School News You Can Use Feb. 2013

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

• School Award Nominations
• School Fundraiser: Compost Bin Sale – Sign Up Today Before Its Too Late!
• VT School Fundraising Opportunity
• Kids Making a Difference
• Green Activity
• Recycling Program Resources

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 The CLUB

 Meet Our Educators

Through extensive research at over 200 New England Schools NRRA found that the single most challenging area for school recycling programs was in providing curriculum integrations that brought recycling and sustainability into classrooms to be used as the subject matter for meeting state and local curriculum standards. The intention of the NRRA School CLUB is to address just that issue with its new programs now being offered. The CLUB offers six classroom workshops and three technical assistance programs. To do this we have six Educators whose vast experience can not only help you meet curriculum standards but engage your students!

• Jackie Albanese: Jackie started with NRRA in 2010 as an intern working on one of NRRA’s EPA school programs grants. She visited schools across New England to perform STAR Assessments, and more recently was the lead researcher on NRRA’s HHW Collection project.

• Jess Sankey: Jess Sankey was formerly with the Chittenden Solid Waste District in Vermont, where she led that progressive organization’s work with schools across the greater Burlington area. Jess brings that expertise and experience to NRRA, as well as a keen eye for the links between schools and the communities they live in.

• Charen Fegard: Charen comes to NRRA from AVR, where she was a full time Programs Coordinator and in-school expert for more than 7 years. Charen literally designed most of the programs NRRA offers, but is particularly interested in toxics, indoor air quality, and in working with student led teams.

• Marc Morgan: Marc Morgan has been working in the solid waste industry for the past fifteen years. His career started at Keene State College where he worked for the college’s recycling program. Some of the projects Marc has worked on include: developing a statewide school recycling calendar contest for New Hampshire; providing technical assistance to schools to improve recycling programs; creating
  new recycling programs at schools; presenting to students; partnering with teachers to develop classroom work focused on resource management and overseeing a school recycling program.

• Cindy Sterling: Cindy comes to NRRA after years of service as an educator and recycling coordinator at the Windham Solid Waste District in Vermont. Among Cindy’s areas of expertise are the connections between recycling and sustainability and both local and national curricular standards.

For more information about the programs we offer click here! E-mail us at [email protected] or call 603.736.4401 ext 17 to find out more about the CLUB and grant opportunities for programming.

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CONFERENCE NEWS

Nominate School, Green Team, Student, Faculty Member, Event or Facility Personnel For Recycling Award!

Does your School have an individual, program or an event that deserves recognition for outstanding work in recycling? Click here and fill out the nomination form telling us all about it! NRRA and the School CLUB will be giving out awards in each category listed below at our 4th Annual School Conference/32nd Annual Conference & Expo on June 4^th, 2013 at the Center of NH/Radisson in Manchester, NH. For more information about the conference go to http://www.schoolrecycling.net/conference/

• School Recycler of the Year
• Rookie Recycler of the Year
• Best Composter
• Most Profitable Recycling Program
• Outstanding Recycling Fundraiser
• 2012-13 Student Recycler of the Year
• Outstanding Recycling Innovation in a School
• Outstanding Community Involvement
• Facilities Staff Recycler of the Year
• Teacher Recycler of the Year
• Cafeteria Staff Recycler of the Year
• Best Earth Day/Recycling 2012-13 Event

Sponsored by

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SCHOOL FUNDRAISER

Hurry – sign up today! 

Are you looking for a fundraising event for your school?  How about one that is also environmentally friendly?  NRRA is hosting its annual Compost Bin Sale.  If you sign up today, you’ll still have time to get your orders in and items delivered in time for Earth Day.  This year we are offering compost bins, kitchen scrap pails, compost turners and rain barrels.  Visit our website at http://www.nrra.net/news/bins-barrels-info/

Or contact us at 1-800-223-0150 x. 10 for more information.

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VERMONT SCHOOLS

School Fundraising Collection Events

No Charge Recycling and Fundraising for Schools!

Vermont’s electronic waste law bans the landfill disposal of certain electronic devices and provides for convenient collection of computers, monitors, printers, computer peripherals, and televisions for consumers, charities, school districts, and small businesses that employ 10 or fewer individuals, as well as anyone dropping off 7 or fewer covered devices at one time.  The FREE Vermont E-Cycles electronic recycling program established collection locations that are located statewide and operate year-round. All computers, monitors, printers, computer peripherals and TVs – regardless of brand, age, or condition – are accepted for FREE recycling. Other electronic devices are also accepted at these locations; however, there may be a fee to dispose of those items.

