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Arbor Day
Dale Bumpers College
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Getting a Recycling Program Started in Your SchoolHow to start your own Recycling Program
Act 749 was passed by the Arkansas Legislature in 1991. This act called for schools, government offices and colleges and universities to establish source-separated recycling programs. (Source separation is the process of removing a particular type of recyclable material from the solid waste stream at the point of generation or under the control of a generator for the purpose of collection and recycling.) The Legislature has also set recycling goals for Arkansas. The original goals were set by the above mentioned act, and new goals were established in 2001 (Act 94 of 2001). The new goals call for Arkansans’ to recycle 40 percent of the waste stream by 2005 and 45 percent by 2010. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) conducts an annual survey of recycling facilities and publishes an annual report “The State of Recycling in Arkansas.” Check out the annual reports to see how we are progressing. (Link to http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/solwaste/branch_recycling/) The ADEQ has calculated that Arkansans’ produce an average of 9.8 pound of waste a day! That is double the amount calculated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of 4.5 pounds per person per day. But Arkansans’ recycle at greater than the national rate – 42% vs. 35%. Schools are vital forums for educating young people and the community about the solutions, challenges and problems of solid waste management. A school recycling program can impart valuable hands-on experience that encourages students to make recycling a part of their lifestyle—not only at school, but also at home and in the future. These programs can help young people become active learners and apply classroom skills to solve real problems. Students come to realize that they can make a difference. This web site is intended to help to reduce waste in schools. It outlines how to set up a school recycling program and suggests ways to keep it going. The approach you choose for your recycling program will probably vary from the one described here, but the ideas presented here are to get you started. You will probably not be able to implement all the suggestions for recycling and waste reduction at first; start with a few and keep adding more as time goes on. Many early recycling programs failed because they tried to do too much, too soon. We all had to learn to crawl before we could walk, so start slowly and learn from your experiences. How to start your own Recycling Program
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