School Recycling Fall 2007

The School
Recycling CLUB CLUB Quarterly
- Since 1998 -

104,671 Students
Involved!
+

Providing the latest news to the school recycling community

Inside Have You Joined Team Earth Yet!

Bronze, Silver or Gold which will your school be?
- Salisbury Central School in Lakeville, CT -

Salisbury Publishes a Tour Booklet

-1- Of Their Local Transfer Station
TE.A.M. Earth It’s easy to join the “Team Earth” [10 Team Earth Points]
Salisbury’s Booklet Awards - a program developed
UNH Speakers to recognize and reward CLUB How the Booklet came to be:
members for the great work they The 4th grade students in
-2- are doing in the world of school
Member ProfileS: the Language Arts Enrich-
recycling. ment class at Salisbury
High Mowing School This Awards program has three Central School in Lakeville,
-3- levels of recognition: Bronze, Silver
and Gold. The level of award is
CT were involved in a unit
Recycling Ramblings called “Earth Patrol”. They
directly dependent on how proactive
-4- your school is about recycling. (i.e. were reading all about the
ConVal Goes Green how many items it recycles; how problems plaguing our earth, like acid rain, global
Sanborn’s Lesson actively it promotes its program; warming, toxic waste, air, land and water pollution and
Welcome New Members educating people on the importance continued pg 2
of recycling, etc..) For each recy-
-5- cling activity a CLUB undertakes, it
Newmarket Mosaic receives “Team Earth” points. It is
Collection Trouble? through these points that a school
can reach for the Gold, and receive
-6- the highest level of school recycling UNH Recycling Speakers Available
FREE Resources recognition awarded in the region.
How to join the CLUB Don’t miss out on this great Sign up now for a presentation by UNH
opportunity to encourage your on the benefits of School Recycling!
students to be active recyclers.
To join, go to our web site at: The School Recycling CLUB is working with UNH
Go To: www.schoolrecycling.net Professor Jenna Jembeck and a group of UNH graduate
www.school students to put together presentations on the Benefits of
recycling.net School Recycling. These hour-long presentations to be
T.E.A.M.* Activities You Can Do presented at your school, can be geared toward Elemen-
l Reuse Metal Cans: Can you make a waste-free tary, Middle or High School Students. They are designed
To store classroom supplies. lunch? 10 points to teach students, staff and administrators about school
Check Out 2 points l Maintain a School recycling and get them excited about implementing a
Our Web Site! l Make Paper Pads: From Composting Program: program at their school.
used paper that is still blank 10 points The presentations will be given by the UNH gradu-
on one side. 6 points ate students and can be done for a single class or for a
The School l Develop Recycling larger assembly (the more the merrier!). There will be
Recycling CLUB is a Hold a WASTE-FREE Bulletin Board(s): Create
project of the North-
l a small fee of $40 associated with getting a speaker to
Lunch Day: Bring your displays on How, What & your school (to offset travel expenses). These presenta-
east Resource Recovery
Association (NRRA), lunch in reusable containers Why to Recycle. 6 points tions will be launched, and speakers will be available,
a proactive non-profit with a cloth napkin. Use Conduct a Full Waste
l starting on America Recycles Day (November 15th).
cooperative working to no plastic or paper bags... Request your speaker now by calling 603-734-4401
make recycling programs Audit: 10 points
efficient and financially or email the CLUB at: theclub@nrra.net. Hurry and
*T.E.A.M. = Team Earth Activity Manual.
successful. Whenever you see this acronym, it means you can earn points towards sign up today, limited slots available!
our Team Earth Awards Program by completing this activity.
Go to: www.schoolrecycling.net 1
 from page 1

