Recruit a group of students to help their peers sort in the cafeteria​.

It's a great opportunity for student leadership, and it reinforces good habits for your whole student body!

Cafeteria Monitors Guide and Resources

Create 3-D posters with your students to practice proper sorting, and make it easy to see at-a-glance the common items that go in each bin.

Make your own 3D Sorting Posters.

Cafeteria Waste Audit Toolkit

Our schools have made major progress in reducing waste in the cafeteria. To keep that momentum going, we need to Know What We Throw! With this simple “waste checkup,” or cafeteria audit, students will take measurements of cafeteria waste. Then they can use their own data to take action!

For details and step-by-step instructions, use the Know What We Throw Toolkit (Cafeteria Culture).

• Recycling Champions Program: Waste Deep (Grades 6-12) (GrowNYC)

• Kahoot! Waste Sorting Games to learn about waste and how to sort properly. Fun for students and adults! 

• Video Resource: Away: A Zero Waste Journey (GrowNYC)

• DSNY Material Request for free recycling/waste labels, stickers, and posters

• Professional Development Templates to lead a 15-minute PD for your colleagues to practice sorting waste.

If you are interested in practicing on-site composting with your students for educational purposes, get started with these guides, tip sheets, and activities. You can try indoor composting with a worm bin, or start an outdoor composting bin.

Compost Made Easy (NYC Compost Project)