Green Up Our Schools

Sonora Elementary

Green Up Our Schools member since 2011

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


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.)	2011-2012
Recycling Program Started a recycling program for the school, with recycling bins in every classroom & all the common areas. (Learn more.)	2011-2012
Scratch Paper Reuse Boxes Scratch paper reuse boxes are for paper that had only been used on one side. Placed in every classroom, they help promote paper conservation and save costs for the school. (Learn more.)	2011-2012
Zero Waste Lunch Campaign A Zero Waste Lunch Campaign involves teaching students how to bring a lunch from home without any disposable packaging. Reusable containers take the place of plastic bags. (Learn more.)	2011-2012
Eliminating Duplicate School Bulletins (Learn more.)	2011-2012
Year 2
Paper Towel Reduction Campaign A paper towel reduction campaign raises awareness on the use of paper towels in school, with the goal of reducing consumption. Students create a slogan and track usage patterns. (Learn more.)	2012-2013
Double-Sided Copying Campaign A Double-Sided Copying Campaign emphasizes the importance of conserving paper by printing on both sides of the page whenever possible. Students create an education campaign and track actual paper usage. (Learn more.)	2012-2013
Year 3
Electronic Communication between Parents, Faculty Teachers will collect parent email addresses and work to use electronic communication in place of paper. (Learn more.)	2013-2014
Recycled Purchasing Policy A Recycled Purchasing Policy emphasizes the importance of buying goods with post-consumer recycled content to close the recycling loop by creating a demand for the kind of products that the school's recycling program creates. (Learn more.)	2013-2014

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!)*

23%

2011
(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

The Green Up Our Schools program makes it easy to run the green team without requiring a lot of extra planning time outside the classroom -- it gives us meaningful direction in where we can take our kids.