Issue 1
Fall 2013
The goal of the Sustainable Schools program in Rou County is to help create a culture in schools to advance environmental, economic and social sustainability for current and future genera ons. Established in 2010, Sustainable Schools is an outreach and educa onal arm of the nonprofit Yampa Valley Sustainability Council. For more about Sustainable Schools visit www.yvsc.org/schools
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IN THIS UPDATE: Zero Waste Success Stories Cell Phone Recycling Get Involved
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Fall is “Zero” Waste Season Fall is party season, so Sustainable Schools reminds everyone about a few ways to lower waste during the holiday season: • Provide finger foods that require no utensils and can be served on napkins or paper towels, which are compostable. • Secure a parent volunteer as the green party helper to coordinate the use of reusable/washable plates, bowls and silverware. • If disposable plates must be used, avoid colorfully decorated plates, which are plas c coated and not recyclable. Choose plain, uncoated plates, which are compostable and o en more reasonably priced. • If using table coverings, avoid single-use plas c tablecloths that are disposable. School butcher paper can be decorated by students and composted a er the party. Remove any plas c tape before compos ng. • Most packaging around individual servings of purchased snacks is trash. Homemade goodies or snacks purchased in bulk (without individual wrappers) generate less waste. • Clean, balled-up aluminum foil and aluminum plates are recyclable. • Rethink party ac vi es – make them ac ve and engaging or include an ac vity that doesn’t generate a lot of waste. Cra s using recycled material are be er than the one- me use of foam or plas c. The YVSC Zero Waste program can help everyone learn to prep for a low-waste party and offers compostable zero waste party packs. Contact Carol at zero@yvsc.org
What has SS been doing? Replacing Styrofoam trays and plas c cutlery in schools with real plates and silverware Providing recycling educa on and “zero” waste support in cafeterias and at special events Encouraging energy conserva on behavior through the Take Charge Energy Challenge Suppor ng student led Green Teams and their ideas to reduce waste and energy Fostering community service learning through our events: Youth Eco-Summit, Earth Hour, ReTree Steamboat and Clean Out the Classroom
Some of the reusable supplies collected during the 2012 Clean Out the Classroom efforts.
The Sustainable Schools pages on the YVSC website have been updated this fall to provide current informa on and resources. Please visit www.YVSC.org/schools. Contact informa on for Green Teams or Eco Clubs at individual schools can be found there too.
Making Successful Strides No ceable progress is taking shape in local schools in the form of energy and waste reduc on. The Steamboat school district facili es manager reports a “marked decrease” in electricity costs since 2010 due to awareness educa on. The district also plans to move forward with energy performance contrac ng with the Kansas-based Navitas company to improve hea ng and ligh ng systems. The project should reduce energy costs at the district office, transporta on building and the four school buildings in Steamboat. Reducing paper use also is a key goal this year for many school leaders. Some schools have a budget of up to $18,000 per academic year for paper and copying expenses. At Strawberry Park Elementary School, the staff made a display of stacks of paper reams for a visual lesson about how much paper is used each month and to encourage reduced use. The teachers have pledged to use only the stack each month. At Steamboat Springs Middle School, the staff pledged to decrease paper use by 10 percent. Many of the schools are u lizing technology to reduce paper use, such as issuing a flash drive to teachers, using fewer but mul -func on prin ng and copying machines, and pos ng more paperwork and reports online.
2012 Soda Creek Elementary School Energy Ninjas Team saving energy one light at a time.
Cell Phone Recycling Now that trashing electronic waste is illegal in the state of Colorado, Sustainable Schools is doing its part to help properly recycle all types of old cell phones. Recycling cell phones raises funds for the schools and keeps reusable and hazardous materials out of the landfill. Recycling one cell phone saves enough energy to power a laptop for 44 hours.
Celia Dunham, Tracy Stoddard, and the 2011-2012 student council from Strawberry Park Elementary
A collec on box is located in the lobby of Wells Fargo Bank in downtown Steamboat that is open Monday to Saturday. Cell phones also are accepted at the YVSC office at 141 Oak Street and at the Steamboat Springs High School and Middle School front offices.
Schools are an Idle-Free Zone Car exhaust contains air toxics, which are known to cause cancer, respiratory effects, reproduc ve effects, birth defects or other serious health effects. Because of their developing lungs and higher breathing rates, children are more suscep ble to air pollu on. But this doesn’t only have to be at school. Pledge to not idle unnecessarily anyplace, any me.
Get Involved in Sustainable Schools Student, staff, teacher, parent and community support and par cipa on are always welcome with Sustainable Schools. The program hosts a networking, learning and sharing mee ng at 4:15 p.m. the third Thursday of the month at the Bud Werner Memorial Library upstairs mee ng room. To learn more, contact Sarah Jones at schools@yvsc.org or 303-388-6981.