Member School ProfileS Salisbury Transfer Station Tour Booklet

High Mowing School of Wilton, NH solid waste. The students thought it was very scary
and depressing!
As part of “Earth Patrol” they also went on a
Since 1977, the entire school has been involved in the recycling process. field trip to the Transfer Station where Larry Beck
(Manager of the Transfer Station) gave them a tour.
High Mowing in Wilton, NH is a Waldorf High School and has They learned that maybe things weren’t as bad as
High Mowing been recycling since 1977. That in itself is quite an accomplish- they thought and that there were some very important
Grades: 9-12 ment. With the help of the entire things happening right in their own town to help
Population: 125 school, the recycling program is reduce waste and pollution. They thought... “Wouldn’t
Recycles: aluminum, lead and operated by Mike Wis- it be great if everyone in town could have a tour of
batteries, bottle caps, the Transfer Station too?” The idea for the booklet
niewski. If it wasn’t for Mike, who
glass, kitchen scraps,
can find a place for any discarded was formed! The students wanted as many residents
mixed paper, news-
paper, plastic, steel, item at the school, the recycling as possible to learn about what they could recycle and
Stonyfield Farm program wouldn’t be where it is how better to do it.
bottles & today, active and successful.
toner cartridges At High Mowing, there isn’t
a thing that can’t be recycled.
Every office has specific bins where people can place
their recyclables. In the dorms there are closets where the
students separate their recyclables. The whole school, from
the teachers to the administrators to the students and even
the kitchen staff, are all involved in the recycling process. Tour Booklet Details:
We toured the kitchen where there were bins for glass, Size - 8.5 x 5.5”, 21 double sided inside pages, 2 cover
aluminum and paper. The kitchen is completely organic and they cook all their own food pages (glossy) with a black plastic spiral binding
which looked and tasted delicious. After students are done eating on real plates and uten- Content - A general welcome with Station hours and
sils, they put their leftover scrap food in a bin which is transferred to buckets outside. Af- site map; The 3R’s...Reduce, Reuse & Recycle are each
ter every donation to the scrap food buckets, sawdust with a wheat bran enzyme is sprinkled then discussed; Then every item that can be recycled
on top of the food so it doesn’t smell and/or attract flies. After approximately has a two page spread with a picture of it and a
10 buckets are filled, they are dumped into the Schools compost pile and turned weekly. description of how to; Garbage, hazardous waste, com-
The school has a shed where Mike posting and transportation costs are then discussed
stores all the recyclables. It was totally with “departing messages” & a “thank you” to finish.
amazing to see all the things he recycles. Self Published - Salisbury printed the full color
From bottle caps to even the collection booklet themselves and The Salisbury Association
of Stonyfield Farm yogurt bottles which Land Trust paid for the printing.
he returns to Stonyfield once he collects Distribution - The booklet was presented to the local
enough. On a daily basis, he makes drop-
Recycling Committee and then went home with all the
parents of the Salisbury Central School. 
offs of High Mowing’s recyclables to the
Award Winning - Larry Beck has shown it all over
local Wilton Transfer Station.
Connecticut and has even received a citation from the
High Mowing has also hosted the
Connecticut General Assembly.  
CLUB’s Can Cage and left it in their park-
ing lot to collect cans. Once the Can Cage
is full, they drive it to the transfer station
and collect money for the
cans. In the last couple of
years they have bought Rock
Climbing Gear from the
profits of the cans.
If you are interested in
speaking with Mike about
Your school can do one too! Wouldn’t this be a
great TEAM Earth project to do with your school
his recycling successes at
or class? If you would like to receive a copy of the
the High Mowing School,
booklet, please email the CLUB at theclub@nrra.net.
please contact him by calling
603-554-7201.

