Start a Recycling Club @ School!

Schools generate a lot of waste, but they don’t have to! With some cooperation, motivation, and school spirit your school can turn a lot of that waste into important new products by recycling it. Here are some suggestions for recycling at your school. Contact us if you have any questions.

1. Get the word out - host a meeting to start the ball rolling
   1. Talk to students and teachers, have an announcement read about the meeting, put up posters with the meeting info or write up some information for your school’s website.
   2. Let people know that you want to start a club.
   3. Explain at the meeting that you are looking for other motivated people to get things started.
      
      

2. Organize and assign roles

   1. It’s important to get lots of very different people involved in the recycling program, including the principal, the students, the town recycling station, and especially the school custodians! They’re the ones who usually deal with the trash, so you’ll need their help and advice to create a system that works and to make sure the recyclables are kept separate from the trash.
      
      

3. Do the homework
   While the last things students want to do is more research, you’ll need to know how your school and town trash and recycling system works. Find out the whos, hows, wheres and whats for your local recycling program.

1. Who collects recyclable items

2. How are recyclable items collected

3. Where is the local recycling facility

4. What recyclable items are accepted (remember its different depending what town your school is in)

A lot of these questions can be answered by your local town office, or Find out who your area’s recycling contact is.

4. Make decisions

   1. Decide how many recycling bins you will need, how recyclables will get sorted, where the bins will go, and how you will pay for them (fundraising can usually cover the costs of new bins, or leftover cardboard boxes are always an inexpensive option).

   2. Decide how the recyclables will reach the local recycling facility. Someone may need to make regular deliveries, or the recycling station/local hauler may be able to pick up the recyclable items for you. Make sure you have a location at the school to store recyclable items if they are not delivered to the recycling station frequently.

5. Educate (Creatively!)

   1. Inform the students, teachers, and staff about the new recycling program, put out fliers and brochures, do presentations, or create skits and videos to teach people what they should recycle and where it ought to go. Also, be sure to let them know all the great products the items become once they are recycled (Find more information on what recycled items become).

6. Track your successes

   1. Try to weigh your collected recyclables or keep a general count so that you can enjoy your tremendous success. If things are not going smoothly, investigate what is causing problems and try to resolve the issues.

7. Enjoy a little extra cash

   1. A lot of beverage bottles are worth money; keep them separate and return them for their 5 cent deposit. Have fun, the money could be used for new recycling bins, a school recycling party, given to the custodians for their help in sorting recyclables, or donated to a local charity.

8. Keep things going and have fun

   1. Try and make sure the school recycling club is not dependent on one or two people, that way its easier to keep the club running for a long time.

   2. Don’t forget to let people know about your successes and thank them for being a part of it all!

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