Green Up Our Schools

Asbury Elementary

Green Up Our Schools member since 2009

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
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.)	2009-2010
Reusable Dishes for Staff Lounge Placed a set of reusable bowls, plates, cups, and silverware in the staff lounge to reduce the waste created by disposables. (Learn more.)	2009-2010
Recycled Art Project - Styrofoam Trays Collected all the Styrofoam trays the school goes through during a normal week in the lunchroom, painted them bright colors, and hung them in the hallways as an artful protest of the waste created on campus. (Learn more.)	2009-2010
Scratch Paper Reuse Boxes Created individual baskets of 1/4 sheet scratch paper sheets for each teacher as an environmental replacement for "Post-It Notes." (Learn more.)	2009-2010
Recycled Art Project - Painted Recycling Bins Painted classroom recycling bins a rainbow of colors to individualize each one and promote recycling awareness. (Learn more.)	2009-2010
Field Trip (DPS) Field trip to the Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site (DADS), where students observed the process of landfilling waste & capturing methane gas for renewable energy. (Learn more.)	2009-2010
Year 2
Commercial Composting Began a contract for commercial composting services for food & paper waste. Each week, hundreds of pounds of lunchroom waste are hauled from the school to a facility that processes it all back into soil. (Learn more.)	2010-2011
Eliminating Duplicate School Bulletins Created a system to ensure only one sibling takes home paper bulletins each week, eliminating unnecessary paper usage. (Learn more.)	2010-2011
Red Apple Recycling Added a textile recycling box (in the form of a little red school house) to the campus for clothing & shoe recycling. Applied for a grant from Red Apple for additional funding of green activities. (Learn more.)	2010-2011
Recycled Art Project - Coffee Shop Art Show Environmentally-themed student artwork will be on display at Kaladi Bros. Coffee during the month of April in honor of Earth Day. Artwork can be purchased as a fundraiser (1730 E. Evans Ave., Denver). (Learn more.)	2010-2011
Year 3
Electronic Communication between Parents, Faculty The school collected parent email addresses in order to use electronic communication in place of paper. (Learn more.)	2011-2012
Composting Expanded to Bathrooms Plan to expand commercial composting beyond the lunchroom to capture the paper towels thrown away in the bathrooms every day. Green bins will be placed in bathrooms for collection. (Learn more.)	2011-2012

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!)*
	20%	25%	10%	78%	58%	20%
	2009 (Spring)	2010 (Spring)	2010 (Fall)	2011 (Fall)	2011 (Spring)	2012 (Fall)
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.


Back to All Schools

We started with one thing back in 2009: recycling. Then it evolved into so much more. The program is flexible enough to let us expand wherever we wanted to go. Now look at us -- we're composting in the lunchroom and the bathrooms, and our bins are overflowing!