Recycling
Des Moines Public Schools has worked to increase its recycling efforts over the years. The district’s goal is to reduce, reuse and recycle as much material as possible generated in our schools.
Benefits to a District Wide Recycling Program:
- Valuable resources are not disposed of at the landfill.
- By increasing our recycling, we reduce the number of waste pick-ups scheduled.
- Educating and helping others to preserve the environment for future generations
How to Set Up a Successful Program at Your School:
- Recruit a volunteer or group to coordinate all recycling activities. The best teams include clubs, classrooms, kitchen staff, custodial staff, teachers and administrators.
- Review the district’s recycling guidelines. Post them on or by all recycling containers.
- Determine how many containers are needed to accommodate the recycling needs. Allow for a recycling container next to every waste container at a minimum.
- Ask volunteers to bring in boxes or rubber tubs from home to be used for recycling. Local business partners and boosters may be willing to donate also.
- Determine how many transport containers will be needed. Work with the custodial staff to use current waste containers and develop a schedule for collections.
- Determine a set time each week when recycling will be collected and who is responsible for collections.
- Communicate goals, procedures and post District results ongoing in newsletters and in strategic locations throughout the building.
Contacts for the regional custodian specialists can be accessed by clicking on Custodial to the right of this page.
The following websites contain resources and information about how to engage students to learn about the environment: