Bangkok Patana’s “Waste Less Week”

Helen Thew, Cross Campus Principal

Wewill be holding our 8th Annual Waste Less Week (#WLW8) at Bangkok Patana during the week of 13th – 17th February and we are reaching out to the whole community to take part in it. Climate change is an ever-present part of our lives, through either direct experience of extreme weather events, like heat waves, droughts, forest fires and the recent flash floods and landslides that have hit Auckland, New Zealand. Or through indirect effects, such as exposure to anxiety-inducing headlines warning of yet another climate disaster. Awareness is crucial, but so are well-being and action; the three must go hand in hand. Supporting our students to talk about, make sense of, and remain resilient in the face of climate change is an important role we have both as educators and parents. By educating them about the causes and effects of climate change, we can empower them to act and make a positive impact on their environment.

able action plans that can be highlighted to the rest of the Bangkok Patana community. This year the Secondary SEC students have worked with the Primary students in setting up their One Green Goal Challenge. At the start of the year, we challenged Year groups, departments, families, and our wider community to set themselves a One Green Goal to pursue this year. We wanted you and your family to choose a goal that is relevant to you. Have you set yours yet?

You can watch some of the One Green Goals that have been set here: Bangkok Patana One Green GoalYouTube

One of the biggest ways that students can make a difference is by learning about the ways in which their daily actions can either contribute to or help to reduce climate change. For example, we teach about the importance of reducing energy consumption by turning off the aircon, lights and unplugging electronics when they’re not in use. Or they debate the pros the cons of a plant-based diet compared to a meat-based diet.

What are your small steps?

In Secondary, there is a group of dedicated environmentally friendly students who meet once a week at the Student Environmental Committee (SEC) where they share ideas about sustain-

As the Secondary SEC students started to discuss their plans for #WLW8 this term, they noticed that their themes fit into the 6Rs of sustainability, a framework which offers a way to help achieve a more sustainable lifestyle. The 6Rs of sustainability are: rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle. The 6Rs are ordered accordingly to their priority and, if possible we are encouraged to take actions that appear earlier in the list. During WLW#8 the SEC students will be focusing on one R each day and will be asking us all to “rethink” and be more mindful of our consumption habits to limit our impact on the environment after all “do I really need that?” Each day ideas as to actions we could all take will be shared with the students and staff. The SEC students have come up with the following ideas to share (overleaf).

MONDAY – REFUSE

•Single use plastic e.g. plastic straws, plastic utensils or a plastic bag.

•Plastic bottles for soap when you can use a soap bar instead.

•CFL bulbs where you can use LED bulbs instead.

•Travelling by car when you can walk instead.

TUESDAY – REDUCE

•Email traffic by unsubscribing to emails not wanted.

•Amount of printing.

•Energy consumption e.g. turn off lights / aircon / devices on standby etc.

•Water consumption e.g. turn off the tap when brushing your teeth.

•Meat consumption e.g. have a meat free day.

•Food waste.

•Car traffic e.g. take the school bus, BTS or car share to school rather than travelling in your own individual car.

FRIDAY – RETHINK

•What difference have I made this week and what difference will I continue to make?

The ideas listed above are just that - ideas! The SEC encourages everyone to be creative, to think outside of the box and work together during #WLW8 and beyond for a sustainable future. Remember every small step of change adds up and collectively they do make a difference.

I warmly invite you to follow SEC on their Instagram bangkokpatana_sec and to share any photos that show you following one of the Rs to me at heth@patana.ac.th and I will share them on the SEC Instagram account to help inspire others!

WEDNESDAY – REUSE / REPAIR

•Use both sides of a sheet of paper.

•Reuse your named reusable water bottle.

•Reuse your eco-friendly bags.

•Pass on your old school uniforms to the Tiger Shop.

•Rethink what can you repair rather than throw out.

THURSDAY - RECYCLE

•Sign up for the recycle pledge.

•Use the correct recycle bin e.g the House Recycling Bins / carpark recycling bins.

•Recycle plastic into Eco bricks.

•Recycle batteries.