To protect the environment: Reducing waste, reusing
materials, recycling, and buying recycled products lessons
a school or school district’s impact on the environment by:
■ Saving energy
■ Cutting greenhouse gas emissions
■ Diminishing the need for raw products to make
new materials
■ Decreasing the amount of materials put into landfills
To reduce costs and make money: Like other businesses,
schools pay for waste disposal. In many cases, recycling
services biaya less than trash disposal. Schools and districts
that make an effort to recycle can see significant savings in
trash disposal costs. In some cases, recycling may even allow
your school to carry revenue through the sale of recyclables.
Decreasing the use of materials such as office paper also
reduces purchasing, handling, and storage costs.
To educate tomorrow’s citizens:
Opportunitiesfor Environmental Education—
By implementing recycling programs in schools or districts,
teachers and administrators demonstrate environmental
responsibility and good decision making. School recycling
programs also offer hands-on, real-life project-based
learning opportunities to teach students about
sustainability. Environmental education provides an
integrating base to learn about economics, current events,
and environmental policy and laws.
Opportunitiesfor Service Learning—
School recycling programs also allow for service-learning
by offering hands-on experiences that go beyond
classroom learning. For example, students might
participate in community waste collection days or share
recycling tips with neighbors. Service learning provides
students with valuable experience volunteering in the
community and teaches new skills such as
communications, team-building, critical thinking,
and decision-making.
- Organize a Green Team
Identify team members —
Organize a team to help plan, design, implement, and
maintain your recycling program. Your team should meet
as needed to keep the program moving forward.
Include individuals from the school or district and
community including:
■ Administrators
■ Teachers
■ Custodians
■ Parents
■ Students
■ Other volunteers
Your team should include at least one person who is
familiar with the school or district’s overall operations, such
as a custodian or an administrator. One team member
should act as a liaison with local community recycling staff
or a Department of Natural Resources regional recycling
specialist for assistance, and to ensure compliance with all
local and state ordinances. The size of your team will
depend upon the size of the school or district and its
individual departments/operations. Schools or districts can
ask for volunteers or appoint members.
Members might be responsible for activities such as:
■ Gaining support from school or district officials to
initiate a recycling program
■ Working with school or district officials to set the
preliminary and long-term goals of the recycling
program
■ Gathering and analyzing data relevant to
the design and implementation of the program
■ Promoting the program to other employees and
students and educating them on ways to participate
■ Monitoring program progress
■ Reporting to school or district officials about the
status of the program