Largy College Environmental Policy
Policy Group: Geraldine Lyons, Emma Smith, Clare O’Grianna, Emma McBride
and Dessie Mone
Date of Policy formation: 17th October 2014
Statement of Purpose: Environmental awareness is an important aspect of a
young person’s education and it plays a vital role in the students’ relationship
with the school, the community and the wider world.
Students and staff are asked to recycle, reduce waste and reuse in Largy
College.
Largy College has an active Green Schools Committee and this policy is in
accordance with their guidelines. The Green Schools’ aim is to increase
students’ and participants’ awareness of environmental issues through
classroom studies and to transfer this knowledge into positive environmental
action in the school, home and also in the wider community.
Objectives:
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Improve the school environment
Reduce litter and waste
Reduce fuel bills
Increase environmental awareness
Involve the local community
Benefits and requirements of the ‘Green-Schools’ Programme
The Green-Schools Programme offers Largy College opportunities to:
 Help develop children’s decision-making skills
 Build students’ confidence and sense of citizenship through participation
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Supply curriculum materials and ideas for projects and events
Gain access to a network of support agencies
Link with other schools in Ireland and internationally
Gain a prestigious award
Reduce waste and litter
Improve the school environment
Reduce energy and water consumption levels
Involve the local community
Policy:
 Recycling – Each class has a recycling bin to collect waste paper,
bottles etc. for recycling. This is emptied into a main recycling bin at the
side of the building. When possible left over paper is used as scrap paper
in class.
 Litter Policy – All litter must be properly disposed of in the correct bin.
One way to stop litter outside is not to let it out in the first place. Students
are encouraged to eat their break and lunch inside before they go out.
 Photocopying Policy- Reducing waste. Both sides of the sheet are used
when photocopying. Teachers only copy exact quantity required.
Photocopied handouts should be filed in the relevant student folder.
 School Journal - The school reduce the amount of paper being used by
communicating with parents via notes in the journal and texts and phone
calls home whenever possible. Letters are only sent out when absolutely
necessary.
 Conserving Energy – There are energy awareness posters displayed in
The school. We turn off the lights when we leave the room and appliances
are turned off when not in use e.g. computers, CD players, projectors etc.
 Conserve Water – Taps are designed to ensure minimum waste of water.
Leaks are reported to the Office.
 Staff Room – Glass jars from coffee and jam are washed and brought to
the school glass bank. Plastic pots and bottles are recycled. There is a bin
for recyclable waste. Newspapers are recycled. Teachers only print what is
necessary. Equipment and lights are turned off at the end of each day.
Roles:
Board of management:
 To ensure that the policy is developed and evaluated from time to time.
 To approve the policy
 To consider reports from the Principal on the implementation of the
policy.
Principal, Deputy Principal and Year Heads:
 To establish structures and procedures for the implementation of the
policy
 To monitor the implementation of the policy.
The Teacher:
 To promote environmental awareness, this includes encouraging
correct use of bins, monitoring the bin system and reducing waste
 To show leadership by guiding students on the correct usage of bins via
tutor class
 To remind students of key environmental concepts as they arise in
curricular subjects e.g. CSPE, SPHE, Geography, Science etc.
 Science teachers will dispose of materials in the recommended way
(Health and Safety regulations)
 Practical teachers encourage the reuse of material where possible
 To coordinate a Green Schools committee
Parents/Guardians:
 To encourage students to actively follow the environmental policy
 To support Largy College’s Environmental policy
Students:
 To use the bin system correctly
- The bin system consists of 3 categories
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 Black =
General Waste
 Green =
Dry Mix Recyclables
 Brown =
Food
Each bin is labelled and clearly identifies what items it should hold.
Largy College is also now a part of the ‘Every Can Counts’ campaign.
There are two of these bins (one upstairs and one downstairs) in the
school for cans only.
To consume canteen food within the canteen. To accommodate this,
food bins have been allocated to the canteen area only.
To continue to use the recycling bins in each classroom – all recyclable
waste (paper, empty bottles, cans etc) needs to go to the box/bin
marked recycling.
To carefully file handouts given by teachers to prevent wasteful
recopying and possible littering.
To adhere to the policy guidelines regarding recycling, waste prevention
and reuse where possible.
Evaluation:
The effectiveness of this environmental policy needs to be monitored and
evaluated. This will be the remit of the Green Schools’ Committee, comprised
of students and staff, and will be carried out on a regular basis.
Recommendations will be noted and implemented where possible.
Adopted by the Board of Management
Signed: _________________________ Date: 17th October 2014
Chairperson
Signed: ______________________________ Date: 17th October 2014
School Principal
Review Date: _________________________