8/9/2019 Cool Green Things Kids Can Do: Worms Recycle School Lunch Scraps - Conta Costa County

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The Waste-Cutting Edge

Lauren Granlund and Roman Boberdeliver tasty lunch scrap morsels to

the Camino Pablo Elementary schoolgarden worm bin, as parent volunteerKim Winter supervises.

Free Composting ClassesInspired by schools that compost?

You too can turn kitchen scraps intorich fertilizer for your garden.

To learn how, sign up for a free composting classthis spring. For a list of dates and locations, visit

www.wastediversion.org and select the composting tab.

Michaels Top 10

Cool Green ThingsKids Can Do

Michael Williams is a third grader atHappy Valley Elementary in Lafayette.He is on his schools Recycling Team,but his green enthusiasm goes waybeyond the classroom. There are manythings kids can do, Williams declares.

We can make a huge difference!

Here are Michaels Top 10 green tips:1. Turn off the lights when everybody has left

the room.

2. Remind your parents when they forgettheir reusable shopping bag.

3. Pack your school lunch in reusable containers anda reusable lunch bag.

4. Recycle in the classroom, at lunchtime and out onthe sports fields on weekends.

5. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth.

6. Help take out the recycling at home.

7. Use a reusable water bottle instead of disposableplastic.

8. Carpool to school with a buddy, or if its closeenough, walk, bike, skate or pogo!

9. Grow some of your own food.

10. Tell everybody that helping the environment is fun!

CCCSWA Board Chairman Mike Shimanskypresents students from Indian Valley Elementarywith the $2,000 Wastebusters award.

CCCSWA Board Chairman Mike Shimanskypresents students from Indian Valley Elementarywith the $2,000 Wastebusters award.

Authority Op-Ed

Straight As for

School RsIn the current economy, investment

decisions arent easy. But one things forsure: Educating our youth will alwaysyield a high return on investment. Afterall, todays kids will shape our communi-ties tomorrow.

Seven years ago, the CCCSWA createdthe Wastebusters Program, helping schoolsthroughout the jurisdiction set up wastereduction programs and teach students

how to handle resources wisely.

As a result, local schools are keepingthousands of tons of trash out of the land-fill and saving money. Most importantly,theyre getting kids excited about reducing,reusing, recycling and composting waste(also known as Rot, the fourth R).

In this issue ofDiversions, we invite youto catch a glimpse of the many wonderful4Rs activities going on in our school dis-tricts. We would also like to acknowledge

all the people making these programs asuccess: school administrators, teachers,students, parents, custodians and manyothers. We couldnt do it without you!

Paul Morsen

Executive Director

As the Worm Turns

Worms RecycleSchool Lunch Scraps

While most residen-tial gardens lie fallow inwinter, the beds at theWastebusters Certifiedschool, Camino Pablo Ele-mentary, brim with holly-hocks, herbs, even big fatzucchinis.

How do the studentskeep their plots thrivingyear-round? A little TLCand lots of composting.Each Wednesday after-noon, when the enclosedgarden is open to studentvolunteers, the kids taketurns dumping vegetableand fruit scraps into the

resident worm bin. The worms chow down onthe leftovers from schoollunches and produce rich castings that make amazing fertilizer.

Its wonderful to see how our lunches first feed us, andthen the leftovers feed the garden, gushes third grader LaurenGranlund.

Camino Pablo isnt the only school in CCCSWAs service areathat collects food waste, but it is one of the few that recyclesthem at an on-site garden using a worm bin.

The students love the process. On a recent December day,

dozens of eager volunteers dropped by to weed the garden orfeed the worm bin. Come spring, the kids will experience thefruits (and vegetables) of their labor when they enjoy their har-vests right out of the garden.

When kids see the circle of lifeschool lunch to garden,and back to their platesthey learn about the importance ofrecycling, explains parent volunteer Kim Winter.

DiversionsSpring 2009A Publication of the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority PH045Your Local Authority on Waste Diversion, Recycling and Source Reduction

Win-Win for School and Environment

Indian Valley JoinsWastebusters

Out of the 46 schools in the Authori-tys jurisdiction, 20 are currently certifiedWastebusters schools, and the list keepsgrowing! One of the newest membersis Indian Valley Elementary in WalnutCreek. In the 2007 school year they com-

pleted the first set of 4Rs requirements,earning the school the status of Waste-busters and a check for $2,000. Mike Shi-mansky, Council Member from Danvilleand Chairman of the CCCSWAs Board ofDirectors, delivered the reward personallyduring a school assembly.

It was wonderful to see hundreds ofkids so enthusiastic about reducing waste,he remembers. Getting our young peopleinvolved, thats where we have to start.

To keep the certification, Indian Valleyhas to step up their 4Rs activities andreapply each year.

To find out more about the Wastebustersprogram, read the article on page 2, andvisit www.wastediversion.org/schools or call925-906-1801.

8/9/2019 Cool Green Things Kids Can Do: Worms Recycle School Lunch Scraps - Conta Costa County

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!"#$%&'$!(%&)*+%,

Everyone knows how to recycle,but how many know what happensto that soda can after the collec-tion truck leaves the curb? Some

Central Contra Costa students havediscovered the answer after vis-iting Pacific Rim Recyclings Mate-rials Recovery Facility (MRF) inBenicia where recyclables are pro-cessed.

Three classes have alreadytaken the field trip, which begins with a snappy jingle sung byPacific Rims owner Steve Moore.A video* made by students fromEarth Team, a local youth environ-mental group, introduces the recycling process. Thenstudents actually experience the dizzying sights andcrashing sounds of the sorting and baling machines,as they watch tons of paper, plastic, metal and glass

Busting Waste the Fun Way

Welcome,Greenhorns!

