Green Ideas
Walnut Acres Recycle Club & Zero Waste By Amy Golan, Resident since 2008, Owner of Planet Renu
A
s an eco-friendly business owner, I am concerned about the impact that society and all of our buying behaviors have on the environment and the earth. Everyone can do their part and working with large entities, such as a school, can be very impactful. I had the pleasure of meeting the ladies that run the Recycle Club at Walnut
Acres (WA) Elementary School when they reached out to me to help them create and offer Zero Waste Lunch alternatives for their school. This club is dynamically changing the way the school approaches trash, recycling & composting. I was so impressed, that I thought everyone should know about their positive efforts which can hopefully be duplicated by other schools. The two ladies that presently run the WA Recycle Club are Marci and Monique. Marci moved from Massachusetts four years ago and immediately took over the Recycle Club from its founder, Christianna Cohen, as she was transitioning out. Monique joined a few years later when her daughter started kindergarten after being inspired by one of her favorite environmentalists. She realized the best way to make a difference is to “think globally, act locally.” They have done a great job creating a school that is as zero waste as possible even recycling all markers through Crayola’s Color Cycle program. In addition to educating the students on recycling and setting up recycling bins around school, Marci and Monique realized that a few other issues needed to be tackled. One issue was that the recycling bins
Marci Cole Ekberg and Monique Pickering head up Walnut Acres Recycle Club
inside the classroom were not making it to the recycling containers, and in fact, this recycling was being thrown in the trash. This ongoing problem in the school district relates to how the custodial contracts are written. To remedy this situation, they have the students transport the recycling in the blue bins to the recycling containers twice a week. To date, there has been some training by the district for the custodians to take care of the in-classroom recycling, but the students are still taking out the recycling. Another event that produces a lot of trash is parties- whether at home or at school. Think of all of the plastic or paper plates, plastic utensils, cups, tablecloths and water bottles that usually accompany festive gatherings and celebrations. So these ladies decided to reduce waste from parties and other celebrations by creating a reusable “Party Set.” To address the plastic water bottles,
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MAY 2019
