Our recycling bin

In order to find out if your household is sending the correct things to be recycled you will need to run a recycling audit.

Some of you may have run a waste audit at school, some of you may have never run a waste audit before. Running an audit at home is a little different from what we do when we run one at school so make sure you try and follow these instructions as best you can.

Setting up a recycling audit -

What you will need:

1. Permission from an adult in your household

2. Gloves (any type will do - garden gloves, washing up gloves)

3. A space outside or something to cover a space indoors (small tarp, newspaper). If it is windy indoors is better.

4. One weeks worth of recycling. You will need to let household members know what you are doing and have a place set up to collect the recycling for a week. Ask household members to be particularly careful with glass items so they don't break.

Thinking about safety -

1. You must wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds or more before you start and after you finish. Then put on gloves.

2. You must look out for glass. If you see any broken glass you must stop straight away and call an adult to remove the glass. If it can't be removed then you will need to stop your audit and try again another day, following the same procedure.

3. Look out for any other sharp or dangerous objects. If you find anything you think may be unsafe, let an adult know.

If you have read about the safety and have everything you need, you are ready to start!

Now it's time to run your recycling audit to show if your household are good recyclers!

- Have a read of the attached file to help you (see below).

- Print or view the data sheet attached to help you record your results. If you are unable to print this sheet off then just take notes in a workbook, or on a scrap of paper.

- Make sure an adult knows what you are doing and that you have your gloves on.

- Don't forget to wash your hands before and after you finish.

- Find everything you need, lay a tarp or newspaper down if you are inside, and collect your week's worth of recycling.

Good luck with your sorting! Don't forget to tidy up after you have finished.