Green Up Our Schools

Brown 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
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
E-Waste Recycling Fundraiser Participated in the Cartridges for Kids mail-in electronic waste recycling program as a school fundraiser. (Learn more.)	2008-2009
Reusable Trays in the Lunchroom Eliminated the use of disposable Styrofoam trays in the lunchroom, replacing them with washable, reusable plastic trays, an estimated reduction of 90,000 trays per year. (Learn more.)	2008-2009
Reusable Silverware in the Lunchroom Replaced plastic utensils with reusable metal silverware to eliminate the amount of waste created in the lunchroom each day. (Learn more.)	2008-2009
Zero Waste Lunch Campaign Taught students how to bring a lunch from home without any disposable packaging. Created a reward system for kids who brought food in reusable containers with no disposable packaging. (Learn more.)	2008-2009
Year 2
Recycled Art Project Used recycled & reused materials to create individual art pieces, many with an environmental theme. (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
Red Apple Recycling (Learn more.)	2010-2011
Commercial Composting Commercial composting is a service provided to the school by an outside company, similar to recycling. Hundreds of pounds of food & paper waste are hauled to a facility that processes it back into soil. The weekly collection system can handle the full volume of organic waste that comes out of the lunchroom, bathrooms, and classrooms. (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!)*

35%

58%

50%

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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I think you guys are fabulous. You keep our green program moving, otherwise it would be dead in the water.