How to remove single-use plastic water bottles from your school with Manchester Pupil Referral Unit

With the help of In Our Nature Community Support, Manchester Pupil Referral Unit were able to eliminate single-use plastic water bottles from their school, saving 440 bottles from heading to waste each week!

Time for a quick lesson in how your school could do the same…

Manchester Pupil Referral Unit were able to put plastic water bottles in the bin for good, simply by buying their staff and students reusable bottles.

Won’t that cost a lot?

Manchester Pupil Referral Unit found they were actually able to save £88 each week simply by getting rid of the need to buy in a fresh supply of water bottles.

They further saved on costs by picking a plain bottle (which had the added bonus of allowing student to decorate their own bottles) and avoiding dishwater-safe products.

Won’t you need more water fountains?

Manchester Pupil Referral Unit found they didn’t need any extra water fountains as most of their classrooms had sinks. For classrooms without, a jug of water was simply filled up at the start of the lesson and kept at the front of the classroom or stored in a nearby fridge where available.

Reuse, reuse, reward!

How do you make sure your students are using their water bottles?

Manchester Pupil Referral Unit offered prizes to students for continued use of their water bottles, integrating it into their existing school reward system.

Remember we mentioned they ordered plain bottles? Students were encouraged to decorate and personalise their bottles however they wished as part of a school-wide bottle decorating competition and prizes were awarded for the best design too.

Wider education about single-use plastic was incorporated into their curriculum to further promote the switch to reusable bottles.

“We found the Recycle for Greater Manchester educational resources to be really useful”.

Check out the Recycle for Greater Manchester education resources for yourself.