Waste Education

Greater Shepparton City Council offer a variety of waste education services, with the goal of helping the community to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill.

Council’s Waste Education Officer facilitates site tours and litter clean-ups, provides waste presentations and other engagement activities for schools and the wider community throughout the year.

'Follow Your Rubbish' tours

Tours of the following facilities are free of charge and are accompanied by a member of Council's Waste Services team. If you’re interested in booking a tour, please contact us on (03) 5832 9700 or email waste@shepparton.vic.gov.au.

• Shepparton Resource Recovery Centre
  The Shepparton Resource Recovery Centre’s purpose is to maximise the re-use and recycling of items that don’t typically go into your household kerbside bins. Come and learn more about what you can and can’t recycle, the importance of keeping certain items out of landfill, and check out the Resale Shop!
• Cosgrove Landfill Waste Education Centre
  The Waste Education Centre at Cosgrove Landfill provides an impressive view of the workings of a landfill. You’ll see trucks unloading and waste being compacted and covered, and see exactly where the contents of your landfill (red lid) bin ends up.

Please note that schools and community groups need to organise their own transport.

Waste presentations

Council’s Waste Education Officer can come to your school or community group to talk about all things waste! From waste minimisation to littering to the importance of using your kerbside bins correctly, we can tailor a presentation to all age groups. Presentations are given free of charge.

Bin audits

If your school or business is interested in improving its diversion of waste from landfill, Council’s Waste Education Officer can come along and help you classify the waste in your landfill, recycling and FOGO bins via a bin audit. This can be an illuminating way to identify areas for improvement and encourage the implementation of waste-less practices within your group.

Clean-Up Australia Day

Council will provide support for schools, individuals and community groups across Greater Shepparton to host a Clean-Up event (which doesn’t have to be on the official day, we appreciate clean-ups all year round!)

Other resources

Resources for teachers on waste and recycling

There are many readily available resources for teachers and students interested in environmental education.

• Initiatives such as Planet Ark’s Recycling Near You provide information on which items can be recycled, and where. 
• Cool Australia provides loads of free activities and resources on sustainability that are curriculum linked for teachers and students.
• Food Wise is a great resource that provides practical advice and information on what you can do to solve the problems associated with our food system.
• Sustainable Table uses food as an entrée to explore sustainability issues, with loads of information around seasonal produce, free range, ethical food choices and reducing waste.
• Kids Teaching Kids is a program that promotes positive wellbeing and helps build resilience in young people. It raises awareness and drives action on local and global environmental issues, bringing communities together to solve common challenges and help the next generation of leaders who will take collective responsibility for our future. 
• Keep Australia Beautiful is dedicated to creating a litter free and sustainable Australia. The website has loads of information on KAB programs, campaigns, facts and funding opportunities.
• Clean Up Australia Day is the nation’s largest community-based environmental event with hundreds of community organisations hosting a clean-up each year. You can participate in a business clean up, schools clean up or a clean-up everyday event.   

Community education

Interested in reducing your own waste production at home? Check out some great resources to get you started:

• 1 Million Women - is a movement that provides loads of tips and resources on fighting climate change through our everyday lives.
• Plastic Free July - aims to raise awareness of the problems and amount of single-use disposable plastic in our lives and challenges people to do something about it. You can sign up for a day, a week or the whole month and try to refuse ALL single-use plastic or try the TOP 4: plastic bags, water bottles, takeaway coffee cups and straws.
• Victoria Bag Ban - All retailers in Victoria are now banned from supplying lightweight plastic shopping bags.
• Responsible Cafes - connects thoughtful cafes with conscious consumers with the aim of reducing the use of disposable take away cups.
• Take 3 for The Sea - Take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach, waterway or… anywhere, and you’ve made a difference.