By reframing waste management, councils can fight the industry’s ‘stigma’ to inspire a new generation of scientists, drivers, and circular economy experts. LAPV’s Assistant Editor Izzy Lepone reports.
As Simpler Recycling reforms continue, councils and waste management companies must lead in teaching young people about sustainability. School visits and interactive lessons are vital for engaging students, whose attitudes towards recycling can vary.
Despite common misconceptions about the waste sector, experts believe clear information can empower young people to lead the shift toward sustainability and influence environmental change across generations.
Russell Roberts, Business Manager at Biffa Municipal Norwich, has highlighted the enthusiasm expressed by children when presented with the opportunity to interact with waste vehicles. During a recycling lesson delivered by Norwich City Council and Biffa at Lakenham Primary School in February, pupils were able to watch the waste collection process live, as well as participating in the sorting and disposal of clean recycling before it was lifted into a bin lorry.
Having completed nine school visits so far, the Biffa team is well-versed in providing hands-on learning opportunities that teach children the value of sustainability and correct waste management techniques. According to Russell, it is hoped that after participating in the games and demonstrations, the children will return from school and urge their parents to implement the good recycling practices they have been taught.
Cllr Emma Hampton, Cabinet Member for Climate and Environment at Norwich City Council, said that the goal of the session was to make recycling engaging, accessible, and interactive.
Referring to Simpler Recycling, Cllr Hampton said: ‘Norwich has had a food waste service since 2010, and we have already adopted most of the other guidance in these reforms. However, young people are always powerful ambassadors when it comes to reinforcing the message at home.’
Russell also highlighted the importance of encouraging re-engagement with issues relating to waste and recycling for those who are entering the secondary school stage – the point at which it is common for young people’s enthusiasm about the sector to wane. He explained his vision of using an educational model for secondary school students that explains waste management and recycling in the context of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with the aim of ensuring the content is age-appropriate and relatable.
‘We spend a huge amount of money trying to recruit people to come back into the industry, whereas at the age of six they wanted to be a bin lorry driver, and we kind of lose that journey along the way’, he said.
Revealing the versatility of the waste management sector, Russell said: ‘Our people champion, Allison Green, is very much of the view that we have every job within Biffa except for the medical profession, because we’ve got chemists looking at certain things. We’ve got scientists, we’ve got admin, we’ve got drivers. There’s a whole range of jobs there that should make us really attractive to the end of that secondary school journey.’
To retain the interest of young people, Vicki Hughes, Senior Vice President of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), has outlined the significance of language when discussing the topics of waste management and recycling.
Vicki noted that when attempting to encourage young people in their teenage years to consider a career in the sector, they often respond: ‘No, thank you, we don’t really want to be in waste. And I say, okay, what about the sustainability sector? How about recycling? How about circular economy? And they are all in.’
She added: ‘It is about language, and I think that that’s the problem we’ve got. We’ve got a stigma with all age groups.’
Emphasising the breadth of roles available in the waste sector, Vicki explained her goals of delivering a campaign that inspires people to explore these avenues, supported by the production of resources for primary schools, school leavers, and university students.
Vicki confirmed her campaign aims of using social media as a tool to include younger generations in the conversation about the waste sector. It is important for councils to appeal to this demographic with targeted digital content about good waste management and recycling practice before they are met with misinformation online.
As Cllr Hampton notes, ‘early education helps build long‑lasting habits and encourages children to influence positive behaviour at home’.
Young people’s ability to drive change in attitudes and behaviours around waste management is ultimately dependent on the continuity of their early-years enthusiasm about the sector, as well as their access to resources that support the exploration of a professional career path in the industry.
By reconnecting with young people through a combination of digital engagement and in-person learning, facilitated by the use of updated language, councils can ensure that the next generation remains inspired, informed, and empowered to take leading roles on the recycling and sustainability stage in future.
Photo: © Summit Art Creations / Shutterstock.com.
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