From ‘trash’ to class: How UNESCO's Trash Hack campaign for schools is tackling waste
Thousands of Trash Hackers across the world connected to watch the webinar launch of UNESCO's Trash Hack campaign for schools and share their own innovative ideas to reduce waste.
Thousands of Trash Hackers across the world connected to watch the webinar launch of UNESCO's Trash Hack campaign for schools and share their own innovative ideas to reduce waste.
Each year 2.01 billion tonnes of waste are generated globally with devastating effects on water, air, biodiversity and ecosystems and the climate. Trash Hacks are small steps everyone can make to bring about bigger, lasting changes in waste reduction and achieve the goals of the 2030 Education for Sustainable Development Agenda.
UNESCO's campaign showcases its teachers' guide, Trash Hack: Action learning for sustainable development which aims to spark learning, action, sharing and celebration of students' successes and can be easily followed in a school or home environment. Schools are able to produce their own creative Trash Hacks to be shared with the world on the website.
The campaign draws on the power of schools working together to take action and offers a guide to help teachers best present students with fresh facts and statistics on waste, and easy and cheap Trash Hacking activities adaptable for all ages and regional contexts.
The webinar, organized by UNESCO's Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) and the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) on 29 January, 2021 has already drawn around 4,000 viewers to the YouTube and Zoom presentation including teachers, students and youth leaders from a wide range of countries.
Opening the webinar, Director of UNESCO's Division for Peace and Sustainable Development, Vibeke Jensen praised the strength of the partnership and reminded participants of the key role of education in bringing about lasting change.
'We as humans need to urgently reorient out relationship with the natural world. This shift starts with education which has a huge capacity for changing society. It affects the way we think what we value and how we act,' she said.
Moderator UNESCO International Coordinator of ASPnet Julie Saito welcomed participants from the ASPnet community and beyond to witness the launch of the Campaign and thanked Japan for its funding support and Mr Yoshiaki Ishida, Director for International Strategic Planning, Ministry of Education and Deputy Secretary-General of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO gave a message of congratulations.
The webinar, based on the guide, focused on Trash Hacking schools, homes and communities, and celebrating and sharing trash hacks. A second session presented the work of young trash activists themselves.
Introducing the young Trash Hackers, Gosia Luszczek, International Director of FEE's Young Reporters for the Environment project, urged all young people to document and share their experiences through articles, photos, videos, posters and banners.
'It is important to take action but equally important to raise awareness, invite other people to join and learn from your experience,' she said.
Brothers Josh and Max Kamalarajah, pupils at The Wallace High School in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, have been tackling environmental challenges since primary school and have won many awards for their work. They presented a video in the style of a breaking news TV show about the 'crime' of global waste.
As part of the greening of the school Lilis Musyarropah, an English teacher from the SMP Labschool in Kebayoran, Jakarta, Indonesia worked with her students to produce a song as their Trash Hack which reveals the effects of waste and offers recycling ideas.
Teacher Mr Philip Odeka from Nairobi International School, Kenya led a Litterless Campaign to remove waste dumped near the school. The school recycled the litter, such as water container tops, as lampshades for the assembly room and plant holders.
UNESCO will take the ideas and many shared Trash Hacks forward to the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development to be held in May.
Before then UNESCO and FEE would like to gather as many other Trash Hacks on their websites and for the guide, which will also be launched in French and Spanish, to be shared widely.
Closing the webinar Jun Morohashi, Senior Programme Specialist from UNESCO's Section for Education for Sustainable Development, said: 'When schools, teachers and students come together to call for change, the world will listen.'
Want to be part of UNESCO’s Trash Hack schools campaign?
- Register
- Download the guide and explore the Schools webpage
- Find out how to share your Trash Hacks with us
The original article was published by UNESCO on its website.


