More than 5,000 north London schoolchildren and teachers have shown they are In The Know about waste prevention after cutting the amount of rubbish thrown in the bin by nearly 60 per cent.
Thirteen primary schools completed North London Waste Authority’s (NLWA) innovative education programme during the 2025/26 academic year, which is aimed at establishing a culture of waste reduction by changing behaviours. They received a series of interventions to increase understanding of circular economy principles, including in-school assemblies, training on how to reduce food waste and staff away days.
A hands-on waste audit was carried out at the beginning of the year to establish a baseline, with a second audit carried out at the end of the programme to measure the impact. Almost 15,000 individual items of rubbish were hand-sorted and classified, alongside close to half a tonne of waste weighed bag by bag.
The results show a clear improvement in how accurately participating schools use their bins, with a deduction of around 59.5% in the amount of general waste weighed.
Other findings include:
- Items correctly placed in rubbish bins increased from 70% to 82%
- Items correctly placed in recycling bins rose from 77% to 88%
- The estimated overall recycling rate across audited schools rose from 39% to 45%
Councillor Jacob Cable, NLWA’s Chair, said: “Young people are crucial to building a culture of sustainability in north London, which is why it is so important to put knowledge for change in their hands and help them form green habits that will last a lifetime.
“As the new Chair of NLWA, it is inspiring to see whole school communities taking ownership of In The Know - reducing contamination, improving recycling practices and embedding behaviours that will make a real difference long term. Responding to the climate emergency takes action across all levels and we must work together to move towards a low waste future.
"NLWA will continue to build on the success of the programme by rolling it out to even more schools and celebrating achievements through its accreditation scheme."