Plastic Clever Schools

Over 1,000 schools – including 951 in the UK – have signed up to Plastic Clever Schools, a student-led challenge that equips and empowers children to help stop the flow of plastic pollution, starting with their schools.

In the UK, 78% of parents believe children should be taught more about plastic pollution and other environmental issues at school.

The Plastic Clever Schools programme, active in 36 countries, guides educators and children to learn about plastic pollution and inspire them to drive change in school and the wider community.

Becoming Plastic Clever

In a three-stage programme of lessons, pupils become ‘plastic clever’ by learning about plastic pollution, investigating plastic pollution in their schools and taking action to tackle the problem through activities ranging from litter picks to audits designed to identify and swap out single-use plastic items.

‘At River Primary School, we are very excited to become a Plastic Clever school. We are keen to reduce the amount of plastic that we use in school and to encourage our wider school community to look at ways to reduce, reuse and recycle too. Living by the coast and the River Dour, looking after our waterways and the ocean is especially important to us.’

MRS STEVENS
Teacher and co-ordinator of the Ocean Ambassadors group at the River School, Kent