2 Go to: www.schoolrecycling.net
 Recycling the
Recycling Ramblings Ebony and Ivory
Looking for a home for
your unused piano? Give
A Great April 2008 Earth Day Activity the gift
The RecyclaBulls, a Musical! of music
to a
The RecyclaBulls is a fun-filled family in
live musical adventure designed search
to entertain and educate K-4 of a
students. In the 2008 show, four starter
Thank You NHtB! piano or
calves learn how to reduce, reuse
& recycle. As they learn, they New Hampshire the an insti-
teach basic concepts of envi- Beautiful (NHtB) is tution
ronmental education and offer a proud sponsor of the such as a
simple suggestions on how to School Recycling CLUB church,
enhance recycling at school and bin program. It is through school or retirement
at home. a NHtB grant that the home in need of a piano.
CLUB is able to of- Pianoadoption.com is a free
You must apply to have them come to your school and there are only 15 performances site where you can find
fer the recycling bins at
available for 15 lucky schools...so apply today! Applications, Video Clips and a home for your unused
such a low cost to CLUB
more detailed information can be found online through The School Recycling CLUB piano or adopt one for
members. Founded in
at www.schoolrecycling.net. free for yourself. Piano
1983, NHtB is a private
DEADLINE for Applications is November 21, 2007 non-profit charitable trust Adoption is dedicated to
and is supported by the finding a new home for
Funding for The Recyclabulls is provided by the Walker Fund of NH Charitable Foundation and
Stonyfield Farm in partnership with: NH Department of Environmental Services, Northeast Resource soft drink, malt beverage serviceable pianos before
Recovery Association, The School Recycling CLUB and the Winnipesaukee Playhouse. and grocery industries they end up in the local
of NH. For information landfill. Go to piano-
about NHtB go to www. adoption.com for more
nhthebeautiful.org. information.
Just the Facts, Ma’am.

About Paper Recycling twice as much water as Looking For

straw bedding. Non-
(all grades including newspaper, cardboard & office paper) printed paper can be used
An Easy Fund
n By recycling 2,000 lbs.
to avoid possible irritation Raising Idea?
and/or marking for our Terracycle Plant Food™,
(one ton) of paper, we save: lighter coloured friends.
17 trees; 6,953 gallons of is an all-natural, all-organic,
Paper insulates against cold
water; 463 gallons of oil; Shredding weather and absorbs liquids
‘goof-proof ’ liquid plant
food made from waste
587 pounds of air pollution;
3.06 cubic yards of landfill The News and waste. Instead of using (worm castings) and pack-
the traditional cedar wood aged in waste (reused soda
space and 4,077 Kilowatt Shredded paper is an shavings try using shredded bottles)!
hours of energy. excellent source of animal paper. If you are concerned
n Around 45% of the paper bedding. Newsprint bed- about animal odors, you can
Americans use each year (over ding experience in the states try a light spray of lemon
47 million tons) is recovered has been mainly with dairy juice, citrus cleaner, or pine
for recycling. This is made into farmers. However, the oil. Many animals really love
a wide variety of goods such as new newsprint, boxes and bedding is suitable for most the paper and it is suggest-
office paper, paper towels, tissue products, insulation, cereal other animals, including ed that using thin papers
boxes, molded packaging, hydro-mulch, gypsum wallboard cattle, horses, hogs, and such as newspaper or copy Terracycle is looking for
even compost and kitty litter! poultry. Veterinarians, pet paper are best. Color, glossy 20 oz plastic bottles and
shops and animal shelters catalogs are NOT the most
n 80% of U.S. paper makers use some recovered fiber will pay your school 6¢ a
have used paper bedding absorbent, so save most
in manufacturing, and nearly 200 paper mills use ONLY bottle!  They will send you
for small animals. Use of those for your packing
recovered paper for their fiber. boxes to collect the bottles
of magazines is NOT material. Have your Club and free shipping labels so
n The average American uses 650 lbs. of paper per year. recommended. Newsprint call your local shelter today there is no expense to the
100 million tons of wood could be saved each year if all bedding is highly absorbent and see if they’re accepting schools. To find out more
that paper was actually recycled! and long lasting. Field tests donated shredded paper. information and sign up,
have found that newsprint Or use it at home for your
Sources: American Forest & Paper Association, Inc.; Institute of Scrap Re- go to their web site at:
cycling Industries; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Weyerhaeuser bedding will absorb almost furry family members. www.terracycle.net
3
 Has your School been in the
papers regarding your recycling

Schools in the News ideas & efforts? Let the CLUB

know and we’ll pass it forward in
the CLUB Quarterly!

