Plastic Free Schools

A system-shaking, changemaking, pupil-led education programme

Visit the Plastic Free Schools website

What is Plastic Free Schools?

It’s a programme to equip young activists with the tools to create positive, lasting environmental change. It teaches pupils that they should never underestimate the power of their voice. It helps the kids and teachers to outsmart the polluters and replace their pointless plastics with something better.

The Plastic Free Schools campaign empowers pupils to make real changes in their school and community. They investigate single-use plastics, find alternatives for their school to use, and challenge polluters to change their ways.

With millions of young activists on board, we can end plastic pollution on our beaches by 2030.

How does it work?

Becoming a Plastic Free School takes commitment, creativity and a serious amount of pupil power. Here’s how it works:

1. Your school signs up to the programme on our website.
2. We send you a Plastic Free Schools welcome pack with objective cards, action plans, teachers’ notes and sacks and gloves for a school clean-up.
3. You complete the five objectives – from making plans, to making changes, to making a noise the polluters can’t ignore.
4. You send us updates and photos of your progress.
5. We make you an official Plastic Free School and send out a plaque to be displayed proudly in your school.

Find out more

Why is it important?

Our aim is to free where we live from single-use plastic. The avoidable stuff that’s everywhere. Plastic bottles, sachets, takeaway containers, excessive food packaging. They’re in our schools, our playgrounds, our parks and our streets, and they’re having a huge impact on our environment. But we have the power to change this – whoever we are, wherever we live, and wherever we go to school.

We want to help schools say a big fat ‘NO’ to single-use plastics. We want to foster school environments where, when it comes to helping the ocean and planet, the children will do anything but sit down and be quiet.

How do I get involved?

WE NEED YOU TO HELP MAKE PLASTIC THE TALK OF THE PLAYGROUND.

The Plastic Free Schools programme is completely free and available to all UK-based teachers in nursery, primary and secondary education. Parents, carers and pupils: your job is to get teachers to sign up!


Teachers – make your school a Plastic Free School

Designed to hit key curriculum and other targets, this programme will support you to empower your pupils to make positive changes for the environment and your school.

Sign up now

Find out more


Pupils – use the power of your voice

Get your school to sign up to Plastic Free Schools and start your journey as an Ocean Activist. We’ve even got a handy letter template you can use to send to your teacher.

Let’s do this!


Parents & Carers – influence the school

If you want the young people in your life to be equipped to speak to power and eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic, here’s how you can encourage teachers to sign up.

Get your school involved

Together we will create an extensive network of Plastic Free Schools, inspiring the next generation of Ocean Activists to fight for an end to Plastic Pollution.

The Plastic Free Schools programme has helped to raise awareness of the environment across the school in both children and adults. Through working towards plastic free status, the children have written letters to major polluting companies, lobbied our local MPs, and have even visited the Houses of Parliament to deliver letters to the government asking for action on plastic pollution.

Trinity St Peter’s C.E. Primary School