Environmental

Waste Collection vs. Single Stream Recycling

Two Types of Dumpsters

There are two kinds of dumpsters at each school. One dumpster is for collecting WASTE that goes to the landfill. The waste placed in this dumpster should include food and biodegradable trays from the cafeteria and other items such as Styrofoam, glass, wrinkly wrappers, plastic shopping bags and restroom papers. The other dumpster is for RECYCLING purposes. Its contents go to a recycling plant for sorting and then are shipped to a processor. The recycling dumpster is bright green and is equipped with a lockable bar with a lock provided by the school. No longer are schools recycling just paper and cardboard, but are now recycling many types of items and placing them in the same recycling dumpster. The term for this type of recycling is SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING and includes all types and colors of paper, phone books, flattened cardboard, empty plastic bottles, aluminum cans, tin cans, empty pizza boxes and many others.

Collecting Recyclables

There are a couple of ways to collect recyclables at each school. For instance, each classroom should have a BLUE RECYCLE BIN. At the beginning of the recycling program in the year 2000, all schools were given blue recycling bins for each classroom. The purpose of the blue bins is to collect most of the materials that used to go into the waste basket. WASTE BASKETS are only for disposing of sanitary items such as tissues, food items and wrappers. Many schools at least once per week have environmental clubs or other student groups participate in recycling by emptying the blue bins into larger wheeled toters so the recyclables can be taken to the recycling dumpster.

Schools have been given recycling containers with clear plastic bags for the purpose of collecting plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Blue recycling bins and clear bags are available from the Custodial Warehouse. Blue wheeled toters and plastic bottle and aluminum can recycling containers are available through special order.

Recycling Goals and Impact

The goal of the district wide recycling program is to have most of the waste items from a school going into the recycling dumpster. As the amount of recycled material INCREASES at a school, the number of days the waste dumpster is emptied in a week should DECREASE. The amount of items recycled at JCPS is quite large. Since the year 2000, JCPS schools have recycled over 100 tons of paper and cardboard every month which equals over 2 million pounds per schools year. Every ton of recycled paper and cardboard saves 17 trees equaling over 1,700 trees a month or over 17,000 trees per school year. For every ton of recycled paper and cardboard about 24,000 gallons of water that would have been used to manufacture paper is saved equaling over 2,400,000 gallons of water saved per school year. It is estimated that 5 tons of plastic bottles are being recycled by JCPS schools every month for an annual amount of about 50 tons recycled per year.

Recycling Fluorescent Tubes

There are two types of fluorescent tubes. Tubes that can be placed in the regular waste dumpster are black tipped or silver tipped tubes. If the tubes have green writing on them or if the tubes have green end caps, they are recyclable as follows:

• Put the recyclable tubes back into the box they came in.
  
• When the box is full of recyclable tubes, place a work order for Pest Control to come out the school and pick them up.
  
• After collection, the tubes are stockpiled at the C.B. Young Ctr. until there is a sufficient quantity to have them picked-up by a recycling vendor.
  
• Tubes should NOT be placed in the recycling dumpster as they will cause the load to be dumped as garbage and not recycled.

Recycling Toner or Ink Jet Cartridges

The office of the 15th District PTA accepts toner cartridges and ink jet cartridges and recycles them as a revenue producer for PTA activities. They can be mailed by pony to the PTA office located at Central Stadium at 319 South 15th Street. If a school wishes to collect these instead, please check first with the PTA office to get an OK before proceeding by calling 485-3535.

Disposal of Paint and Chemicals

Paint cans that contain liquid paint must be picked up for chemical disposal. Cans of water based latex paints can be put in the waste dumpster, IF THE PAINT IS DRIED OUT. If housekeeping and science chemicals are hazardous such as paint, they should be listed on a form called the “SCHOOL CHEMICAL PICK-UP LIST” and faxed to 485-3847. These chemicals will be scheduled for pick-up by a licensed environmental contractor. Refer to the Chemical Hygiene Plan for High schools and Middle schools for more information on science chemicals.

More About Waste and Recycling . . . .

The following is additional information on the school dumpsters:

• Pick-up Schedules - Pick-ups follow a schedule that is based on the size, location and number of students and staff in your school.
  
• Destination for Waste and Recycling Materials - The contents of the waste dumpsters are taken to a landfill. The contents of the recycling dumpsters are taken to a recycling center where the recyclables are sorted, baled and sent on to processing companies for making into new products. The recycling vendor contract PROHIBITS recyclable materials collected from JCPS from being taken to a landfill.
  
• Drain Holes in Dumpsters - Drain holes in dumpsters must have plugs to prevent mice from getting into the dumpster as per Board of Health requirements. Please call the Safety and Environmental office to report missing plug.
  
• Neighborhood Usage - The recycling dumpsters must be locked when not in use, such as on weekends, off school days and at the end of custodial shifts, to prevent neighbors or others from using the school recycling dumpster. If you find furniture such as desks, couches or refrigerators etc. in a dumpster, please contact the Safety and Environmental office so that a work order can be sent in for the Grounds Dept. to remove the furniture and take it to the landfill.
  
• Waste Reduction - The goal of recycling is to REDUCE the number of waste dumpster pick-ups while INCREASING the amount of materials going into the recycling dumpster. If a school requests an increase in waste dumpster service the school’s waste stream should be audited. This will help assure that most recyclables go into the recycle dumpster so that an increase in the recycling dumpster service can be scheduled as needed, instead.

Click here for more information on the JCPS Recycles Program.

Recycling Posters

Click on an image for a larger view (PDF file).

Recycling Web Sites

Recycle City
http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/

JCPS Center for Environmental Education
http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/Departments/EnvironmentalEd/index.shtml

Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet
www.environment.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/EAE7A781-FC41-4786-97A4-AC3BE630173E/0/SchoolRecycling.pdf