King County Green Schools Program honors Lake Washington School District

Students and staff in the Lake Washington School District have been so successful at improving recycling and energy conservation practices over the past two years that King County's Green Schools Program is honoring the district with special recognition at its Nov. 5 school board meeting.

Thanks to assistance from the program, which helps schools, students and staff to conserve natural resources and become better stewards of the environment, the school district is recycling more, wasting less and saving money.

Some of the district's accomplishments include:

• Establishing or improving recycling at each of its 46 schools;
• Saving more than $56,000 – a 19 percent reduction in garbage disposal costs when comparing 2004-05 with 2006-07 – through improved waste reduction and recycling practices;
• Reducing energy use by more than 9 percent; and
• Reducing irrigation costs by $38,000 – a 30 percent reduction – when comparing 2004-05 with 2006-07.

During the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years, Green Schools Program representatives worked with district resource conservation manager Chuck Collins to set goals and improve performance in three areas – waste reduction and recycling, energy conservation and water conservation.

"The Green Schools Program helped get the students and staff excited about resource conservation," Collins said.

To reduce garbage and expand recycling, Green Schools Program representatives conducted site visits in each of the district's 46 school facilities, providing 370 recycling containers/dollies and recycling stickers for each container, and helping each school to improve its recycling practices.

In addition to recycling paper, bottles and cans, the school district now recycles printer cartridges, old lamps, bulbs and computer equipment.

Students and staff were reminded about recycling opportunities through the use of colorful signs, recycling booths in cafeterias during lunch, and school-wide public address announcements. Custodial staff and student groups also provided input in designing recycling programs to make them easier to use and maintain.

In 2006, three schools in the district began collecting lunchroom food scraps for recycling at Cedar Grove Composting. Food left at the end of the school year that would have been tossed out when it reached expiration dates over the summer was instead donated to a charitable organization that provides food for needy families in the state.

One school, Henry David Thoreau Elementary, reduced solid waste by 82 percent, or 230 cubic yards per year, by switching from disposable lunch trays to durable, reusable trays.

The switch reduced lunch waste from 6.5 cubic yards of garbage per week, including 1,100 disposal trays, to less than 1.2 cubic yards per week. Custodian Brad Fisher, who now only has to empty garbage containers at the end of the second lunch, said he likes the program because it has saved him valuable time.

Thoreau teacher Marie Hartford received a King County Earth Heroes at School award for her leadership in waste reduction and recycling efforts at her school.

Puget Sound Energy supported the Lake Washington School District's energy conservation strategies by providing technical assistance, grants and rebates. The City of Redmond supported the district's efforts by helping to purchase recycling containers for schools within the city limits.

"Over the past four years, the King County Green Schools Program has helped more than 200 schools to improve their conservation practices," said Dale Alekel, manager of the program.

"It's been a pleasure working with the dedicated staff of the Lake Washington School District to help them expand recycling to every school, conserve natural resources and save money," she said.

More information about the King County Green Schools Program is available by calling Alekel at 206-296-8457 or visiting www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/greenschools/.