reduce their waste

Maximum group sizes should be around 35 students. 

Due to the learning material, the sessions are designed for 5 years and older.

Childcare and kindergartens

The City's resource kit for childcare centres and kindergartens allow educators to deliver an interactive and informative education session for children aged 3 to 5 years.

The resource kit includes a five minute video featuring Ollie, Wally and Ruby the City’s organics, waste and recycling bins and a number of other resources to assist in delivering the program.

Please note only one education kit can be provided to each facility.

Community groups

The City offers free waste education sessions for community groups throughout Greater Bendigo.

Cost:

Free

Time:

The sessions run for 45 minutes and allow for a question and answer session at the end.

Content:

Sessions can be tailored to address specific request from the host group, however a typical session covers the following:

• Sorting your waste properly
• Tips for better recycling
• Where does Greater Bendigo’s waste go
• What individuals can do differently to reduce their waste.

Book now

If you would like to book an education session or request an education kit, please contact the Resource Recovery and Education unit on 1300 002 642 or email [email protected] 
 

Compost program

The City of Greater Bendigo is offering free compost to schools and community groups/gardens who have undertaken COGB run waste education sessions.

Our Compost program is aimed to reduce contamination, promote the use of the Organics bin and support community groups with their sustainability programs. 

Download you application now!

Volunteer with us

The City of Greater Bendigo is actively working to divert municipal waste sent to landfill. We are doing this by regularly monitoring domestic waste and continuously educating the community on correct sorting of waste into the three-bin system to minimise contamination in kerbside general, recycle, and organics bins.

Resource Recovery & Education Volunteer Program (RREV) aims to educate and make the residents aware of municipal waste management, resource recovery and litter reduction. It will offer volunteers with the opportunities to learn about correct sorting of waste into the three-bin system. It will also promote sustainable habits to minimise household waste and engage like-minded residents with shared vision to protect the environment from waste related issues.

If you have a passion for the environment and waste management, we have an activity based on your interest. We would encourage you to look at each role description and fill out the application form by following this link.