"Innovations" Case Studies: School Recycling

General Information

• Overview
• Determining Program Administration
• Putting Together a Recycling Plan
• Assessing the Waste Stream

Overview

More than seven million Californians are students, educators, or staff in educational institutions around the state. This includes more than 300 institutions of higher education, 8,000 public schools, and well over 4,000 private schools. Waste from these facilities represents approximately 2 percent or more of California’s total waste stream. Schools and educational facilities can be one of the single largest waste generators in some jurisdictions.

Waste reduction, reuse, and recycling efforts have been ongoing for many years in many schools across the state. These programs help local governments meet their diversion mandates and can save school districts money. School facilities have been able to achieve diversion rates as high as 80 percent. Innovative programs are encouraging students to reduce, reuse, and recycle while using curriculum that supplements the learning process.

The benefits of this knowledge translate into greater environmental awareness in the student’s home. Awareness can stimulate participation in the community’s waste reduction and recycling programs and lead to increased diversion and curbside recycling.

The examples presented in this guide represent a cross-section of the state in terms of location, urbanization, length of operation, and type of program currently in place. Detailed profiles are included at the end of this model study. They represent the range of programs currently being implemented, although not all are directly operated by the local government. They include:

• Oak Grove Elementary School, Sebastopol
• West Contra Costa County Unified School District
• University of California, Davis
• Loyola-Marymont University
• Los Angeles County

Determining Program Administration

Because schools are not directly subject to local laws and ordinances, it is difficult for local governments to control school recycling programs. As a result, local governments should consider three basic types of program administration:

• Campus or site-based programs tend to have started at the particular institution and are limited to that location. Typically they are the result of efforts put forth by an energetic individual or small group that have developed over time. The programs tend to start with one or two materials and add more as markets are developed.
• District-based programs cover multiple schools and administrative offices. These tend to start as pilot projects with limited materials or coverage and grow as the district becomes familiar with recycling and the cost benefits.
• Community-based programs are initiated by city or county staff working in close cooperation with school or district personnel. They often mirror existing recycling and waste reduction efforts and have significant hauler participation.

Since a local government may be faced with multiple school sites in multiple school districts as well as in higher education facilities, it is important to remain flexible. Some schools will have an existing recycling program in place. This may necessitate a mix of options, with some schools continuing their current program and others starting fresh.

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Putting Together a Recycling Plan

School recycling plans generally consist of two primary components: operational and educational. The operational component addresses the “how” of the school’s recycling effort and the educational component addresses the “why” for students, faculty, and staff. This integrated approach appears to be the best fit for schools. Development of the plan’s components should include all potential partners to ensure success. A team approach will involve:

• Program coordinators
• School and district administration
• Custodial and kitchen staff
• Students
• Faculty
• Waste hauler representative(s)
• Parents and community members
• Local government staff

Having a designated program coordinator may be helpful in both the planning and implementation stages. Fremont Unified School District has a recycling coordinator on staff because the district feels this expense is justified. The coordinator has helped to ensure a consistent program and has addressed problems that other school staff could not.

On several occasions, individual offices have produced large volumes of a single item, such as 60 boxes of white paper with carbon inserts. A local nonprofit was able to use the material, so the organization collected the material at no cost to the school.

Developing the Operational Plan Components

The operation plan needs to include a number of components:

• Sites to be served
• Source reduction methods
• Materials to collect and available markets
• Level of student participation
• Role of custodial and kitchen staff
• Participation of haulers and recyclers
• Reporting of diversion activities
• Ongoing assessment/feedback plan

Site collection and sorting operations will vary depending on space available, location, materials to be collected, and facility design. Urban schools will tend to have less space, but they will generate more materials. Materials will be generated in the classrooms, offices, cafeteria, and outdoor areas. This leads to multiple collection points and a need for school site collection operations.

Student Participation Is a Key Component

Student participation at the school site can dramatically increase diversion and decrease staff time necessary to conduct site collection. In both primary and secondary schools, students can use classroom recycling containers to separate paper, metals, plastics, and glass. The students or teachers can bring these classroom containers to collection bins for each building or to a central site location.

The level of appropriate student participation varies based on the grade level. Students in primary grades traditionally participate with direct supervision and can consolidate recyclables into the central collection points. Secondary students, while not as enthusiastic, will provide highly motivated individuals who take on leadership roles in the program. In college settings students can go even further to serve as paid program staff and volunteers.

Students can be encouraged to form an environmental/recycling club. A faculty advisor should be assigned who has an interest in the program as well as the time for supervision and guidance. Funding for the organization can come from redemption of materials such as beverage containers. The club can assist the program with collection and maintenance, publicity and events, and promoting positive peer pressure.

Student participation in collection and sorting efforts-both as volunteers and as an integrated part of classroom activities-is essential to maximizing diversion, minimizing contamination, and ensuring efficiency. It is important that students volunteer for efforts that are not directly tied to a specific classroom lesson or project. Requiring students to perform regular labor as part of the curriculum may be viewed negatively by parents and students.

Increasing individual participation and reducing contamination are critical to success. These will require ongoing outreach and awareness building. Students can help with materials, distribution, and activities targeted for their peers. Key faculty and staff can be identified that will be willing to conduct awareness activities for their counterparts.

One of the most effective ways of building awareness is through the recycling containers. They contribute to program visibility, and they can feature material information on the bins. Another way to promote the program is by posting a central bulletin board, including program information with charts showing materials recovered and other basic information. This type of information is helpful and can bring in new community supporters as well.

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Assessing the Waste Stream

The materials to be collected (and the method of collection) will vary between the primary and secondary schools. For example, secondary schools will have a higher volume of white office paper. In addition, food waste at secondary schools will appear in the common area well beyond the cafeteria.

College campuses are more like small cities with waste generation patterns varying from building to building. Waste stream analysis and collection efforts need to be tailored to the particular type of facility or grade levels served by the school.

Waste Prevention and Reuse

Source reduction is at the top of the waste management hierarchy and can have a significant impact on school waste generation. Paper reduction and changing kitchen practices are the primary areas to focus on. Paper usage can be reduced with the following techniques, which require very little work:

• Use both sides of paper for handouts
• Post assignments rather than hand them out
• Keep a box for paper that can be reused on the other side
• Keep scrap paper for displays or class projects
• Post items directly on bulletin boards without a paper cover
• Use laptop dry-erase or chalk pads for in-class work
• Take notes on the back of used paper
• Use electronic posting for agendas or minutes of meetings
• Reuse packaging materials
• Purchase duplex copiers

Waste reduction efforts in the food service area are much more difficult and require working with cafeteria staff. Determining what options are practical for the school involved will be based on the grade level of the school as well as on staff and budget limitations. Options include:

• Using an “offer vs. serve” program (students may decline two of the five items offered in a reimbursable lunch)
• Providing a self-service variety bar
• Serving some items on wax paper instead of rigid paper trays
• Returning to reusable plastic/metal trays, flatware, and cups
• Providing condiments and service ware in bulk

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Last updated: October 26, 2007