Institutionalizing School Waste Reduction & Diversion Policies

Members

Meeting Notes 

Click link above to see all Policy meeting notes and action items in chronological order

July 28, 2022  Only two municipalities were represented (most were DEP and CET).  We will be creating a template for a "School Waste Reduction and Diversion Policy" for adoption by school districts, as well as creating a list of tasks to be added to job descriptions for staff that work in the kitchen/cafeteria.  We also discussed the possibility of institutionalizing Sustainability in schools by following DEI and Health & Wellness models. 

August 24, 2022  Our short term goal is to have a draft of our School Waste Reduction Policy and a list of tasks to add to job descriptions ready for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) and Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS) Joint Conference on November 2 & 3 and the Massachusetts Facilities Administrators’ Association (MFAA) and Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials (MASBO) Expo on November 15.

Policy Templates

School Waste Reduction & Recycling Policies

MA Green SWoRD Template for School Waste Reduction and Diversion Policy and Sample Job Descriptions  MA School Waste Reduction and Diversion Working Group (Green SWoRD) sample template for adoption by your school district and bullet points to add to your job descriptions for custodians, kitchen staff and cafeteria workers and volunteers

MassDEP Template - School District Recyclable Materials Policy  In order to apply for MassDEP Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP) Grants, all municipalities must have a comprehensive recycling program in place at all municipal buildings, including schools.  Having a District-Wide School Recyclable Materials Policy in place will assist in this effort.

School Sustainability Champion Policies

Managing Sustainability & Indoor Air Quality in School District  A Profile of Staff in the K-12 Sector.  This report, published by the Center for Green Schools, provides insights from a national survey on the financial costs and benefits of hiring PK-12 sustainability and environmental health staff to drive better working and learning conditions within schools. 

Making the Case for K12 Sustainability Toolkit  This toolkit, a companion resource to the report, Managing Sustainability & Indoor Air Quality in School Districts: A Profile of Staff in the K-12 Sector, provides key resources for champions of sustainable schools to advocate for the hiring of sustainability staff at their school or school district. The toolkit includes facts and tips, general sustainability skills and job responsibilities, job description templates, links to over a dozen actual job descriptions, as well as examples of school system organizational reporting structures to support sustainability staff/teams. 

Existing School Waste Reduction/Recycling Policies

Other Resources

Guidance for Paper Use Reduction in Schools  Suggestions & Guidance along with a sample Internal Memo and Signage

5 Ways to Reduce Trash  In Your School Cafeteria and Kitchen  From waste audits, to recycling and composting, to tray stacking