District Administration

The sad truth, with some notable exceptions, is that most school waste reduction initiatives fail over time. The main reason is because these programs never were “institutionalized” by the adoption of formal resource conservation and environmentally preferable purchasing policies and operating procedures by the local school board and the superintendent. Programs initiated by well-meaning teachers, principals, students, and other individuals generally disappear when these motivated individuals graduate, are promoted, or leave the school district.

District administration plays a key leadership role in achieving school waste reduction goals. The most effective way to institutionalize waste reduction practices is for the school board to adopt clear statements of environmental policy and for the superintendent to adopt operating procedures to implement this policy.

Policy

An environmental policy is a formal proclamation of a school's or school board's commitment to reduce the environmental impacts of its day-to-day activities. If your school board and/or school does not yet have an environmental policy, use the examples below to draft your own. If your existing policy has been in place for a number of years, take this opportunity to reassess it.

When your environmental policy is adopted, take the opportunity to publicize it widely throughout your school district. Communicate the policy to students and parents by sending home a notice and including program information in student/parent handbooks. Additionally, since resource conservation efforts benefit the surrounding community as well as the school district, consider writing an article for your local newspaper highlighting the shared benefits of your program. This is also an excellent opportunity to recognize successful, existing resource conservation efforts.

Sample Policies

1. The California School Board Association (CSBA) Policy Services offers more than 700 sample policies, regulations, and resolutions for member school districts (including those for energy and water conservation).  In collaboration with CIWMB staff, CSBA also recently developed a  Board Policy on integrated waste management.
2. Waste Management and Environmental Purchasing Policy of the Barstow Unified School District. 
3. Resolution Establishing a Green Procurement and Sustainable Procedures Policy for Berkeley Schools (Adobe Acrobat PDF, 161 KB) by the Berkeley Unified School District.
4. Antioch School Board Recycling Resolution.
5. In addition to adopting school board policy on specific recycling measures, the Ukiah Unified School District has established ambitious recycling goals. See the memo (Adobe Acrobat PDF, 12KB) from the superintendent to each principal as an example of how to communicate such efforts throughout the school district.

Procedures

Once an environmental policy has been approved by the school board, the superintendent should develop operating procedures for implementing the policy. Operating procedures will provide a mechanism to integrate the board's policy into the organization by outlining a series of actions to accomplish a reduction in the environmental impacts of day-to-day activities as a way of conducting business.

The procedures should outline the responsibilities of each department director and provide for the annual assessment of each department’s effectiveness in applying the policy (for example, through the annual budget process). Since accomplishing board directives is most likely a part of a director’s overall performance evaluation, it is important that the procedures be clear on what is required. Equally important is providing appropriate training to department directors and personnel on environmental practices.

Once the procedures are in place, it is essential to clearly communicate both the policy and the operating procedures to all administrators, staff, and students.

Sample Procedures

1. CSBA sample administrative regulation on integrated waste management.
2. Waste Management and Environmental Purchasing Procedures of the Barstow Unified School District.

School Waste Reduction Home

Last updated: April 04, 2008