Waste and Recycling Investigation from Project Learning Tree GreenSchools !

1. Waste and Recycling Investigationfrom Project Learning Tree GreenSchools! Keep Loup Basin Beautiful Anita Olson-Director

2. Goals 1. 2. Introduce you to the GreenSchools! Waste and Recycling Investigation Give you ideas and resources to help you implement this program in your school Take time to share ideas and answer questions 3.

3. GreenSchools! Waste and Recycling Investigation GreenSchools! • Inspires students to take personal responsibility for improving the environment at their school, at home, and in their community

4. Introductions Keep America Beautiful • KAB Mission: • Build and sustain healthy, vibrant communities • Over 500 affiliates and participating organizations nation- wide

5. Introductions Our mission • Environmental education promoting: • Waste Reduction • Litter Prevention • Recycling • Beautification

6. Introductions Keep Creighton Beautiful Lucille Clough ccreigh@gpcom.net 402-358-3557 Keep Norfolk Beautiful Dawn Miller knbeautiful@gmail.com 402-379-3260 Keep NortheastNebraska Beautiful SarahLaBrune-Jongeling slabrune@simpco.org 712-279-6286

7. It’s Important! • 4.4 lbs/person/day • 250 MILLION TONS PER YEAR!!!

8. It’s Important! • How much of that waste could’ve been recycled? Newspapers Aluminum Glass Plastics Figure 3. Recycling Rates of Selected Products, 2011 Taken from : http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm

9. It’s Important! • Top 5 Reasons to Recycle • Conserve natural resources • Reduce need for landfills • Create jobs • Prevent pollution • Save energy

10. Results of Conducting the Investigation • Activities correlate with national educational standards • Real-world applications of science, technology, engineering and math • Save your school money through waste reduction and recycling

11. Results of Conducting the Investigation • Become eligible for grants • Encourage students to take action at home • Introduce students to new careers in a variety of environmental science-related fields

12. Waste and Recycling Investigation Students will… • Examine their school’s waste stream • Collecting and analyzing data • Develop an understanding of how their actions affect the waste stream • Learning about sustainable approaches to waste management

13. Waste and Recycling Investigation Students will… • Brainstorm ideas for action projects • Generating a plan to improve their school’s overall sustainability • Implement one or more of their waste improvement strategies • Celebrating their success with the community

14. Getting Started Buy-In Teachers Administrators Students Custodial Maintenance Dining Services Planning Timeline Assign tasks Gathering Supplies Information Permissions

15. How-To Steps Identify Leaders Obtain Permissions Form Your Green Team • Teachers • Students • Administrators • Custodial/Maintenance Staff • Cafeteria Staff • Parents

16. How-To Steps Develop a Schedule and Assign Roles Determine the Scope and Print the Investigation Gather Documents and Supplies • Scale • Bins • Gloves • Bags

17. How-To Steps Conduct the Investigation • Using worksheets Develop and Implement an Action Plan • Grants are available Celebrate Success!

18. Conducting the Investigation Filling out the Worksheets

19. Conducting the Investigation

20. Conducting the Investigation • Using Google Earth or Google Maps

21. Conducting the Investigation

22. Conducting the Investigation • Individual classroom, school-wide, and cafeteria waste charts

23. Conducting the Investigation • Academic standards • Professional development • Community projects • Field trips and guest speakers • Hazardous waste pick-up events • Community partner organizations

24. Action Plan This is the fun part!

25. Action Plan

26. Action Plan Ideas • Set school printers to automatically print double-sided • Get reusable items for your cafeteria • Have an end-of-the-year cleaning party where unwanted items are donated to charity • Participate in Recycle Bowl or America Recycles Day with Keep America Beautiful

27. Terracycle Brigades

28. North Routt Community Charter School

29. Conserve School in Wisconsin Campus Stewardship teams – tasks to support the operation of campus and the stewardship of its resources

30. Lothrop Magnet School • Collected juice boxes and for planting seeds used in a sunflower research project with community partner

31. Sharing Your Success • Some ideas… • Announce your project in the school and local newspapers • Throw a zero waste party for your team • Share photos and stories on PLT’s blog and facebook page • Apply for recognition as a Certified PLT GreenSchool

32. Sharing Your Success • Grants • PLT has funds to be used for action projects • Keep America Beautifulaffiliates can notify you of grant opportunities • Nebraska Environmental Trust • Department of Environmental Quality Keep in mind most grants require matching funds or in-kind donations as well as reporting paperwork

33. Time to share YOUR ideas

34. Resources www.kab.org • Keep America Beautiful www.knb.org • Keep Nebraska Beautiful www.plt.org/waste-and-recycling-investigation • Download worksheets and additional resources www.keeploupbasinbeautiful.org • Information on our events and local recycling www.wastefreelunches.org • Developing and implementing a waste-free lunch program http://www2.epa.gov/recycle • Reduce, reuse, recycle resources

35. Resources www.terracycle.com • Collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products to repurpose the material into affordable, innovative products http://www.epa.gov/osw/education/teach_comp.htm • Information on composting in schools http://greenschools.net/display.php?modin=54 • Green School’s buying guide and examples of purchasing policies http://www.greenchildmagazine.com/eco-friendly-fundraising/ • Ideas for fundraisers

36. Resources There are lots of ways to connect with us: ”Like” us on Facebook for news, updates, articles, and pictures from our projects! Visit the Loup Basin RC&D Office in Burwell, 807 H Street in the Pathway Bank Professional Center! Listen to KNLV 1060AM at 1:30pm on the first and third Thursday of every month for our radio program! Follow us on Pinterestfor classroom activities, crafts, decorating and gardening ideas! Check your local newspaper for our press releases!

37. Mark your calendars! Great American Clean-up March-May Earth Day April 22 Recycle Bowl October-November 15 America Recycles Day November 15

38. What are The Keys to Success? FLEXIBILITY CREATIVITY PERSISTENCE

39. Keep Loup Basin Beautiful Anita Olson-Director 807 H Street, PO Box 400, Burwell, NE 68823 (308)-346-3393 office (308)-201-0126 mobile info@keeploupbasinbeautiful.org Twitter: @KeepLLBeautiful Facebook: Keep Loup Basin Beautiful Questions?