L.A. Unified's waste not, want not plan

As halls of fame go, it's not exactly Cooperstown. But preventing waste is a good thing, and L.A. Unified is going into the WasteWise Hall of Fame.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Solid Waste has selected L.A. Unified for its accomplishments over the last five years in waste reduction and recycling. The nation's second-largest school district is to get the award at the 2008 WasteWise and National Partnership for Environmental Priorities Conference, Oct. 29-30, in Arlington, Va.

"The district's commitment to recycling helps educate children on the need to preserve our natural resources and reduce the environmental problems associated with disposal of wastes in landfills," Supt. David L. Brewer said.

The waste reduction and recycling programs at L.A. Unified include paper, yard clippings, aluminum cans, plastic and glass containers, and asphalt and other construction debris. And in school cafeterias, students can choose the food they want, which officials said has reduced the amount of food wasted and lowered the disposal costs by more than $600,000 annually.

The total disposal cost savings from recycling and waste prevention in 2007 was an estimated $2.3 million, the district said.

-- Mary MacVean

      

Comments

[Mark Gomez]

not that i would ever try and take away the from the positive efforts of any institution trying to better our world by recycling on a large scale but....
i work for the LAUSD and i teachers i have worked with for the last 4 years have had to initiate their own recycling programs thru other like bottlesandcans.com or the like...

i have yet to hear or see a memo (district initiative - even in the superintendent's "high priority schools" special district) that offers support for a school wide recycling program. maybe it hasn't trickled down to South Central Los Angeles yet...

surprise!
sorry for being so skeptical but it is hard when the you see the district recognized for something that you don't see at all... the only frequent recyclers on our campus are the neighborhood addicts...