School Recycling Program Best Practices

How to Run a Successful School Recycling Program

Here are some strategies and tips to help you create or improve your school’s recycling program:  

Form a Team

• Talk with faculty, staff and students about the recycling program and how it can make a positive impact. Clarify what the program goals are, (i.e. reducing contamination, diverting more materials from landfill etc.)
• Set up a recycling team and get students involved! Students love to help.
• Appoint someone as the leader of the recycling team to help coordinate recycling efforts.

Find Out What You Can Recycle

• Find out what you can and can’t recycle by contacting your recycling hauler/processor. It’s likely they accept most items that are accepted in your community’s residential recycling program, but there may be differences.
• Conduct a waste audit to learn if specific items are being improperly recycled, composted, or thrown away. This is a key step to understanding how to reduce the amount of trash going to the landfill. Incorporate our waste audit lesson plan into your planning.

Common recyclables found in schools are:

• Paper and cardboard
• Beverage bottles, cans, and cartons
• Plastic snack cups

Organize Collection Procedures

• Place a recycling bin in each classroom and office. Classroom bins can be as simple as a cardboard box or plastic tub.
• Pair a recycling bin with all existing garbage bins in your school so it’s convenient to recycle.
• Place larger recycling bins in other communal areas like printer/copy machine areas, break rooms, and cafeterias.
• Consider adding a compost bin to help with organic materials.
• Identify who will be responsible for collecting the indoor recycling and transporting it to the exterior collection container. Provide custodians with collection procedure instructions or develop a plan with students and faculty to share recycling duties.