Para kore: Aiming for zero waste at Tongariro School

Waste-free campaigner Kate Meads (centre) visited Tongariro School recently to talk about zero waste periods and see the students' sustainability efforts. Photo /Supplied

From school pigs to experimenting with making bricks from recycled cardboard, Tongariro School is moving towards becoming a sustainable school.

The change at the Tūrangi school, which has students from year 1 to year 13, is being driven by both students and staff, with a group of senior students leading a para kore (zero waste) project and Services Academy director George Jensen setting up a small sustainable farm and recycling area on the school grounds.

The school and Taupō District Council are supporting their efforts, with the council funding bins for classrooms to allow students to sort their waste and bringing in waste-free campaigner Kate Meads earlier this month to talk to the senior female students about waste-free period products.

All the girls at Kate's session were given a free pack of waste-free period products, including a pair of period undies, a reusable pad and menstrual cups to try. Social studies and art teacher Reina Hepi says the girls were really interested in cutting down on sanitary waste which in turn benefits the lake and the environment and there were lots of questions that came out at the session.

Kate is a well-known waste-reduction campaigner and as well as waste-free periods she is also interested in recycling, waste-free nappies and reducing food waste. After her korero with the girls, she toured the school's little farm with some of the students.

As well as Kate's visit, Shannon Hanson of the Taupō District Council was also there to assess the school's recycling efforts and present the sustainability group with a certificate confirming that the school had already reached Stage One of the Resource Wise Schools Programme. The school aims to make it all the way through the top level, Stage Five, Reina says.

"The council is willing to come and support us around our sustainable vision and the kids are really engaged in it. We've got a recycling team of seven girls and they reinforce the learning and the teaching to the whole school so they go down to the junior school and check the that the kids know which bins the recycling goes into."

The whole para kore project has been driven by a group of primarily year 9 and year 10 students, Paris Watene, Hope Sangster, Leilani Lacey, Sophie-Rose Bruce and Te Atawhai Tahau, who researched what was needed and who have made it their mission to reduce the amount of waste being produced. Prior to their para kore project, recycling was non-existent and not only were students not recycling, but litter around the school was also a problem.

Hope says the impetus came about during sustainability discussions in social studies lessons. They were also inspired by Kate's series Wasted New Zealand on YouTube.
The group started off by doing a waste audit which found that the school was producing a lot of waste. Some of it, such as food scraps and paper, were going straight to landfill but could instead be reused or recycled.

"Everything was going into one bin when it should have been sorted into recycling and food scraps."

They wrote a proposal to the Taupō District Council for funding and were given $1389 which was used to buy three bins for each of the classrooms in the junior school to allow the students to separate their waste. In addition, Manaaki Fitness donated 18 mobile bins.
They held a junior school assembly and explained the kaupapa to the students, how the recycling programme worked and what they could do to help, but admit it took some time for the students to learn to make it a habit.

Another thing the para kore group has helped set up is a resource recovery and recycling centre. The students in each class sort their waste into the bins and when they are full each class takes its recycling bins to the school resource recovery and recycling centre and sorts them into the correct place.

George, who helps look after the school's mini-farm and resource recovery centre, says previously, the school would have two big industrial containers that it filled every two weeks, which would then be shipped off to landfill. Now, it is closer to every six to eight weeks.

Tongariro School Services Academy director George Jensen in the school's mini-farm and sustainbility area. Photo / Laurilee McMichael

The school could do more with its waste if it had the resource to break it down even further. For example, the students envisage using the waste paper and cardboard from the school to create bricks which can be used for construction but cutting the cardboard into pieces small enough to be used to make bricks is time-consuming. George is experimenting to find the right amount of water to break the cardboard down so it can then be mixed with flour and sawdust to make bricks.

Reina says part of the drive behind sustainability was prompted by last year's wastewater spill into Lake Taupō. Some of the recent spills into the lake have been caused by wastewater pipe blockages from wet wipes and other non-biodegradable material being flushed down toilets. That, in turn, had driven a desire to reduce waste in order to protect waterways.

"A lot of the kids were really heartbroken about the damage that had been done...We've got a really deep strong connection to our waterways, our kids are the driving force for us ensuring that our lake and our rivers are taken care of and we can only do that if our kids learn how to do that properly."

Down on the (school) farm

Moko the goat is friends with the rabbits. The chickens and ducks scratch about, eating scraps and laying eggs. The pigs break down green waste.

It's all part of the scene on the Tongariro School's mini-farm, where there are gardens, animal pens and compost bins

Moko the Tongariro School goat is friendly with the rabbits. This pair were later spotted lying down together. Photo / Laurilee McMichael

The animals' waste goes into the school compost bins, along with green waste and shredded paper. Food waste from the classrooms is fed to the chooks and pigs. It's a cycle.

Not only are the animals entertaining to watch, they serve many purposes. The older students can learn about animal husbandry. The younger ones learn about empathy, and what is needed to care for the animals, cleaning them out, feeding them and petting them.

Next to the animal farms are school vegetable gardens which are looked after by the students. The weeds go into the compost and the bigger green waste is put into the pigs' pen where the pigs break it down by chewing on the green material and breaking up the branches.

Old tyres are also reused, filled with compost, dirt and mulch and used for growing plants.

The animals have been at the school for around six years and the idea originally came from the George, who also feeds and cares for them during weekends, holidays and during the alert level 4 lockdown.

He says the corner of the school occupied by the animals and gardens was used for storing rubbish until he decided to develop it. It first became a community garden, which was later folded back into the school. George added more gardens, and later, the animals.