As the peak body representing organics processors and recyclers, the Australian Organics Recycling Association (AORA) is a strong advocate for education about the recycling and organics industries across all age levels and communities.
As such, it supports organisations like Melbourne-based Repurpose It which hosts free sustainability incursions with preschool and school-aged children and has rolled out a ‘train the trainer’ session for teachers focusing on fostering sustainable practices.
Since July 2024, Repurpose It has hosted 45-minute sessions with early childhood centres, in Hume and Whittlesea, covering essential sustainability topics such as waste sorting, composting, and waste reduction. The aim is to educate children on the work of recyclers such as Repurpose It.
The sessions connect with young people at preschools and primary schools to gauge their level of understanding about waste streams, how they are used and where materials go once they leave the bins at home.
Repurpose It’s Education and Communications Specialist Thom Fox uses portable worm farms and compost bins as a tangible link between actions at home and the larger scale resource recovery process, to teach young people about sustainable practices.
Thom says early education about organics is important because it lays the foundation for sustainable practices from an early age, while instilling a sense of environmental responsibility in children.
“The early primary school space is such a critical moment for consolidating, understanding and establishing a sense of identity,” says Thom.
“Kids learn their place within the world, and how their actions have an impact and influence their community.”
In the sessions, children discover how to make compost and recycle food scraps, and how they can take care of nature.
Thom says the sessions inspire children to care for the planet by reducing waste, which helps them develop habits that can positively impact the environment throughout their lives, while learning about Repurpose It.
“In the sessions we work to replicate what’s happening on our site in Epping by breaking the process down in ways they will understand,” he says.
Repurpose It produces products from waste that support a number of industries including construction and demolition, and food organics and garden organics (FOGO).
Materials that enter the site are screened and tested. Thom discusses these steps and how the organic material is broken down into compost at the other end.
“We want to educate the kids about Repurpose It’s mission, but more importantly the sessions are about how to use the waste streams effectively to reduce contamination,” he says.
“We use real world language like contamination, recycling and mitigation strategies with kids while combining easy to understand practices like worm farms. This is a great tool for explaining the workings of FOGO, because if the worm cannot eat it, it cannot go in the FOGO green bins.”
Thom says this tangible learning is a useful tool because the choices made at home do matter.
“Contamination mitigation is best combatted at the incoming feedstock point, which is also known as the residential bin,” he says.
“We want to reduce contamination at the source, rather than trying to innovate and ideate at the back end with million-dollar machinery.”
Thom says reasons for residential contamination can range from misunderstanding, ‘wishcycling,’ and apathy, to simply not knowing what waste goes in which bin. The sustainability incursions work to demystify the recycling process by highlighting the human element.
“We want community connection between organics and recycling to be second nature,” he says.
“By starting our programs with children at one of their most critical cognitive developmental stages, we’re aiming to foster a strong sense of environmental advocacy and agency. If you start environmental education at this age, you are potentially setting them up to have 13 years of education focusing on some elements of environmental sustainability.
“You also get ‘pester power’ with children who pester their parents and family members to keep up with organics and recycling.”
Outstanding reviews
Since the inception of the program Thom has sent surveys to all participating centres and is pleased to have always received positive feedback.
“We have visited more than 30 ELCs (Early Learning Centres) and five schools, allowing us to reach over 1300 families just from the ELC visits alone,” he says.
“Written feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We find although the program is targeted to school-aged children, the adults in the room are also listening and learning.
“Our requests for incursions have increased exponentially since schools have returned for 2025. We are fully booked for term one, I am now taking incursion bookings for term two and three.”
Repurpose It collaborates closely with its council partners across Victoria where they take in FOGO, street sweepings as well as hard and soft green waste.
Thom says the team is looking to expand the program to offer excursions on site in Epping.
“Incursions are amazing, and it is wonderful to be able to facilitate them. But there is nothing more visceral and tangible for students and teachers than an onsite excursion,” he says.
AORA backing the industry
Thom says it is incredible to have a peak body in Australia, such as AORA, representing organics recycling.
“AORA has such a strong community focus and an end goal which aligns with Repurpose It’s views on minimising contamination,” he says.
“There are so many approaches that can be taken to share the messaging on contamination from the punitive to informative letters in the mail to initiative-taking social media and face to face campaigns.
“Ultimately AORA and Repurpose It both agree that education is one of the most effective methods and we enjoy our respectful mutual partnership.”
John McKew, AORA National Executive Officer, says education is critical to eliminate the issues currently facing the recycling industry.
“The primary issue continues to be contamination, a ubiquitous problem which occurs across all waste streams. If we continue to educate at all levels, then we are not only helping the industry, we are also helping the economy and environment.
“Young children do an excellent job at reminding their closest friends and family members about what they learnt that day and why recycling is important for the planet.
“The sooner we can embed the right practices the better. If we teach kids how to manage recycling streams, we have a greater chance of success.”
For more information, visit:
www.aora.org.au and
www.repurposeit.com.au
