Education Resources

Complementing Council's Waste Education Tours, Presentations, and activities, this section offers downloadable resources to further enrich the learning experience.

Printable resources:

• Waste Management Overview Poster (A3) ( PDF, 1.56 MB ) - Cairns Regional Council's Residential Waste & Recycling Facilities in Portsmith: Your guide to local waste management.
• Where does it all go - flyer (A4) ( PDF, 1.91 MB ) - a short description of the destinations for household waste and recycling in the Cairns region.
• Advanced Resource Recovery Facility Overview Poster (A4) ( PDF, 0.58 MB ) - A cross-sectional view of the process used to recover household organic materials for composting in the Cairns Region.
• Recycle Right Poster ( PDF, 2.25 MB ), The top six actions to minimise contamination in Yellow Lid Recycling Bins across the Cairns region.
• Recycled Glass Factsheet ( PDF, 1.44 MB ) - Further information about Council's recovered glass product.

Colouring-in and activity sheets:

• Council Recycling Truck
  ( PDF, 0.71 MB )
• Cairns Materials Recovery Facility ( PDF, 0.79 MB )
• Which bin does it go in Activity Sheet
  ( PDF, 0.96 MB )
• Reuse Crocodile Activity Sheet ( PDF, 0.77 MB )
• Reduce Waste Pledge Sheet
  ( PDF, 0.76 MB )

Video Resources:

• Cairns Kerbside Recycling Journey - Learn how materials disposed of in yellow lid recycling bins are sorted, separated and prepared for recycling into new materials.
• Cairns Kerbside Waste Journey - Explore how materials disposed of in red and green lid waste bins are screened to separate landfill waste from organics, with the latter being converted into compost for use on broadacre farms
• Materials Recovery Facility Timelapse Build - View Council's construction of the new Cairns Materials Recovery Facility, which has significantly enhanced the region's resource recovery capacity, featuring state-of-the-art recyclables sorting systems.
• Recycle Right - 6 Video tips on how to 'keep it simple' to minimise contamination in Yellow Lid Recycling Bins across the Cairns region.
• Keep Recycling out of waste - Watch five videos that emphasise the importance of keeping recyclable materials out of waste bins and landfills.
• Trash to Treasure Cairns -  Learn more about Cairns Reigonal Council's annual waste reuse festival. Or visit Council's Waste Education events page for more information.

Older Video Resources:

• Our Region's waste / recycling story, a 5 minute educational video for schools and community members on what happens to waste & recycling once collected in the Cairns region. You can also download Council's 'Where does it all go' flyer for a summary of this video.
• Recycling your waste around the house, how and why to reduce waste in your wheelie bins.
• Reuse to reduce waste, re-using things is great way to reduce our waste. See how and why to reuse your items instead of throwing them away.

Virtual Facility Tours:

Take a virtual tour of Council’s Recycling, Waste Management, Capped Landfill, Transfer Stations, Buy Back Shop, or Rediscovery Centre Facilites from the comfort of your home or classroom. Visit Council’s Waste & Recycling Virtual Tours Page to learn how.

Cairns Regional Council offers free recycling services for Cairns Regional Schools.  To register for the program please visit Council's 'Free School recycling webpage'.

To complement the service offering Council also offers quantities of free recycling and waste bin label/stickers (available in A4 and A3 sizes).  These resources can also be downloaded and printed below.

To request labels for your School please send your request to the Waste Services team via the email address: wasteservices@cairns.qld.gov.au. 

Printable Bin Labels & Posters:

• 'Recycling Here' Label (A3) ( PDF, 9.03 MB ) - for school use only
• Waste Label (A3) ( PDF, 0.31 MB ) - for school use only
• Recycle Right Poster ( PDF, 2.25 MB ),downloadable poster

Containers for Change Queensland School & Community Group Recycling Resources:

Containers for Change Queensland provides additional resources (bins, posters, further information) for Schools and Community Groups.

• To access these resources, please visit the partner program webpage and complete the registration process.

• Recycle Right: Cairns Regional Council's Recycle Right website containing videos and information on how to 'keep it simple' when it comes to household recycling.
• A-Z of Waste, a complete webpage list of 'what belongs in what bin' (as well as bin free alternatives for better waste management). You can also download Council's condensed A-Z single page version ( PDF, 3.25 MB ).
• Recycle Mate -  Free Downloadable  Artificial Intelligence App (for IOS & Android), customised for the Cairns Region, to help identify items which can and can't be recycled. Visit Council's Recycle Mate Cairns webpage for further information.
• Council's Pantry Card ( PDF, 2.96 MB ), a flyer with information about what can be placed in Recycling & Waste bins or taken to Transfer Stations.
• Where does it all go - flyer ( PDF, 1.91 MB ), a short description of the destination for household waste in the Cairns region.
• Recycle Right Poster ( PDF, 2.25 MB ),download an A4 poster to display around your school, community group or office with the six best actions we can take towards Recycling Right in the Cairns region.
• How to ensure your bin gets collected - flyer ( PDF, 1.54 MB ), information on how to present your wheelie bins for collection day.
• Council's Let's Get it Sorted Page, information about Love Food Hate Waste, Keep Recycling out of Waste,  Recycle Right

Learn how to Reduce Food Waste by visiting the Queensland Government's free online resources for students and their families. Visit Queensland Government Reduce food waste home page to view the program.

Printable 'Love Food Hate Waste' Lessons:

• Year 1 Lesson Plan: How to save food
• Year 2  Lesson Plan: Cupboard, Fridge or Freezer which is best?
• Year 3  Lesson Plan: What is food waste and why does it happen?
• Year 4 Lesson Plan: What a waste! How much does food waste cost?
• Year 5 Lesson Plan:  What a waste! But what exactly are we wasting?
• Year 6 Lesson Plan: How can I prevent food waste and be a food boss?
• Year 7 Lesson Plan: How does food waste harm the environment and what can we do to prevent it?
• Year 8 Be a waste warrior! take the pledge to reduce food waste

Cairns Regional Council Reduce Food Waste Session:

Council also offers a Love Food Hate Waste Incursion Presentation Session for Senior Primary, High School and Community Groups.  Visit Council's Free Presentations Page for further information.

The Organic Waste Smart School Program provides up to $2500 to offset the purchase of equipment that supports organic waste reduction strategies within a school. View more information about the program.

• Planet Ark has multiple education resources for teachers and students available
• Visit Containers Exchange to register for additional support and information about collecting 10c refund containers for your school.
• Visit ABC Television's War on Waste website for practical solutions to help reduce waste, reuse materials, and improve recycling efforts in our daily lives.
• Cool Australia has a series of curriculum aligned lesson plans and resources for educators on waste reduction and greater sustainability
• The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard has original and sequel videos to get you thinking about the real cost of consumerism. Fast-paced and engaging for primary age upwards.
• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a man-made phenomenon, largely made up of discarded plastics. We recommend viewing for ages six and up due to its stark visual impact, and that the video clip be supported by discussions with students about what they can do to make a positive environmental difference
• Further State Government Waste Education Resources.