- ConVal Regional High of Peterborough, NH - - Sanborn Regional High of Kingston, NH -

Students Push For A Greener School Lesson in Recycling

An article by Kerry McDonald of The Monadnock Ledger-Transcript Staff By Ann Sanok of The Rockingham News
A group of Contoocook Valley Regional High School (ConVal) students decided to take
matters into their own hands and Go Green. Ten students put together a detailed action
plan to initiate the first ConVal Green Week. It was held in May, with the cooperation and
approval of the school’s administration and the district Food Service department.
“We wanted to do something really noticeable to make people aware,” said Molly
Ferrill, a junior at ConVal. “We didn’t want to do something slowly.” “It was sad to see all
the trash every day,” said senior Michelle Russell. “There was just so much and we felt like
we could do something to change it.”
Russell quickly formed a group including
Ferrill, seniors Samantha Bond, Liam Holding,
Lila Trowbridge, and juniors Molly Brown,
Carrie Lawlor, Katie Murphy, Charlotte Welby
and Sarah Winship.
The group started meeting in November and named itself “Trash Talk,” since the
members were discussing how the school could become more environmentally conscious.
The group approached Principal Sue Dell, who came on board as co-advisor with
Dana Wood, the Environmental Science teacher at ConVal who was already working with
her students on a project to build a compost bin behind the school cafeteria. Within days, A simple plastic box in the corner of a classroom
more than 50 students had signed on to help with Green Week efforts. can make the world a cleaner place. So say students in
The Trash Talk students did their homework by talking with some of the experts in Sanborn’s home base studies class, who have implemented
the area. “The kids went to Crotched Mountain to see their recycling program,” said Dell, and run a highly successful school-wide recycling program
“because they’re heavily involved in recycling.” The group also visited Keene State Univer- during this academic year.
sity to learn more about its recycling efforts, and participated in a Social Entrepreneurs for Kevin Medeiros, a tenth-grader from Newton ex-
State Leaders workshop. plained how the program works. “We put recycling boxes
Russell said the universities are focused on sustainability and recycling efforts but that in every classroom and the teachers try to get their
very few high schools have recycling programs. students to throw paper and plastic trash into those boxes
“One of the people at the workshop was saying how landfills in New Hampshire are so it is not mixed in with other trash. Both plastic and
getting full,” said Russell, “and it made us want to do what we can for sustainability.” paper can be reused to make new stuff, so we collect all
In a matter of days, the students put together an action plan that included daily activi- of it and give it to Waste Management for processing.”
ties to occur during Green Week. These included signage throughout the school; setting John Petron, a ninth-grader from Newton stated that
up recycling bins for bottles and cans in the cafeteria and a Trash Pile-UP, a visual dem- he feels the program is valuable because not only does
onstration of one day’s worth of student-generated trash, which was piled in the school’s continued pg 5
courtyard to highlight the magnitude of the problem.
Guest speaker Luc Monzies of the Union Mill in West Peterborough talked with
students about green building and sustainable practices. Ten minutes of “lights out”
illustrated for students the amount of energy and money saved by conserving electric-
Welcome New
ity. Al Gore’s movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” was screened and an organic lunch was
served on recyclable lunch trays on Friday. The organic lunch included a turkey sandwich
or wrap, organic lettuce, tomato, chips and mayo with herbs from the South Meadow
CLUB Members
School greenhouse. Kernel Bakery in Peterborough supplied the bread. “Our kitchen staff Total CLUB Members to Date - 225
Total Bins Distributed This Year to Date - 857
was so supportive,” said Russell. “Our baker even made cookies with ‘Recycle’ written on
them.” “We didn’t have a lot of time to put it together,” said Donna Reynolds, district Bicentennial School, Nashua
food service director, “but the kids’ response has been really positive. We’re hoping to do Carpenter Elementary, Wolfeboro
more like that.” Gilford High School, Gilford
“The most important part of our job is education,” said Wood. “The road block that Golden Brook Elementary, Windham
we’re coming up against is money and we don’t think that’s a good enough reason.”
“They (the students) tried to raise people’s consciousness and they’ve done it really well,” Henry W. Moore, Candia
said Dell. “We’re hoping it won’t be just a week. It should be every week of the year and a Hooksett Memorial School, Hooksett
way of life.” Jaffrey Rindge Middle School, Jaffrey
“The response has been so positive all week,” said Russell as she sat in the cafeteria Windham Center School, Windham
eating an organic lunch. “We want Green Week to happen every year.” Russell went on to Windham Middle School, Windham
say that the group is currently in the process of pursuing grants to support its conserva- Please check the CLUB web site today at:
tion efforts and to fund a project to build a small building for its recycling efforts. For www.schoolrecycling.net to make sure your
more information about Green Week please contact Dana Wood at dwood@conval.edu. school’s information is included and accurate!
Go to: www.schoolrecycling.net 4
 The NRRA RecycleMobiles
waiting to be reserved!

