East Campus Zero Waste Centre Reimagined

When it comes to sustainability and zero waste at East Campus, it was made clear from the start that the solution would require a
hands-on approach. – Trisha, Grade 10 student

The Zero Waste Centre was built to be an outdoor environmental classroom where students take part in sustainability activities
as part of UWCSEA’s curriculum or services. The centre was intended to be a place where the community can drop off items to
be reused, upcycled or recycled. Over time, the focus and intention of the space became muddled, as the collection of waste and
unwanted items have overshadowed larger learning strategies.

This year, the East Sustainability Team led by Valentina Zuin and Jacyl Ware thought of an innovative, inclusive, and creative
approach to tackle the immense challenge of reconceptualizing the Zero Waste Centre, to better support the community’s waste
management needs.

Singapore’s design thinking facilitators Project X, led a two and half day creative design and research workshop where students,
parents, educators, Facilities and sustainability staff came together to shape a new vision and strategic plan for the Centre. Over
the engaging and immersive sessions, participants came together to find solutions on how we can all be better ‘stewards’ of the
Campus’ waste management practices.

During the full day workshops, students applied their classroom skills to sharpen their research and listening abilities, and learned
to apply design thinking to their solutions. As Grade 10 participant Graciella shared,

When it comes to finding solutions that help the environment and the Zero Waste Center, design thinking can be particularly useful because it helps to shift the focus from purely technical or scientific solutions to solutions that are more human-centred and user-friendly. I love the connections I am making with other teachers, peers, parents, and staff members during this programme, and love to know them even better during a collective effort to make our dreams for the Zero Waste Centre come true.

Through this experience, participants not only had the opportunity to work with a professional team to improve East Campus’ approach
to waste management, they were empowered to help shape and own environmental stewardship practices from the inside out, working
as part of the campus community. We look forward to following this story next year, to see what’s ahead for the Centre!