If you have ever had a child insist on picking up rubbish at the beach or question why something is not being recycled, you will know that kids often lead the way. They see the world with fresh eyes, unburdened by the habits that adults have normalised. When sustainability becomes part of their learning, it quickly spreads to families and the wider community.

Schools are the perfect place to start when it comes to embedding best practice in waste management. Normalising sustainability in childhood makes it second nature for life. But what happens when the passionate teacher who drives these initiatives moves on? Without structured support, many programs disappear.

Few people understand this challenge better than Sue Hassler. An educator and sustainability leader, Sue helped transform waste management engagement in schools and communities. From pioneering recycling programs at Gerringong Public School to creating the Sustainable Schools Australia Facebook group with over 8,000 members, Sue has seen first-hand how sustainability efforts thrive when embedded into a school’s culture – and how quickly they can fade when they are not.

Sue’s work first gained national attention when Gerringong Public School joined the Kreative Koalas program, winning Best Community Project and being featured on ABC’s War on Waste in 2018. Students conducted plastics audits, overhauled the school’s bin system, and established a TerraCycle Drop-off Point, collecting over 60,000 hard-to-recycle items. Their efforts drastically cut waste, reducing landfill bins from 21 per week to just four.

Beyond the school gates, their mascot Captain Koala became a community-wide recycling hub, reinforcing sustainable habits across the region. But these initiatives did not survive long-term.

“When I left, it all fell apart,” Sue said. “There was no plan in place to sustain it, and the priorities of leadership changed.”

This is a common issue in schools. Without systemic support from leadership and structured policies to ensure sustainability programs continue, they often disappear when the teacher championing them moves on.

Sue believes the key to long-term sustainability lies in whole-school integration.

“It has to come from the top down,” she said. “Sustainability should not be an ‘extra’ that only happens if a teacher is passionate about it. It needs to be embedded in school policies, supported by leadership, and incorporated into everyday learning.”

She suggests several strategies to ensure programs last:

✔ Leadership support – School principals must value and prioritise sustainability.

✔ Staff engagement – A small team should lead programs, so they do not rely on one person.

✔ Community involvement – Engaging parents, local businesses, and councils strengthens long-term impact.

✔ Education department backing – Statewide policies should mandate sustainability education, rather than treating it as an optional add-on.

While sustainability is included in the curriculum, Sue points out that there are no clear requirements for how much time schools must dedicate to it.

“A school can spend five minutes on sustainability and tick the box, or they can spend five hours making real change,” she said. “Without guidelines, it varies hugely between schools. If we want sustainability to be the norm, it needs to be built into teacher training and school leadership programs.”

Despite these challenges, Sue remains committed to spreading best practices. She continues to run Sustainable Schools Australia, where educators share resources and support to implement sustainability initiatives.

For teachers looking to make an impact, her advice is simple – start small and make it visible.

“You do not have to do everything at once,” she said. “Begin with something manageable, like a recycling program or reducing plastic in lunchboxes. The key is to involve students, engage the community, and make sustainability a normal part of school life.”

Sue’s experience highlights an important lesson – real change happens when sustainability is embedded into culture, curriculum, and community.

Because when kids take the lead, they do not just follow the rules – they reshape the future.