NRRA, and its recycling partner Good Point Recycling, are offering no cost School Collection and Education Fundraiser Events as part of the NRRA VT E-Cycles Program.  Under this plan, NRRA and its partners will provide support and compensation for schools that host and staff Electronics Collections Events on their grounds.  During these events, any Covered Entity will be able to drop off any Covered Device at no charge, as well as drop off Banned Devices at a charge set by Good Point Recycling.  The events will be coordinated with media exposure and educational opportunities for students and the community.  NRRA is particularly interested in marketing these events in towns without other permanent collection facilities.   Schools will be encouraged to use the events as fundraisers for their schools by three methods:

1. GPR will pay the school $.05/lb. on any Covered Devices from within the school that it sorts and turns over to GPR as part of the event, as if the school were a Collection Location.
2. Schools will be encouraged to collect donations, conduct other fundraisers, and otherwise raise funds from the Covered Entities participating in the collection without charging them for the collection.  All Collection will be free and Covered Entities will be under no obligation to participate in other fundraising.
3. For Schools that provide appropriately aged and trained staffing (contact us for further information) to direct Covered Entities to sort material as they drop it off, GPR will pay $.05/lb. for all sorted Covered Devices collected as part of the event.

School Collection and Fundraising Events are available to whole schools, clubs, teams, PTA’s, or any other school affiliated group that has permission to use school grounds.  Good Point Recycling and NRRA still have a number of open dates for hosting these events this spring.  Please contact us at [email protected] or call us at (800) 223-0150, ext. 19, to learn more about these exciting programs or to schedule an event at your school.

Be sure to ask us about our other educational offerings that can be used as a lead up or kickoff to collection events!

Please find more information at our website or contact us at (800) 223-0150 or email us at [email protected].

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KIDS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

 An 8th Grader Empowered: Activist Abby Goldberg

By Stiv Wilson on February 06, 2013

(Pictured Above, Abby with The 5 Gyres/Surfrider Foundation Education Kit)

Hello my name is Abby Goldberg and I am an 8^th grader in Illinois. In 2011, I began a school project that involved trying to get my village to ban plastic bags. Back then, I had no idea how this issue would change my life. What started as just another dreaded assignment, quickly turned into a wonderful journey. I learned about the dangers of plastic bags, I have a better understanding how my government works and I now have a feel for what activism is all about. Why plastic bags?

I struggled for a long time for a project that would make a positive impact on my community and the environment. The idea literally flew in my face. I live less than a mile from landfill and on windy days, temporary fencing is put up to capture thousands of plastic bags. Bags get entangled in the trees `and bushes on the perimeter of my neighborhood. Actually, that wasn’t what made me the angriest about plastic bags. If you “Google” plastic bags, one of the first images you can find is of a whole plastic bag wrapped around a seabird. That’s what got me hooked! I couldn’t believe that was happening! I love animals! I needed to find out more.

I spent the first part of 7^th grade researching the issue. Besides being made from limited resources, I found out that plastic bag litter was a huge problem. Once I started paying attention, it seemed like everywhere I looked there was a plastic bag! How was this happening? I spent just two hours at my local grocery store observing just one checkout lane and counted 173 plastic bags leaving the store. How many checkout lanes and how many stores are in the United States? This is where they were coming from.  The average American uses 350-500 bags a year. On windy days, I can tell that not many people are recycling these bags. I also learned that recycling plastic bags is really not a good solution. But, that is a whole other blog!  Not only are seabirds impacted by plastic bags, but sea turtles, whales, cows, goats, and camels die a horrible death by eating plastic bags. Why should I, a kid in the Midwest, care about plastic bags litter so much?

We are all connected and everything we do impacts OUR world. Plastic bags were made to be disposable, thrown away. Oops, now WE have a problem. That plastic bag, that escaped my landfill, may float in the river near my house, and then make its way to the Mississippi river. That river leads to the ocean. That plastic bag may mistakenly end up as a sea turtle’s dinner, killing it. Or, think about this. That plastic bag may photodegrade, breaking into bits, attracting toxins and eaten by a fish. If you are a seafood lover watch out! I would be heartbroken thinking I caused an animal’s death all because I needed a convenient way to bring home something I got at the mall.  But what was I to do?

I was convinced that if I just told my community about the dangers of plastic bags, the unlimited resources we were using to make them, and how they are part of a bigger problem of our throw away culture, that everyone would see my side and want to change. I would maybe make a kid video, show pictures of animals entangled in plastic bags, and get a whole presentation ready to show my village board. After all, bag bans were happening all over the world. This was going to be fun. But, just when I started, a bill was passed in my state that would ban any local communities from having a plastic bag ban. How did that happen? I think it was a compromise that was reached by the retailers, the bag makers, and representatives. It was supposed to take care of bag litter. To keep everyone happy, goals were set to increase the recycling of bags, but bans would not be allowed. This way retailers would never have to deal with different local ordinances regarding plastic bags. Well, now what?

