Waste Education Centre

Situated at Northampton Borough Council’s Westbridge Depot in the centre of Northampton the Waste Education Centre Northamptonshire offers a unique and informative free of charge experience to children and community groups of all ages.

At the purpose built centre you can enjoy interactive recycling exhibits, activities and games. All of the activities have been developed to aid and promote understanding of the 3 R’s of waste management Reduce, Re-use and Recycle. As part of the session all visitors are taken on a tour of the Materials Recycling Facility.

All activities are specifically tailored to your group’s age and needs:

KS1

We accept year 2 pupils on our tours.

The children will enjoy a full tour and will take part in fun and interactive games that will show them how to reduce and reuse their waste in innovative ways. Children will also learn about natures way of recycling; composting.

KS2

We accept all year groups on our tours.

As well as the tour, children will learn about how they can do their bit to minimise waste at school and at home. They will have the opportunity to take part in fun and interactive games and activities that will show them how to reduce, reuse and recycle.

KS3 and upwards

We accept all year groups on tours.

The sessions are specifically designed to meet the needs of older year groups and can be tailored to meet requirements that may be essential for particular exam syllabi. We are happy to arrange visits for more than one class but please book well in advance for whole year groups or sessions that are required to fit around specific lesson times.

Twilight Tours

For community groups. These tours run from Easter to the end of the Summer Term. All groups receive a tour of the Materials Recycling Facility, however, as it is a working factory the machinery will not be in operation in the evenings. The sessions also involve fun and interactive activities that teach the children about how to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Fill in our 'book a visit' form to arrange a visit

Please be aware that the MRF is a working facility and the machinery is prone to breakdown from time to time. The working day at the MRF is: 8am – 10am (break from 10 - 10:20am) lunch between 12:30 – 1:30pm and finish at 4pm.

We are happy to arrange previsit tours and meetings for visit leaders to discuss learning outcomes.

Useful Documents

WEC risk assessment and map (PDF 304KB)

Additional WEC map (PDF 509KB)

WEC Primary evaluation form (Word 333KB)

WEC Primary capture sheet (PDF 297KB)

Primary schools - preparing and following up a NWET visit (PDF 279KB)

WEC Secondary evaluation form (Word 335KB)

NWET Behaviour expectations (Word 595KB)

NWET Terms and Conditions (Word 143KB)