New State Law Promotes School Recycling and Better K-12 Environmental Education

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California Integrated Waste Management Board

New State Law Promotes School Recycling and Better K-12 Environmental Education: Sen. Torlakson, Cal/EPA honor Concord High’s recycling efforts

SACRAMENTO--It’s a simple idea that works, and now it’s a new state law: pair student learning practices with on-site environmental conservation efforts and everybody benefits.

"Education remains a top priority for Governor Gray Davis and when students participate in school recycling and conservation projects with a focus on protecting the environment, they learn better and their performance in science-centered instruction improves notably," said Winston Hickox, Secretary for the Environment. Hickox was in Concord today to announce the California Environmental Protection Agency’s (Cal/EPA) support for the state’s new school recycling and environmental education law (Senate Bill 373, Chapter 926, Statutes of 2001).

Authored by Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), the new law contains broad requirements to integrate environmental education with standards-based science classroom curriculum. The law requires that environmental concepts be incorporated into the California State Science Framework for K-12 classroom education. At the same time, the law seeks to increase the presence of recycling programs on school campuses statewide and requires Cal/EPA and the California Integrated Waste Management Board to help districts achieve this goal. The Waste Board is the state’s primary recycling agency and is one of six boards, departments, and offices within Cal/EPA.

"As a former educator, I can attest that children learn best when learning is relevant and fun," Waste Board Chair Linda Moulton-Patterson said. "School gardens that teach the importance of composting and campus recycling projects that involve kids in sorting and saving reusable materials are just two examples of ways to connect science concepts to the environment around us. It’s great to see recycling and environmental education in action here at a top-notch school like Concord High. We congratulate the students and teachers for a well-run program."

Senator Torlakson joined Secretary Hickox and Chair Moulton-Patterson in a science classroom this morning to highlight state efforts to implement the school recycling and environmental education law at California campuses statewide, and to recognize Concord High School’s Academy program for its student-run recycling project.

“Kids hold the future in their hands and the better educated they are about the effects of good resource management on our fragile biosystems like land, water, and air, the better able they will be as adults to make environmental decisions and protect the world around us,” Sen. Torlakson said. “SB 373 gives school districts the resources, encouragement, and assistance they need to make conservation and integrated environmental education a priority on campuses up and down the state.”

Torlakson added, “We appreciate the support of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District to help Concord High’s students perform a community service that keeps their campus clean, cuts the school’s waste disposal, and teaches kids that their conservation efforts really do make a difference.”

Concord High School was recognized at today’s event for its commitment to a student-run program that recycles paper, aluminum, and plastic bottles. Approximately 40 students are active in the project, which collects materials from classrooms and other locations around the campus. The program is offered through the school’s specialized Communications and Human Services Academy. Students receive community service credit for their participation and they are learning to track and calculate the volume of materials being diverted from the school’s regular trash pickup. Statistics from the project will later be useful in determining dollars saved by the school for trash hauling services. This is the first year of the program. Special incentives developed by the students to enlist the support of their classmates campus-wide have included recycling container decoration contests (winners earn class pizza parties) and rewards for proper use of the recycling receptacles.

The new law, signed by Governor Gray Davis in late 2001, complements California’s Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 that requires cities, counties, and regional agencies to divert 50 percent of their solid waste from landfill disposal. California currently generates approximately 68 million tons of solid waste per year, about two tons annually per man, woman, and child in the state. Recycling and other waste diversion efforts keep an estimated 28.5 millions tons of solid waste out of the state’s landfills. Since 1990, cities and counties have diverted over 200 million tons of solid waste-enough to fill a line of garbage trucks end-to-end that would circle the Earth’s equator more than six times.

School facilities are an important part of California’s mandate to cut its waste disposal. There are more than 8,700 public schools in California. Those campuses are located within 1,048 school districts serving over 6 million students from Kindergarten through 12th grade.

The environmental concepts that have been integrated into the California State Science Framework as part of SB 373 were developed cooperatively by the Waste Board with the State Board of Education and the California State Department of Education. In addition, these agencies are required to implement a unified education strategy so that state agencies approach education on the environment in a systemic fashion, coordinating resources and avoiding duplication of efforts.

As a result of the new law, school districts will now have access to online waste reduction resources developed for them by the Waste Board. These resources are one component of the ongoing technical assistance and information being provided by Cal/EPA and the Waste Board to help school districts put waste reduction programs into practice.

These resources (www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Schools/WasteReduce/) encourage districts to work in partnership with their local waste management coordinators. Information is provided for schools about the environmental, economic, and educational benefits of starting and maintaining waste reduction programs. Successful programs operating in other states and in various California school districts are also profiled, and schools can learn more about what is in their waste streams in order to design their own approach to reducing and preventing waste on campus.

Examples of successful programs that schools might consider putting to work include buying recycled-content paper and other supplies, and composting food scraps in school gardens or with worm bins for vermicomposting. Schools can also start recycling programs to collect reusable materials like paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum, tin (steel) cans, and plastic, and encourage students to bring school lunches and snacks in reusable containers only.

SB 373 also establishes a $1.5 million grant program to assist county offices of education, school districts, and schools to promote integrated waste management into teaching and on-site waste reduction practices. Applications for the grant funding are anticipated to be available in 2003 and will require candidates to demonstrate the adoption of a unified education strategy that promotes environmental concepts.

A new "Environmental Ambassador" program will be created as a result of the bill. The program will identify and recognize schools and districts that have programs or activities that use environmental concepts as a catalyst for project-based learning. The first awards are expected to be made next year when school districts have had an opportunity to implement more environmental action projects at their schools, and to integrate learning with hands-on projects.

Lastly, SB 373 requires the Waste Board to evaluate school waste reduction and recycling programs statewide by January 1, 2004. At that time, if less than 75 percent of schools in California have implemented waste reduction programs, the Waste Board is charged with recommending statutory changes that may be needed to require schools to put such programs in place.

The six-member California Integrated Waste Management Board is responsible for protecting public health and safety and the environment through management of the estimated 68 million tons of solid waste generated in California each year. The Board works in partnership with local government, industry, and the public to reduce solid waste disposal and ensure environmentally safe landfills. California now diverts 42 percent of its solid waste away from disposal.