A  petition on Change.org was suggested. Luckily, I had a friend who knew a friend! I learned quickly that activists have a huge network of friends who help each other out. All have a common goal of doing good in the world and are willing to share their resources. Activists in my state were fighting this bill too and activist in other states were trying to ban the bag. I had all kinds of advice from adults willing to talk to a teenager. I quickly made a video plea to Change.org, wrote a passionate letter, and I was on my way. I petitioned my governor to veto Senate Bill #3442. With a network of new friends, and the help of social media, I was able to get of 175,000 signatures and I am happy to report, the governor did veto that bill. I got signatures from all over the world! People understood that this bill could set a precedence and that the bag makers were influencing politics to keep making their bags. I don’t know if bans, taxes on bags, buyback programs or bag maker responsibility is the solution, but now my village has the choice to solve the issue however they want to. Recently, I was told that a plastic bag ban probably would never happen in my village or county. Maybe that is the case, but we don’t have to wait for legislation! You can be the change and change before you have to! Demand it of yourself.

After the veto, I started a facebook page and I have started to visit some local schools to speak with kids about the issue. I am determined to get the word out about plastic bags. I have the facebook page loaded with articles, facts and pictures. The more people are informed, the more likely they will make better decisions. The bag monster, made of 500 bags one person may use in a year, is a great visual, an “Oh wow,” moment. Now I am lucky enough to have another great visual aid, the education kit from 5gyres! When I first opened it up, I was truly amazed! Teachers and kids will literally see and TOUCH the plastic bits and debris taken from OUR ocean. They can see what our marine life is living in and eating. Seeing will be believing! I know personally, that whenever I can see and touch something as part of a lesson, the facts stay with me.  Kids will understand that plastic items they may throw away might just end up in the ocean.  They will see that when it comes to plastic, there is no away.

I not only discuss plastic bags, but how kids have power to change their world. We don’t have money, special interest groups or political power, but we do have our voices. You can write letters to your representatives, work with other activists in your community, and start petitions.  If you see something you want to change, are passionate about it, ask for help and educate yourself about it. Find people who care about it too. Be creative in finding your voice and most importantly educate others. Tell everyone and anyone.

Can you imagine if we all made a collective decision not to use plastic shopping bags? The power of that would be amazing. It all starts with just one.

The best,

Abby

To learn more about the 5 Gyres/Surfrider Foundation Marine Plastic Education Kit click here!

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GREEN ACTIVITY

Seed Paper

When is a recycled product better than the original? When it’s paper that turns into flowers. Here is a good way to recycle used paper and make a beautiful greeting card for someone special. Make your own artsy paper that has wildflower seeds in it! Use colored markers to paint a design or message on it. Give it to someone special to plant in a pot or in the ground. Keep it wet and warm, and it will “recycle” into something far better than old, used paper.

What you need:

• Used printer paper, cross-cut into tiny pieces by a paper shredder. Use 1-1/2 cups for each card.
• Large bowl of warm water
• Window screen material
• Small embroidery hoop
• Food coloring (optional)
• Blender
• 9 x 13-inch baking pan
• Packet of wildflower or other seeds
• Bath towels or several layers of felt squares
• Waxed paper
• Colored markers

What to do:

1. Soak the paper pieces in the bowl of water overnight.
2. Put the soaked paper into the blender, then fill the blender halfway with fresh water.
3. Blend until the mixture is soupy.
4. Add food coloring, if desired, and blend some more.
5. Fill the baking pan one-quarter full of water, then pour in the blended paper mixture—or pulp.
6. Slip the embroidery hoop with screen in from the side so that it slides beneath the pulp and seeds. If necessary, spoon some of the pulp over the screen.
7. Lift the screen gently, catching the pulp mixture evenly on top and letting the water drain off.
8. Lay the screen on a bath towel or felt layers to drain.
9. Sprinkle some seeds on top of the wet pulp, and gently pat them into the surface of the pulp.
10. When the bath towel or felt has soaked up as much water as it can, pick up the hoop and turn it over onto a sheet of waxed paper to dry. (Seeds will be on the bottom.)You may have to gently hit the hoop on the table or counter surface to loosen the pulp from the screen. If the pulp does not stick together, try putting more pulp on the screen next time.
11. Let the paper dry for at least 24 hours.
12. If the paper does not lie flat, place a heavy object (like a book) on it for a few hours to flatten it.
13. Decorate it with markers on the un-seeded side.

To plant the paper:

When you plant the paper, lay it on the surface of the soil and sprinkle about one-quarter-inch thick layer of soil on top. Water the soil lightly and keep the seeds wet until they sprout and have a few days to grow roots. For more fun visit http://climatekids.nasa.gov/

Good luck and happy recycling!

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RESOURCES

Free Signs & Images

Recycling signs and labels can be printed for free! Click here to see the many options!

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What is your School Club Up To?

The NRRA School CLUB always loves to hear what its members are doing to recycle and help the environment and share it with our other members. There are so many different things being done and you are our best source of information and what is working in your school. It can be a new program, a long-term project that’s been proven over time, a field trip, etc. Always feel free to contact me or submit something and you may see it in the next School News You Can Use!

Caitlin Meaney
[email protected]
1.603.736.4401 ext 17