So why is it important to recycle all that we can at school
WASTE MANAGEMENT AT (Insert Your School Name) SCHOOL
Why is it important to recycle and compost all that we can at
school?
Most of us don’t think about the costs of Waste Disposal at
school, but we should. Every time our children throw something away
at school, the district pays for it. Money spent on waste means
less money for other programs. You may have heard that the district
is making cuts to the budget. This is not going to improve any time
soon. But we can help by making some simple changes in the choices
we make for our children’s snacks and lunches.
Did you know that on average, a school-age child using a
disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year—more
than most kids’ body weight! All of this goes to a landfill, adding
133 pounds per child of carbon dioxide and methane emissions to the
atmosphere. Not to mention how much it costs to have this waste
removed! Last year the district spent more than $45,000 to haul the
waste “away.”
At (Insert Your School’s Name), our waste management plan is
continually evolving. (Insert Your School’s Story here. The
following is an example at another school), The Green Team launched
a lunch time sorting and monitoring campaign in which every
teacher, student, and yard duty assistant received hands-on
education and training on proper sorting of snack and lunch
recycling and waste. We also implemented reusable party packs in
the classrooms to decrease the waste associated with celebrations.
These incredibly successful programs resulted in a decrease in our
waste bill by more than $2,700! Most of this savings came from
eliminating an entire Dumpster from our campus. We were able to do
this through hands-on education and training of every student,
teacher, and staff, reusable party packs in the classroom, and the
support of the entire school community. (Play up all you have been
doing and ask for help)
This is great, but there is always room for improvement. We
learned in a formal waste audit from Marin Sanitary Service that 40
percent of what goes into our Dumpster (which goes to the landfill)
is not garbage but paper and cardboard recycling. The remaining 60
percent is comprised of food (20%) and garbage (40%). Our diversion
rate is at 65% and we need to get to 85% in order to receive
funding to put towards our program. (if you need numbers to put
here, you can do your own waste audit or arrange for MSS to do an
audit for you. State what you want to do with the money. Let
EVERYONE know this is important).
How can I help to reduce the amount of waste at school?
Pack a No Waste Lunch all year and reduce waste by 67lbs/child =
133 lbs of Carbon dioxide emissions. Less waste means less landfill
and a reduction in greenhouse gases! Waste-free lunches are not
only a wise environmental choice, but they are less expensive as
well.
A waste free lunch contains no throw-away packaging. The best
solutions for food and drink packaging are stainless steel food
containers, reusable non-plastic canteens, cloth napkins, stainless
steel, aluminum or bamboo forks/spoons. Other good options are food
safe plastic containers made from recycled plastic. Avoid
purchasing foods with single serving packaging and ask your child
to bring home the leftovers!
Durable and easy to clean, reusable food-safe plastic bags have
the potential to replace thousands of plastic baggies in its
lifetime. Another option is cotton muslin bags. The following
vendors can be found at
http://www.reuseit.com/store/go-fresh-c-99.html?show_all=true
1. Fresh Snack Pack
2. Lunchskins
3. Wrap-N-Mat
4. ReUsies
5. Graze Organic
6. Reuseit
7. WasteNot Saks
8. Taxi bags
Reusable containers available at this site are:
1. Aladdin eCylce
2. Bazura Bags
3. Laptop Lunches
4. Gel-Cool
5. Fit & Fresh
6. KidsKonserve
7. Mimi the Sardine
8. And many more!!!!!
DECREASE WASTE at (Insert Your School Name)!
Commit to No Waste Lunches and Snacks!
Please contact (Name of Green Team Champion) if you have any
questions, comments, or interest in becoming involved with the
Green Team.
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