Did you know... you could fill the WestpacTrust Centre about 3 and a half times over with the amount of waste (263,000 tonnes) that the Canterbury region generates each year?
What we do with our waste products is problem we constantly face - it is one that we just can’t ignore or think it is someone else's problem. Hazardous substances or waste products that may be toxic, can affect every part of the environment – land, air, and water – and unless we take positive action towards reducing it, they will eventually become overwhelming.
So what hapens to hazardous waste? What part can we all play in making sure that our disposal of it will not harm the environment or ourselves?
What we offer
Stormwater
Heard the name, seen the drains, but no idea what it is all about? You are not alone! When rainwater falls onto a hard, sealed, impermeable surface (such as roofs, roads, and driveways) it cannot soak into the ground. Instead, it runs off the surface. This runoff water is called stormwater. Stormwater doesn’t go into the sewers. It runs through a separate piped system from wastewater, so most stormwater isn’t treated before going into our rivers and out to our estuaries and the sea. It is different to wastewater, which goes down drains from inside our house after we do our washing, flush the toilet or have a bath. This FREE Stormwater education resource is aimed at year 7/8 students and delves into the big issues - where the water comes from, where it goes, why it is contaminated, and what effect this has on the quality of surface waterways. It also describes actions that schools, individuals and communities can take to help improve urban stormwater quality, to protect the unique stream environments that make up our towns.
Teacher/Facilitator Guide (4.9MB)
Student booklet (2.6MB)
Tip the balance - On waste
A fun, interactive cartoon-based way to learn about waste, aimed at year 5-8 students. It highlights how actions have reactions and how individual choices influence the war on waste. To add to the experience and learning, student workbook and facilitator guides are available. The books are intended to work alongside the interactive CD-ROM and form the base of a long-term inquiry-based learning experience.
Check out Tip the balance - On waste!
Student Workbook (pdf 359kB)
Facilitator Guides (pdf 426kB)
Your Environment, Canterbury (E-box): Waste not - want not
Nobody wants a rubbish dump in their back garden or a landfill next door. But what do we do with all the stuff we want to throw away? Find out about the 5 R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle, recover and residual management. Packed with activities and practical ideas to reduce waste.
Waste not - want not (pdf 2.09MB)
Kids' page: Waste not want not!
View our Living Here kids' page on waste .