ORGANICS RECOVERY PILOT PROGRAM
Aveson Charter School is pleased to be moving forward with a very unique and progressive environmental education program offered through Waste Less Living, Inc. In the Spring of 2011, students were first introduced to a new way of disposing of their waste during their lunch period. Founder/President of Waste Less Living and Aveson parent, Christine Lenches-Hinkel, donated her time and expertise in the classroom teaching the students the importance of composting over landfilling their waste. Students learned how landfills adversely impact the environment and how composting is the cleaner and most environmentally responsible way to dispose of all food scraps, yard trimmings and discarded paper. Students quickly learned that the majority of the waste stream was comprised of organic material ideal for composting. They were taught how to turn such material into nutrient enriched soil (compost). During lunch, students were instructed to sort their waste into one of three bins: compostable, recyclable and trash. Each day the volume of each material type was weighed and recorded.
The pilot program resulted in a waste diversion rate of nearly 88%, inclusive of the recyclables collected through the Aveson Recycling Center. The amount of organics collected was approximately 1,000 lbs in just 2 months time - all of which was sent out for composting. With the support of The Green Action Team and the school administration, grant funding was secured through the Pasadena Community Foundation in the amount of $6,500 to purchase the necessary waste sorting stations that are to be permanent fixtures on campus.
The success of the program relies heavily on the participation of not only the students, faculty and staff but also on the parents. Below are some tips to help reduce trash coming to campus as anything landfilled is a direct cost to the school and to the community at large.
AVESON SCHOOL ACHIEVES 88% WASTE DIVERSION RATE IN JUST 2 MONTHS.
See how we did it!
#1 Pack a Waste-Less Lunch
www.WasteLessLiving.com
