School Resources

We offer Newcastle schools and community groups a number of waste education activities that can be tailored to your needs.

Class Excursions

Our Waste Educators provide tours of the Summerhill Waste Management Centre.

Join us as we investigate the separate paths taken by your garbage, garden organics and recyclables once your bins are emptied.

The tours are free and are suitable for Stage 2 and above.

Your school or community group must be located within the Newcastle Local Government Area and be responsible for organising bus hire.

To book a tour call our Waste Education Team on (02) 4974 2000 or complete the Waste Education Request Form.

Class Incursions

Our Waste Educators offer classroom talks suitable for Kindergarten to Year 12.

Presentation topics include recycling, worm farming, composting, landfill gas management, litter and marine debris.

To book a visit call our Waste Education Team on (02) 4974 2000 or complete the Waste Education Request Form.

Waste Audits

Kick start your school's waste reduction journey by conducting a waste audit.

Waste audits give students a hands-on learning experience, as well as providing valuable data to help your school review its current waste management systems.

We have all the equipment you require to conduct a waste audit. These free resources are available for loan through the Waste Education Request Form.

Our Waste Educators can also provide information and support to assist you with the waste minimisation component of your school's environmental plan.

To borrow our waste audit equipment or talk to our Waste Education Team call (02) 4974 2000 or complete the Waste Education Request Form.

Waste Education Videos

Find it hard to fit an excursion into your class programming?

Give your class a behind-the-scenes look at our landfill in the comfort of your classroom.

View our free waste education videos that capture the day-to-day landfill operations, kerbside bin collections and resource recovery facility, as well as our landfill gas capture system and solar farm.

We have paired our suite of videos with a selection of free online resources for both teachers and students.

Videos and Resource Links

In this short video discover the path your waste, garden organics and recycling takes once it leaves the kerb.

Online Resources 

Early Stage 1

Waste and Packaging* - Introduce younger children to the ideas of packaging, waste and recycling.

Truck Safety and Landfills on the Central Coast -  Learn how to be safe on bin day with Central Coast Council. 

Stage 2

Local Waste Management - Explore the different ways waste was managed in the past, compared to today's methods. 

There's No Waste in Nature* - Investigate why is there no 'waste' in nature. Students can also look at organising a local clean up event.

Stage 3

Big Challenges, Big Impact* - Look some of the environmental challenges we are facing and discover how the new Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) can help improve your recycling. 

Stage 4

Towards Zero Waste* - Learn about the positive impact recycling can have on reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill.

Stage 5

Waste Pathways* - Investigate what happens to different waste streams in your local area.

*Requires the set up of a free account to access resources

Discover what happens in the day-to-day operation of the landfill at Summerhill Waste Management Centre in this short video.

Online Resources

Stage 1

School Waste Tour* - Investigate what happens to the different types of waste in your school.

Waste Breakdown* - Students look at the timeframes it takes for different wastes to decompose.

Stage 2

Rotting Food* - Conduct an experiment to see how different substances found in the kitchen can help preserve food.

Stage 3

Break Down The Waste* - Investigate the composition of recyclable materials and look at how they break down.

Stage 5

Waste Pathways* - Investigate what happens to different solid waste streams in your local area.

Build A Landfill* - Investigate how a landfill site works and build a three dimensional landfill model.

*Requires the set up of a free account to access resources

Discover how waste is sorted and recycled at Summerhill Waste Management Centre's Resource Recovery Centre in this short video.

Online Resources

Stage 1

School Waste Tour* - Investigate what happens to the different types of waste in your school.

Waste Break Down* - Students look at the timeframes it takes for different wastes to decompose.

Stage 2

Recycle Rescue* - Learn about the environmental benefits of reycling mobile phones and printer cartridges.

Unmaking A Phone* - Explore the life-cycle of mobile phone materials.

Stage 3

Reduce And Re-use* - Explore the purpose of the Australiasian Recycling Label (ARL) and learn about sustainable packaging.

Design A Materials Recovery Facility* - Design and build a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), investigating the processes used to sort and classify products based on their properties.

Stage 4

Back To Earth* - Follow the life cycle of green waste, from tree to bin to compost at the Resource Recovery Facility.

Stage 5

Recycle Rescue* - Learn about the environmental benefits of recycling mobile phones and printer cartridges

*Requires the set up of a free account to access resources

In this short video discover how greenhouse gases are managed at the Summerhill Waste Management Centre.

Online Resources

Early Stage 1

The Impacts Of Waste* - Students begin to understand how waste impacts the environment.

Stage 1

People And The Environment - Investigate how people use natural resources and how this affects the environment.

Stage 2

Local Waste Management - Investigate the ways waste is managed in your community.

Stage 3

Sustainable Energy Sources - Investigate the energy sources that people use to meet their electricity needs.

Regenerating Australia*- Look at the concept of 'regeneration' and the impact of regeneration on our communities and ecosystems.

Stage 4

2040 - Renewable Energy* - Explore the differences between renewable and non-renewables resources.

Stage 5

Future Solutions*- Students explore what needs to be done to provide future energy solutions.

Energy Factsheet*- Everything you need to know about energy.

*Requires the set up of a free account to access resources

In this short video discover how to reduce, reuse and recycle following the steps of the Waste Hierarchy.

Online Resources

Early Stage 1

Australasian Recycle Label Memory Card – Print and play with these free memory game cards.  

Stage 1

What waste do I make?* - Students look at the waste they produce in one day and investigate where it all ends up.

Stage 3

School Waste Audits* - Conduct a waste audit of your school's bins. All the necessary equipment is available for loan from City of Newcastle.

*Requires the set up of a free account to access resources

Join our Waste Services staff in this short video as they answer some of the most common waste and recycling questions.

Online Resources

Stage 2

Local Waste Management - Explore the different ways waste is managed in your community.

Waste And Recycling Sorting Game - Test your knowledge with Cleanaway's waste and recycling quiz. 

Stage 5 

Planet Ark Mythbusters - Planet Ark's Recycling Near You Top 7 recycling myths.

Waste Q & A* - Run a class Waste Q&A quiz show.

*Requires the set up of a free account to access resources

Other Environmental Education Services

Awabakal Environmental Education Centre

Awabakal Environmental Education Centre is a NSW Department of Education School, providing environmental sustainability education for students and teachers across the Hunter Region.

Located at Dudley, the Centre is adjacent to the Awabakal Nature Reserve, providing an excellent venue for student fieldwork.

Hunter Water

Hunter Water offers several exciting programs to challenge students to tackle water sustainability in the Lower Hunter.

Their "Let's Lover Water" show is a fast-paced interactive show for preschool to Year 2 students, staring Professor Puddle and Eddy the Aquabot from Jollybops Science.

The program highlights the many ways we can all love and save water.

Local Land Services

Local Land Services provides a wide range of environmental education programs, encouraging local students to become land management champions.

They offer educational opportunities for both primary and high school students.

Their programs and activities cover water quality and catchment health, pest animals, cultural burning, tree planting and marine debris.

Museum Express

Museum Express delivers high quality and engaging science shows to primary and early secondary schools in the Hunter and Central Coast regions. The shows are presented by expert Newcastle Museum scientists and teachers and linked to the NSW and Australian Curriculum.

Wetlands Environmental Education Centre

The Wetlands Environmental Education Centre is located within the grounds of the Hunter Wetlands Centre at Shortland.

The Centre offers a range of excursion opportunities for students from Kindergarten to Year 12, introducing students to the connections between people, their culture and their environment.