Green Valley Elementary in Danville is gettinggreener by the minute. All you have to do is take onelook at the schools website, (www.gves.grvusd.k12.

ca.us) and youll see that the 4Rs are an integralpart of the culture. Their motto: You have the powertoday, to change tomorrow, Please Recycle.

Weve really ramped our recycling programup, enthuses second grade Green Valley teacher Jill Montana. Were selling T-shirts to supportthe program to give us more tools to be a greenerschool.

Starting last July, every K-12 school withinCCCSWAs jurisdiction became eligible to be aWastebusters Winner or Leadership Circle member.

To qualify as a Winner, schools must participate ina list of mandatory activities and can choose from alonger list of other 4Rs activities. To be a memberof the Leadership Circle, a school must have beencertified as a Wastebusters Winner for at least threeyears and have reduced its trash while increasingrecycling. There are cash rewards as well as a host ofother benefits to both types of certification.

Applications can be downloaded at www.wastediversion.org/SchoolWastebusters.htm. If youre just getting started, checkout ourSchool Recycling Guide: How to Make It Happen on

our website.

More than Pushing a Broom

Custodian Is

Key to SuccessAs custodian

at Murwood Ele-mentary School inWalnut Creek, MikeWard does far morethan sweep class-rooms and keep thegrounds tidy. Abouthalf his job consists

of helping to runthe schools five- year-old recyclingprogram.

I like knowingthat Im a small partof the solution inhelping the environ-ment, says Ward.

Wards recycling duties include helping studentssort their trash into the proper containers after lunch

every day. Last spring, Murwood, a first-time Waste-buster school, expanded its recycling program byadding a scrap pail for fruits and vegetables. Wardtakes the food pail to the school garden where, severaltimes a week, parent volunteers add the discardedscraps to a compost drum and four black, plasticcompost bins.

Every six to eight weeks, the volunteers trans-fer the decomposed contents of the compost pilesto the garden, where the organic material boosts thegrowth of herbs, bulbs, vegetables, lettuce, radishesand cucumbers. Ward figures the school will compostover 600 pounds of food scraps this year!

Students Declare Support for Recycling

Field Trips Inform and Inspirebeing prepared for shipment torecycling plants.

We show kids how recyclinghappens, and this inspires them

to recycle more, says Moore.In fact, after the trip, visitorsare eager to sign Pacific RimsWe the People pledge, a wall-sized commitment to partici-pate in local recycling programs.Students also receive a green 4Rsbracelet for taking the tour.

Special thanks to principalElaine Frank and kindergar-ten teacher Bess Inzeo, both at

Rheem Elementary, who helpeddevelop the field trip program.

*To watch the video, visit www.pacificrimrecycling.com and click on

Photos/Videos. For information on field trips, contact Lois Humphreys

at lois@trgandassociates.com.

Community Date

Unincorporated County February & August

Danville March & September

Walnut Creek April & October

Orinda/Moraga May & November

Lafayette June & December

Spring Reuse andCleanup Day Schedule

More information will be mailed two weeks priorto your Reuse and Cleanup Day. If you have ques-tions, call Allied Waste Services at 925-603-1144.

Students from Rheem Elementary visitedthe Pacific Rim Materials Recovery Facility inBenicia to see firsthand how recycling happens.

Murwood Elementary School studentsLucy Shaw and Brian Adams assistcustodian Mike Ward in adding foodscraps to the compost drum in theschool garden.

CCCSWA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .925-906-1801fax: 925-906-1805. . . . . . . . web: www.wastediversion.orgemail: authority@wastediversion.org

GARBAGE:

ALLIED WASTE SERVICES. . . . . . . . . . . .925-603-1144fax: 925-685-8153. . . . . . . . . . . . . . web: www.awsccc.com

For questions concerning billing, special cleanups, vacationhold requests, computer & TV collection, new service or

your blue garbage cart.

RECYCLING:

VALLEY WASTE MANAGEMENT. . . . . . .925-935-8900fax: 925-935-1617. . . . . . . . . . .web: www.valleywaste.comFor questions concerning the service of your burgundyrecycling or green yard clippings carts, to request motoroil recycling containers, for recycling cleanups or informa-tion on the Walnut Creek Recycling Center.

CONTRA COSTA RECYCLING HOTLINE . . 1-800-750-4096

HOME COMPOSTING/GRASSCYCLING . . .925-906-1806

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE. . . . 1-800-646-1431

REUSE AND CLEANUP DAYS:

Pacific Rim Recycling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-999-6067

Contact nformation

Dear Junior Authority,At school we have a compost bin, and I really

want to try composting at home, but my parentsthink its messy. What should I do?

Longing for Compost in Lafayette

Dear Longing,Composting is great! A ton of worms and other

little soil bugs eating away at our leftovers, andmaking great plant food ... all for free! Maybe youcould bring your parents to the school garden andlet them taste the delicious vegetables we kids growwith compost. Im sure theyll love it!

And with your help, composting doesnt have toget messy. You can offer to be in charge of taking thekitchen scraps out to the compost bin every otherday. After that, make sure you cover the fresh foodscraps with some dry material like leaves, just likein the school garden.

Now youre ready to teach your parents thebasics. You can also go to a free composting classwith them or borrow a video to watch. To find outmore, call the Senior Authority at 925-901-1801 orgo to www.wastediversions.org. Good luck!

The Junior AuthorityThis issues Junior Authorities are Lauren Carr (13) andAshley Yu (12), who attend Stanley Middle School inLafayette.

Do you have a question for us? Please send it toauthority@wastediversion.org.

Printed on paper made from responsiblyharvested wood (Forest Stewardship Councilcertified), with 50% recycled content (25%post-consumer); processed chlorine free.