Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station [Solid Waste Resource Renewal Group]

School Recycling

RECYCLING AS A TEACHING TOOL
RECYCLING AS A COST SAVINGS MECHANISM

For schools and higher education institutions, food waste recycling—and indeed, recycling in general—present special teaching opportunities, as well as cost saving opportunities. Recycling underscores what the students learn in science, that matter is not created nor destroyed, and that on a finite planet we need to practice resource management to avoid having our resources ending up in the messy stew of landfills. Recycling programs offer the opportunity for real life data collection, scientific demonstration, and real life mathematics word problems and calculations.

Some schools across the state do not recycle even the mandatory items like paper, bottles and cans. Often, school officials believe or have been told that recycling will be more expensive. Particularly with recyclables being in such hot demand today, this is not true. All recycling, including of these traditional materials, and adding food waste recycling can be cost effective, especially when practiced together to reduce the waste stream to a very small one. Read about Lavallette School, where seventh graders team up with teachers, custodians and school administration for recycling—including beginning a new food waste to compost program.


PLEASE FILL OUT OUR QUESTIONNAIRE AND SEND IT VIA EMAIL, FAX OR SNAIL MAIL:


Priscilla E. Hayes, Esq., Director
Solid Waste Resource Renewal Group
c/o Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics
Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
55 Dudley Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520
732-932-9155, ext. 233
Fax: 732-932-8887


hayes@aesop.rutgers.edu


We can send you materials to help you with your school recycling and to save money doing it.

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