EVC Spring 2026_magazine_AWdigital - Flipbook - Page 12
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THE WORLD OF WASTE
We talked to Lizzie King, Education Programme
Manager at North London Waste Authority,
about the work that goes into ensuring every
visit is educational as well as enjoyable
A waste facility might not seem an
obvious place for a school visit,
but after a Keep Britain Tidy report
in 2025 called for more education
around waste and recycling, North
London Waste Authority (NLWA)
decided to act. It redeveloped its site,
created an education centre called
EcoPark House and brought in Lizzie
King to build a visit programme
from scratch.
As a former teacher, Lizzie knows
how important it is for school visits to
be linked to the National Curriculum,
so the itinerary includes topics found
in Design & Technology, Geography
and Science at Key Stage 2. This
year, NLWA plans to add a secondary
school programme, which will look at
careers in the industry and designing
for the circular economy.
Each day-long visit currently includes
three elements: a workshop on
the journey of waste, a tour of the
recycling and reuse facility and a
follow-up activity that explores the
‘circular economy’, where items are
repaired, reused or recycled rather
than thrown away.
"The teachers gave
us some really useful
insight into what they
would look for in a visit"
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Fit for purpose
To make sure the programme
delivers exactly what schools want,
NLWA shared its plans with local
teachers and used their feedback to
refine and improve the offering. “The
teachers gave us some really useful
insight into what they would look for
on a school visit and what we can do
to support them,” Lizzie says. “They
also helped us to identify potential
barriers for schools.”
The teachers’ feedback included
ideas such as offering a choice of
workshops rather than having a fixed
plan, making sure that workshops
are cross-curricular and having a
video to watch before the visit, so
that teachers and students know
what to expect on the day.
