DNRP > SWD > Education & Schools Assistance > Green Schools Program > Waste Reduction and Recycling

Waste Reduction and Recycling

Waste reduction and recycling are the focus of level one of the King County Green Schools Program. Schools receive recognition as King County Green Schools when they fulfill the level one criteria. Both waste reduction and recycling are important. By rethinking, reducing, reusing and recycling the products it uses, schools can reduce:

• Depletion of natural resources, such as trees, energy, water, metals and oil, which are used to make new products;
• Pollution caused by the mining, manufacture, transportation and disposal of products;
• Landfill gas emissions; and
• Garbage disposal costs.

Nearly all of the garbage generated by schools can be reduced, reused, recycled and composted. A waste composition study of Los Angeles schools found that a typical school's waste was comprised of:

• 47 percent paper
• 32 percent organic waste (food scraps, food soiled paper)
• 12 percent plastic bottles
• 4 percent aluminum cans
• 2 percent glass bottles
• 2 percent construction debris
• 1 percent hazardous wastes including batteries, electronics, fluorescent tubes and bulbs

For ideas and tips on how to reduce waste and initiate or maintain an effective recycling program, review the program's level one criteria, which is focused on waste reduction and recycling. There is one set of criteria for schools and another for school districts.

Schools and school districts must complete the requirements in level one to be recognized as a level one King County Green School or School District. See how the program works

Criteria and resources

Level One - School Criteria (Microsoft Word document, 155 K)
Level One - School District Criteria (Microsoft Word document, 114 K)
Waste Reduction Toolkit
Waste Reduction Resources
Recycling Toolkit
Recycling Resources

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