Business Services

Service Contracts

Many school districts do not realize the choices they have with respect to contracting for waste management services. This section of the site outlines different opportunities for school districts when making arrangements for refuse collection and disposal, and for recycling services. 

School districts can save money through effective refuse and recycling collection/hauling contracts.

• Sequoia Union High School District, San Mateo County, was able to save $50,000, increase the recycling rate, and reduce contamination by switching management service providers.

By understanding the range of services that local haulers provide, a school district can often obtain increased services at a greater value to the school district. The purpose of this section of the site is to provide school districts with the tools, information, and other resources necessary to effectively evaluate the refuse and recycling collection/hauling opportunities available and to facilitate the development of a successful waste management services contract.

School districts have three primary options for collecting and hauling their waste:

• Do it yourself--Some school districts secure their own equipment, trucks, and staff to handle and haul their waste.  Long Beach Unified School District is one example of a school district that collects and hauls its own refuse.  Coordination for recycling programs is done independently with local recyclers and with the City of Long Beach.
• Use the city/county franchised hauler--Many school districts use the same franchised hauler contracted for refuse (and recycling) collection and hauling as their host city or county.
• Contract refuse collection/hauling services independent of City/County--More and more school districts are going out to bid for refuse (and recycling) collection and hauling services. 

You can read more about hauling options, including legal references and example requests for quotations in Trash Hauling in the 90's (presented by the California Association for School Business Officials). To obtain a copy, please contact Marshalle Graham of the CIWMB.

Ideally, recycling can be integrated within your school district's waste hauling contract. Your local jurisdiction contact may be able to help you evaluate the school district’s existing service contract, develop contract amendments, and/or build cost savings and recycling into a new request for proposal (RFP) or invitation to bid (IFB) when your waste-hauling contract is up for renewal. To obtain a copy of the following sample contracts, contact Marshalle Graham of the CIWMB.

• Sacramento School Recycling Task Force Model RFP/IFB Final Draft.
• RFP from San Dieguito High School District for Recycling Services.
• Contract bid for furnishing rubbish disposal/recycling service for various locations within the Los Angeles Unified School District.
• Fresno Unified School District’s RFP for comprehensive recycling services.

The CIWMB Project Recycle administers several recyclable material contracts (for example, paper, scrap metal, ink jet and toner cartridges, pallets, etc.) for certain geographic areas that are applicable to school districts (although they may not serve/reach every school district). Participation in these contract services is voluntary and any revenues generated cannot be returned to a specific school or district.

Additionally, the CIWMB has developed a fact sheet with general information and options to consider when forming contracts for recycling services in office buildings.

For additional information regarding solid waste contracting options that promote your district's waste reduction goals, refer to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise Resource Management information and the WasteWise Update on Resource Management: Strategic Partnerships for Resource Efficiency (Adobe PDF, size not available).

The Tellus Institute also maintains a site of very useful resource management information, tools, and resources, such as a Resource Management Contracting Manual, case studies, and RFPs. In fact, one of the sample RFPs is for the West Des Moines Community School District (Polk and Dallas Counties, Iowa) to solicit expert management services from a resource management provider to become the driving force behind increased diversion, working in partnership with District staff, students, teachers and janitorial personnel. The RFP provides an economic incentive for the successful bidder who can best divert materials currently going to the landfill.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Preferable Purchasing Tool Suite includes Promising Practices Guide for "Greening" Contracts, a series of short case studies highlighting successful strategies for incorporating environmental factors into a variety of product and service contracts. Responding to the increasing need to incorporate environmental concerns into purchasing decisions, the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy compiled this information to make it easier to identify and purchase:

• Recycled-content products
• Energy-efficient products
• Bio-based products
• Environmentally preferable products and services

The National Recycling Coalition and its College and University Recycling Council have published a toolkit for schools with upcoming soft drink vending contracts. Campus purchasing officials, recycling coordinators, student groups, and prospective vendors can all benefit from the information the toolkit contains. The seven page document is designed to help maximize the level of recycling associated with soft drink vending while promoting vendors' assistance in recycling and waste reduction. The toolkit includes sample bid language, options to address recycling and waste reduction concerns, a cost analysis of converting vending machines from aluminum cans to plastic bottles, and case studies from nine schools around the country.

The CIWMB maintains a summary listing of vendors specializing in office paper collection and sorting systems, describing their products, services, and contact information.

District Offices and Print Shop

Approximately 47 percent of the materials disposed at California schools are paper products. Office paper, in particular, makes up a significant percentage of a school district’s paper waste stream. It's no wonder that there is such great potential for school districts to save money and conserve resources by reducing, reusing, and recycling office paper. Such waste reduction measures also complement a school district’s environmental education efforts by providing a meaningful model of resource conservation. This section of the site provides money-saving paper waste reduction strategies for your district's print shop and offices.

The CIWMB office paper waste reduction Web site contains a collection of information, materials, and resources for office-based businesses, including schools, to use in programs aimed at reducing office paper waste--through both prevention (reducing paper use) and recovery/recycling. Five sections of resources help school districts implement a comprehensive in-house paper reduction campaign. A school district can create a customized office paper campaign "kit" by mixing and matching the materials. 

Additional Resources

Fact Sheets

• Waste Prevention Ideas for Schools and Classrooms
• Creating a Paper Reduction Campaign
• Waste Prevention in the Printing Industry
• Reduce Unwanted Mail

Printing Checklist--Simple checklists to assist purchasers in designing environmentally preferable print jobs. These checklists help organizations save money, reduce waste and protect the environment. (Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board of Minnesota's Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Guide)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently published a series of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Guides which covers food service ware, copiers, cleaners, carpets, electronics, and meetings.

School Waste Reduction Home

Last updated: September 18, 2008