Cumberland Elementary School became a green certified business through the Bay Area Green Business Program and now the school maintains an impressive recycling program, including the following:

Recycling:

• Five 96-gallon wheeled carts for cans/bottles recycling placed around campus
• Four 32- and 64-gallon wheeled paper recycling carts in trash enclosure area
• 30 recycling crates and cardboard boxes in classrooms for paper recycling
• 2 cubic yard cardboard recycling bin (1x/wk. collection)
• Aluminum can and paper recycling containers in administrative office
• Cell phone recycling box in administrative office
• Toner cartridge recycling box in administrative office

Recycling Process:

• Paper - Students and staff place paper in crates/boxes located in the classroom and office areas; alternating students empty crates/boxes into the paper recycling carts on a weekly basis; students place the paper recycling carts at the curb (as needed) for collection by Specialty Solid Waste & Recycling.
• Can/Bottles - Students and staff place cans/bottles in carts located outside around the campus and near the kitchen; students place the cans/bottle recycling carts at the curb (as needed) for collection by Specialty.
• Cardboard - Staff places cardboard in the outside recycling bin; Specialty empties the bin on a weekly basis.

Composting:

• Two classrooms use worm compost bins
• Four Biostack composting bins are available for use in the garden area

Areas for Improvement:

• Outreach to deter beverage containers from being placed in the garbage

Do you think your school has an excellent waste reduction & recycling program? If so, your school can get the recognition that it deserves and share your program and experience with other schools. Let us know about your program by calling (408) 730-7484 or send us an email.