Recycling Advisory Group
A Recycling Advisory Group has been formed to help create and guide a sustainable recycling program at ASD. The Group consists of students, ASD staff members, parents and community recyclers who are volunteering their time to assist the recycling coordinator in improving and expanding the program. All are welcome to come and learn more about district's recycling efforts and or share ideas on how to improve programs.
Notes from the November 2009 meeting of the Recycling Advisory Group
The recycling advisory group meeting was held on November 19th at Central Middle School of Science. The group decided not to meet in December due to the break for the holidays. The advisory group will meet again on January 28.
As the districts recycling program was phased in a dozen schools didn’t fit the norm either they weren’t big enough to warrant an on-site dumpster or their location created a hauling obstacle. I’m happy to report that creative solutions have made it possible to add 10 more schools to district’s mixed paper recycling program!
We now have 106 of the 108 facilities/schools involved in the districts mixed-paper program. Two more to go - I’m currently working on suitable pick-up services for McLaughlin and Chester Valley.
The 10 ASD Schools added include: Alaska Native Cultural K-6, Family Partnership, Frontier, Rilke Schule, Winterberry, AVAIL, Early Intervention Service, Girdwood, Continuation Program and Crossroads 7-12
A WIN-WIN solution for the school district adds 9 schools. These schools are a part of the new recycling pick-up service created through the partnership between the ASD recycling program and the ASD secondary special education program - Community Based Vocational Services (CBVS). This partnership provides vocational skills training for students in the Life Skills programs and recycling pick-up services to the smaller schools and facilities currently not a part of the districts mixed-paper dumpster service. This partnership saves the district roughly $300-$400 in monthly collection service fees.
The 10th school, Girdwood now has its mixed paper back-hauled through the Student Nutrition truck that makes weekly deliveries. The alternate solution, recycling dumpster service for Girdwood was estimated to cost approximately $1400 a year.
All involved are extremely happy that the district has taken the initiative to find creative ways to include them in ASD’s district-wide mixed paper program.
The ASD “Wild about Recycling” campaign was featured on America Recycles Day. Campaign coverage included a: Inside ASD E-newsletter story, ASD Face Book posting, Zone Newsletter article and a Press Release for America Recycles Day that highlighted the following:
- Since August, more than 250,000 pounds of mixed paper materials have been diverted from the Anchorage landfill, saving the district more than $7,800 in waste disposal fees.
- Rabbit Creek Elementary School was able to effectively use its recycling dumpster and eliminated one trash dumpster. This reduced the school’s trash disposal fee by more than $300 per month.
- The Student Nutrition Center implemented tin can recycling which has eliminated the need to have the center’s trash compactor emptied twice per month. By reducing the number of trash compactor pick-ups, Student Nutrition has reduced its compactor bill by $550 per month.
- Steller Secondary School has diverted enough material through its recycling efforts to reduce its trash pick-up service from four to three times per week. This adjustment has reduced the school’s trash bill by more than $100 per month.
The district recycling program was also mentioned in the following KTUU story - Sullivan declares Sunday Anchorage Recycles Day.
Artwork from “Wild about Recycling” photo contest has been digitized and can be viewed online at http://picasaweb.google.com/andrec.photography.
Tin/Steel can recycling at student nutrition has faced some recent storage and hauling challenges. As a more permanent solution is explored the daily recycling efforts continue uninterrupted through the joint efforts of the maintenance department and student nutrition.
Due to the districts new approach to waste management (now includes recycling) there has been an increase in the number of dumpsters throughout the district. I bring this to your attention because the city is in the process of rewriting the Land Use Planning Code which includes the screening of refuse collection receptacles (dumpsters that are visible from “abutting streets”). We will be working with refuse haulers and schools to relocate dumpsters where it may be possible to obscure their view from abutting streets to lesson the financial impact. As a good neighbor and positive community member the district is exploring feasible options to fund the screening requirement.
As the supplies of recycling flyers and posters draws down the group discussed the next round of flyers/posters. It was decided that just updating the old one wasn’t the best use of printed material and we’d prefer to move toward producing a kid friendly poster. The example below includes the ASD poster and one produced by Alaskans for Liter Prevention (ALPAR).
First step will be to explore what resources are available to produce a flyer/poster geared toward the younger students.
I’m continually asked “How do they do it at other schools?” The advisory group is nearing completion of a recycling survey to be conducted electronically via survey monkey. We’re hoping to catch input from all involved, students, teacher, administrators, PBO’s and day & night custodial staff. The answers to the survey will enable school/facilities to share individual recycling success stories as well as lessons learned. It will also give us a better picture the districts recycling as it will in the end produce a comprehensive list of all recycling efforts (including volunteer efforts) and what opportunities exist to get involved (enviro/recycling groups and activities).
Expanding district-wide materials, what does the future look like? Is it source separation which would require additional bins/dumpsters for each material or does it make more sense to have a co-mingled collection like the curbside programs operated by SWS and AK Waste? This discussion needs to take place with the hauler and recycling center prior to adding any material to the district-wide recycling program.
A handful of schools have approached me that have a volunteer base that is eager begin plastics recycling. I’m exploring financial options to assist these locations in getting volunteer plastic programs going.
Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA) held a youth forum at West High School. The theme was recycling and how kids could get involved in AYEA at their school. The forum also included a craft project where one-side paper was reused to make notebooks. The Anchorage AYEA chapter is now embarking on a campaign to reduce the need and or eliminate the use of plastic bags. Contact mcbridem@ayea.org for more information or to get involved.
Thank you for your continued support and participation in the ASD Recycling Program!
Happy Holidays
Andre Camara
Recycling Coordinator
Notes from the September 2009 meeting of the Recycling Advisory Group
Parents, students and teachers, along with city, business and non-profit representatives shared ASD recycling stories and reviewed the first year of the district's mixed-paper program at the September Recycling Advisory Group meeting. What worked and what can be improved? It was clear from the discussions/interest in how recycling was implemented at the different ASD locations that there is a need to share successful strategies and lessons learned in an easy-to-access location such as the ASD Web site. Discussions included data collection and the outreach campaign to increase participation and decrease contamination.
MIXED PAPER – RECAP/UPDATE
The goal of the school district's recycling program is:
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Instill the ethic of good stewardship for the environment with our students and staff alike.
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Divert recyclable material (mixed-paper) from our waste stream.
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Do it cost-effectively. By diverting material (mixed-paper) from our waste stream and making adjustments to the trash collection end of our waste stream we can reduce ASD’s trash hauling bills to offset the cost of recycling.
It not only makes fiscal sense, but demonstrates our commitment to be being good stewards of our environment.
The amount of paper we recycle continues to increase. As the program was phased-in during the first year, ASD successfully recycled more than 56 tons of mixed-paper.
Mixed-paper is by far the largest recyclable in our waste-stream and it’s been estimated that we can recycle upwards of 1,000 tons.
Paper is not the only material in our waste stream. Other recycling efforts include:
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Plastic bottle and aluminum can recycling: Many schools are recycling these items through volunteer efforts (it’s not clear how many).
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The Vehicle Division and sections of the Maintenance Department have been recycling auto batteries and metal (motors, engines, ballasts, wire, etc.).
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Operations purchases environmentally-friendly janitorial products when possible, and reuses or recycles electrical cords, motors, etc.
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Student Nutrition recycles tin cans (started last year and has recycled more than six tons to date).
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During construction, Clark Middle School had a ‘cardboard only’ roll-off bin to handle the large volumes of cardboard.
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Computers are recycled with Apple through the Warehouse surplus system.
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Facilities is running a pilot energy efficiency program which provides audits to selected schools showing simple measures to reduce natural gas, electric and water consumption. A portion of dollars saved on utility bills is given directly back to the school.
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The Warehouse reuses cardboard boxes, and many facilities save and return their boxes for this purpose.
SECOND YEAR OF A DISTRICTWIDE RECYCLING PROGRAM
What Is Working
Overall, the program has had wonderful reception and the amount recycled within the district has progressively increased through the school year. Program successes include:
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Student involvement with the mixed paper recycling is a big benefit and will be carried through their years with ASD.
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Building awareness through multiple outreach methods. Everyone has a different learning style and combining print, personal visits, presentations, Web presence and meeting formats such as the forums has created a broad platform from which the information is being disseminated.
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Realistic goals - keeping expectations in the realm of reality has played a big part in keeping the program moving forward.
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Support from the executive level. Continued discussion or mention of the need (i.e. requirement) to support the program at every appropriate opportunity is key to increasing participation within the schools.
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Creating networks both within ASD and outside ASD departments and with businesses and organizations external to ASD is imperative to learning what opportunities exist to expand the program, as well as building beneficial relationships -- it’s good to know who to turn to for collaborative problem solving and troubleshooting.
What Needs Improvement
Because the program is still fairly new, not all stumbling blocks have been uncovered. Issues uncovered may also be larger in scope than just to affect recycling.
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Stressing that recycling is a whole school effort is necessary to avoid having the burden rest on one or two individuals in the schools. Getting the adults involved is as important to program sustainability as keeping the students involved, if not more so.
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Although many staff and faculty members have stepped up to the plate, increasing the awareness and support from principals to instruct their faculty and staff to assist and join the students in getting the recyclables from buildings and into the dumpster needs to be maintained and increased. Again, creating mantra that recycling is a whole school effort (and in a soft way that it isn’t voluntary).
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Data collection methods. Better alternatives?
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Outreach will be ever evolving. A campaign “Let’s Get Wild about Recycling” is being developed with the Communications Department.
What’s next?
Working to identify solutions to the few schools did not fit the norm -- small alternative and charter schools that are not large enough to warrant a dumpster on-site. This also includes Girdwood Elementary due to its location and size.
Before we can look into expanding the ASD recycling program, ASD needs to increase participation and decrease contamination in the mixed-paper program and make the necessary adjustments to the trash end of the district's waste stream. When this happens we’ll begin to realize the cost savings associated with recycling.
To-do list
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November event/forum - planning meeting (interested in participating please contact Andre Camara
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Brochure – incorporate 3 R’s (Andre will email draft to advisory group for brainstorming/suggestions)
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Need volunteer(s) to assist in school recycling research project – how individual schools implement the mixed-paper recycling, who has a recycling/enviro club and who recycles what.
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Develop and conduct survey through survey monkey.
- Andre Camara
The Recycling Advisory Group |
