THE GREEN TEAM
Fridays in the Cafeteria...
Every FRIDAY, members of Blaine's Green Team will be in the lunchroom helping our children learn how to separate their waste and RECYCLE. Please come and be part of this fun day for as long as you are able. Blocks of time are recommended on the link. Tasks will also include helping our little ones open packages, drink cartons, etc. You are also welcome to be a lunchroom volunteer on another school day, if Fridays don't work for you. Members of the Green Team may not be available, but instructions are clearly posted in the lunchroom to guide you.
BLAINE ADOPTS CPS' FOOD SHARE PROGRAM
- According to last year’s audit, we produce 230 pounds of waste PER DAY. WE MUST GET THAT NUMBER DOWN! We all have to make an effort to reduce what goes into the landfill by reducing packaging and reusing containers.
- 1) Invite your children to join you in watching and being inspired by fellow Blaine students featured in this online Waste Audit Video.
- 3) Discover examples of how to minimize waste at lunch.
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Download the Waste Audit Details Here | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
File Type: | docx |
2012 Waste Audit
In March 2012 the Blaine PTA Green Team conducted its first ever Waste Audit. Here's what we learned:
FACT #1: The students and cafeteria are generating approximately 230 lbs of waste/day or about 41,436 lbs of waste/school year from their lunch period. This number would be higher if the breakfast/afternoon snack and faculty lunch room data were included.
FACT #2: A typical semi tractor truck can hold approximately 50,000 lbs of material. Assuming we could fit the entire year’s waste onto 1 truck (volume plays a role here), the school is generating almost 1 semi truck of un-separated waste/year that is going to the landfill from just the lunchroom. If the school enacted a program to compost and recycle those portions of the waste stream, the material going to the landfill would be about 4,700 lbs, which is a little more than the weight of an average car today, and would fit in the back of most large pickup trucks.
FACT #3: If everything but the garbage/unknown fraction was composted or recycled, the school would reduce its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Footprint by 18 metric tons (39,683 lbs) of CO2/year. According to the U.S. EPA, the average car produces approximately 11,450 lbs of CO2/year. Blaine’s lunch recycling and composting program would remove the equivalent of almost 3.5 cars/year from the road.
FACT #4: The typical dumpster costs approximately $500 to send to a landfill. Currently, the school is generating a minimum of 36 dumpsters (1 per/week) of waste material from the lunchroom costing CPS $18,000/year for landfill waste that is 89% recoverable.
FACT #5: If the students were to bring their milk/juice/water from home in re-usable plastic bottles, and used re-usable plastic containers for their food (instead of Ziploc bags), we estimate the school would reduce the plastic/paper/unknown portion by 25lbs/day or 2.5 tons/year!
FACT #1: The students and cafeteria are generating approximately 230 lbs of waste/day or about 41,436 lbs of waste/school year from their lunch period. This number would be higher if the breakfast/afternoon snack and faculty lunch room data were included.
FACT #2: A typical semi tractor truck can hold approximately 50,000 lbs of material. Assuming we could fit the entire year’s waste onto 1 truck (volume plays a role here), the school is generating almost 1 semi truck of un-separated waste/year that is going to the landfill from just the lunchroom. If the school enacted a program to compost and recycle those portions of the waste stream, the material going to the landfill would be about 4,700 lbs, which is a little more than the weight of an average car today, and would fit in the back of most large pickup trucks.
FACT #3: If everything but the garbage/unknown fraction was composted or recycled, the school would reduce its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Footprint by 18 metric tons (39,683 lbs) of CO2/year. According to the U.S. EPA, the average car produces approximately 11,450 lbs of CO2/year. Blaine’s lunch recycling and composting program would remove the equivalent of almost 3.5 cars/year from the road.
FACT #4: The typical dumpster costs approximately $500 to send to a landfill. Currently, the school is generating a minimum of 36 dumpsters (1 per/week) of waste material from the lunchroom costing CPS $18,000/year for landfill waste that is 89% recoverable.
FACT #5: If the students were to bring their milk/juice/water from home in re-usable plastic bottles, and used re-usable plastic containers for their food (instead of Ziploc bags), we estimate the school would reduce the plastic/paper/unknown portion by 25lbs/day or 2.5 tons/year!
HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
IN A FEW SIMPLE STEPS...
AT HOME
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AT OUR SCHOOL
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