Green Up Our Schools

Eastbluff Elementary

Green Up Our Schools member from 2008 to 2011

During the 3 years of the program, each school creates their own "green" plan to recycle more and waste less.

View photos of all the green activities in action.


Waste Reduction Projects Each school must complete a minimum of two waste reduction projects per year. Click on each title to view a more detailed description.

Year 1
Double-Sided Copying Campaign Emphasized the importance of conserving paper by printing on both sides of the page whenever possible. Students created an education campaign and tracked actual paper usage. (Learn more.)	2008-2009
Electronic Communication between Parents, Faculty The school collected parent email addresses in order to use electronic communication in place of paper. (Learn more.)	2008-2009
Student Green Team Formed a group of eco-minded students to take on the responsibility of the recycling program and carry out green activities. (Learn more.)	2008-2009
Year 2
Reusable Water Bottle Fundraiser Sold reusable stainless steel water bottles to discourage the use of plastic bottles. (Learn more.)	2009-2010
Scratch Paper Reuse Boxes Created scratch paper reuse boxes for paper that had only been used on one side. Placed in every classroom and tracked the usage. (Learn more.)	2009-2010
Year 3
Lunch Tray Recycling Created a system for recycling clean cardboard lunch trays. (Learn more.)	2010-2011
Terracycle Upcycling Collected common lunchroom waste items such as Capri Sun pouches and mailed them in for recycling. Terracycle provides pre-paid shipping labels and pays per item collected. (Learn more.)	2010-2011
Paper Towel Reduction Campaign Launched a campaign to raise awareness on the use of paper towels in school, creating a slogan and tracking usage patterns. (Learn more.)	2010-2011

Waste Assessment Results

Every school in the program performs at least one waste assessment every year. This activity helps to show progress made and areas that still need improvement.

Percentage of Trash categorized as Recyclable
(Lower is better!)*

81%

40%

37%

21%

18%

2008
(Fall)

2009
(Spring)

2010
(Spring)

2010
(Fall)

2011
(Spring)

Year

*The presence of recyclable materials in the trash means students & teachers are not correctly sorting items they throw away. The lower the percentage, the more successful the recycling program.


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Our school has really benefited from this program. You can really see how the students' habits have changed compared to the start.