Collection Trouble?
Does your school need
help getting recyclables
Photo by Karen Wajda

collected? Is your school

within the Seacoast, Lakes,
Manchester or Concord,
NH area? The CLUB
may be able to help by
Newmarket Recreation staff and summer campers gathered for a picture after completing the “We Love Our Earth” connecting you with a
mosaic globe made from different colored plastic bottles. See the full color version online at www.schoolrecycling.net. vendor interested in pro-
viding schools with FREE
“We Love Our Earth” in Newmarket pick-up of recyclables. For
more information call the
Newmarket held a summer camp and celebrated Big Green Day with Earth-friendly activities. One such activity in- CLUB at 603-736-4401 or
cluded collecting approximately 2,000 bottles and cans using one of the NRRA’s RecycleMobiles. send the CLUB an email at
“It was amazing to see how many cans and bottles could be collected and kept out of the waste stream in just two theclub@nrra.net.
weeks” declared Aimee Gigandet, a camp staffer. With creative campers, an innovative staff, and a LOT of sorting,
their recyclables were made into a beautiful “We Love Our Earth” mosaic. See the full color version of this photo in the What would YOU
online newsletter at www.schoolrecycling.net/newsletter. It’s beautiful to see! like to see in the
The theme of Newmarket’s summer camp was “Amazing Race to Discover Earth – People, Fire, Ice”. What a great way to CLUB Newsletter?
inspire and educate our young people...way to go Newmarket!
To reserve a RecycleMobile for your next community or school event, please call the CLUB at 736-4401 or email us at
theclub@nrra.net. It’s free!

from page 4
A Lesson...
recycling protect the environment, but “it also teaches
people to be aware of how much waste they produce.”
According to Waste Management, a typical school’s waste
stream consists of more than 40 percent paper.
Approximately one ton of waste is collected for every 11
to 14 times Waste Management empties a 96-gallon toter
at a school.
Therefore, by recycling its paper waste, a school
recycling one ton of paper is saving approximately 17 trees
and 8 cubic feet of landfill space. Recycling one ton of
paper results in the production of 25 percent less air
pollution, uses 40 percent less water, uses 50 percent less
energy, and produces 65 percent less water pollution.
Jaren Naef of Waste Management is overseeing
Sanborn’s recycling program. Naef reports that thus far,
Go to: www.schoolrecycling.net
Send the CLUB
the school has recycled 900 pounds of plastics and 2250
pounds of paper products. The school has helped divert
an email at
theclub@nrra.net
over 1.5 tons of material from the landfill. and let us know!
Bryan Ryan, a teacher for the home base studies class,
notes that the recycling project has multiple benefits. “The
students are learning valuable life skills at the same time
they are learning to become leaders in the school,” Ryan
said. “They are actively demonstrating the importance of
SRHS’ commitment to the environment by directly reduc-
ing its footprint on the environment.”
Students participating in the program are: John Hill,
Kevin Medeiros, John Smith, Jon Crosby Jon Petron, Tim
Membership
Blazonis, Ben Wydola, and Anthony Earl. to the CLUB
John Smith, a junior from Kingston said some classes
were better than others at filling their recycling bins. “The is FREE.
art classes are the best. The math classes could probably
contribute some more in my opinion,” said John.
Join Today!
5
 Development Solid Waste Grant
Partially funded by a USDA Rural
Printed on Recycled Paper

