Eco-Creative Cleaning Workshop
Sample Workshop on Making Cleaning Products Using Food Waste
Last updated
Sample Workshop on Making Cleaning Products Using Food Waste
Last updated
Introduction to the topic of food waste and its environmental impact: Begin with an introduction to food waste and discuss its effects on the environment. You can use videos from the Foodshift Pathways channel, the FAO website, or resources from Food Educators.
Small group brainstorming activity: Have students brainstorm in small groups on ways to reduce food waste at school. Encourage creativity and practical solutions.
Large group debate: Facilitate a group discussion on the proposed ideas and how they could be implemented at school.
Divide the students into groups and assign tasks to research and create recipes for homemade cleaning products that could be useful at school or at home.
Here we share the base for all the recipes—or at least most of them. It’s homemade vinegar, a sustainable and creative way to repurpose discarded fruit peels or food waste, especially citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, or grapefruits. This process not only gives food scraps a second life but also creates a versatile product for cooking, cleaning, or personal care. Moreover, the vinegar can be infused with plant-based scents and enriched with natural active ingredients to add specific properties.
Citrus peels: orange, lemon, grapefruit... whatever you have.
Drinking water.
A bit of sugar or honey (optional, but it helps speed up the process).
A large glass jar with a lid (not airtight, as air needs to flow in).
A thin cloth or gauze to cover the jar.
Aromatic herbs or flowers: like rosemary, lavender, mint, or basil (pick your favorite!).
Alcohol (optional, for macerating the herbs).
Natural active ingredients (optional): tea tree essential oil or chamomile extract to add special properties.
Prepare the Peels:
Wash the peels thoroughly and cut them into small pieces. Fill the glass jar halfway with the peels.
Add Water:
Fill the jar with drinking water, completely covering the peels. If you want to speed up the fermentation, add a tablespoon of sugar or honey per liter of water.
Cover and Ferment:
Cover the jar with a thin cloth or gauze (this allows it to breathe while keeping curious bugs away). Secure the cloth with a rubber band and place the jar in a warm, dark spot.
Stir with Care:
During the first week, stir the mixture once a day to prevent mold from forming. After one or two weeks, you’ll notice the liquid starting to smell acidic. You’re on your way to perfect vinegar!
Strain and Rest:
Once the liquid is acidic enough, strain out the peels and transfer the vinegar to a clean jar. Let it rest for another two to three weeks to intensify the flavor.
Add Aromas:
Macerate dried herbs or flowers (like lavender or rosemary) in a small amount of alcohol for 48 hours. Then, add this mixture to the vinegar for a special touch.
Boost Its Power:
Add a few drops of tea tree essential oil for antibacterial properties or a bit of chamomile extract to soften the vinegar—perfect for skincare!
With this homemade vinegar base, design your own recipes using the ingredient table found on page 55 of this small manual created for teachers. You can also find a template to create your own recipe booklets.
Explain the importance of identifying social actors (such as the cafeteria, nearby restaurants, small shops, supermarkets, and our homes) that can provide waste materials for cleaning products.
Conduct a group research activity to identify potential social or private stakeholders around the school.You can use the actor mapping template from Miro.
Facilitate a group discussion about the findings and possible strategies to involve these stakeholders.
Plan strategies to obtain the identified waste materials.
Collect waste and necessary materials for the final recipes of homemade cleaning products.
Prepare and document the final recipes (Prototyping).
Here are some examples of labels created by students from the Balaguer Institute.
Prepare a presentation or exhibition to share the workshop results with the school community.
Present the products created, the research process, and the conclusions drawn.
