Recycling Takes Off @Eastdale

This spring, students from the 'Eco Team' and staff at Eastdale decided to start an initiative using reusable plates and cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, etc) for our daily lunch program. At the same time, students from our 'Eco Team' made helpful posters indicating what needs to be recycled and composted and what are non-recyclable items. The creative posters were strategically placed in the cafeteria above the blue bins for recycling, green bins for composting and waste (non-recyclable) items.
Mr. Servos (science /environment teacher) monitors our school's progress with waste diversion. The pre-initiative data shows our waste diversion was only 21% percent and a recommendation target of 80%. (see data charts below)
A few weeks after the start of our recycling initiative the data shows that our waste diversion jumped to 81% (a 60% increase!). This means 81% our waste is not going to landfill sites and it is being composted and recycled.  We achieved and beat the recommended target by 1%! Kudos to the Eco Team and all students for making this happen.
Many students loved the idea and many even thought the food tasted better when served with real plates! A big win for students who are eating healthy, nutritional lunches while saving our environment by diverting waste from going to landfill sites.