Permit # 1267 www.schoolrecycling.net

Epsom, NH 03234
PAID Epsom, NH 03234
US Postage 2101 Dover Road (NH Rte 4)
Non-Profit Org.
A Project of The Northeast Resource Recovery Association
The School Recycling CLUB

Cool Stuff Free!

Get a PETE’s Pack
The School
The National Association for PET* Container Resources Looking for a Global Warming Speaker? Recycling CLUB...
(NAPCOR) developed a great educational kit called
“PETE’s Pack” that not only can be used as an easy, stand-
Are you looking for a speaker for your Middle and High is a FREE school program,
School students?  The Carbon Coalition Speakers Bureau designed to be a fun, in-
alone display showing what happens to recycled plastic but novative way to give kids en-
in cooperation with Cleanair-Coolplanet is offering FREE
it can also be used as couragement, direction, and
presentations for schools.  The presenters are local NH networking possibilities for
a hands-on, interactive
speakers and they will talk about “global warming 101” for school recycling programs.
presentation to teach
about 30 minutes.  The presentations are grounded in sci-
students how soda Benefits to joining include:
ence and the speakers • Hear the latest news
bottles are recycled.
can discuss examples about school recycling.
Stored in a mini-bin of solutions in the • Gain statewide recogni-
container made from home, community tion for your school’s
100% recycled PETE* as well as nationally.   Groups should be classroom size recycling efforts.
(#1 plastic), the kit includes: and a combination of students, teachers and parents.  If • Increase partnerships
between your community
n A binder full of PETE information
your school is interested, please contact Carbon Coalition and your school.
Speakers Bureau directly by emailing Emily Rocheleau at • Receive technical assistance
n Samples of PETE bottles in various stages of
erocheleau@cleanair-coolplanet.org or by calling her at • Learn of FREE recycling
“production” - preforms, chipped, etc. 603-442-6464 ext:109. This a great program for 7th educational resources.
n “Virgin” PETE plastic pellets * polyethylene terephthalate Grade students and older.
(aka PET or PETE)
To Join...
n Recycled PETE plastic pellets • Have written permission
n Fiber fill made from recycled PETE
Many Other Great Recycling Resources... from the principal;
The School Recycling CLUB has many other resources • Currently be recycling,
n A T-shirt and carpet sample made of recycled PETE
available. Just call us at 603-736-4401 or check them out or agree to recycle at
Pete’s Packs are FREE to all CLUB members (as long as on line at www.schoolrecycling.net. For example: The Can least one type of item
supplies last).  To receive one simply contact the CLUB Cage...it tows! For large school wide collection of alumi- for one year!
either by phone at 603-736-4401 or by email at theclub@ num cans; ClearStream Recyclers...specifically designed • That’s it! You can be
nrra.net. Pick up your PETE’s Pak at the NRRA offices.  for bottles and cans; EcoCycle Kit, a waste reduction activ- part of THE CLUB!
For directions go to: www.schoolrecycling.net. ity kit...and many more resources. Just call The CLUB!
6