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NO TRASH BASH. Mike West, parent of a fourth-grade student at Washington-Hoyt Elementary School, empties his milk cartons before placing them on the rack to be rinsed out before going in the recycling bin Sept. 30. The school hosted this waste-free back-to-school barbecue to continue its commitment to becoming an environmentally friendly “green” school.

School kicks off another ‘green’ year with waste-free BBQ

By Clare Jensen

Elementary schools across the city open their doors to students and their families for one night at the start of the school year to showcase what each teacher and classroom has to offer.

Each open house is more or less a party for the school community, and with hundreds of children and their moms, dads or grandparents and other immediate family members, that can mean a lot of waste.

Last year, Washington-Hoyt Elementary School launched the beginnings of their “Green School” initiative, which aims to reduce school waste and make the large organization more eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable.

To kick off their second green school year, parents and teachers organized a barbecue to welcome the families of the elementary-schoolers for the annual open house Sept. 30.

A situation that could potentially end with a large haul to the local landfill ended without one piece of trash.

“We figured (the barbecue) was going to be happening anyway, so why not try and make it waste free instead of just chucking 700 plates?” said Felicity Devlin, a Washington-Hoyt Green Schools parent coordinator.

Paper plates, napkins and uneaten food was collected and sent to the compost bin. Silverware was washed and re-used. Milk cartons and cups were rinsed and recycled.

Seven hundred people were served, and not one piece of waste was put in the ground.

“This is great,” said Abbie Pickering, seventh-grader at nearby Mason Middle School. She was at the waste-free barbecue collecting recyclables and ensuring nothing was thrown in the trash. “We should do this at other places.”

Devlin spearheaded the Green School initiative last year, which was modeled after other green school programs from across the country.

By starting small with recycling awareness, cutting back on paper usage and picking up litter around the neighborhood, the school is well on its way to lessening its impact. They have even partnered with the city’s solid waste department on programs aimed at shrinking the large organization’s environmental footprint.

Making the existing back-to-school barbecue into an environmentally conscious party, the school continues to exemplify their growing commitment to the health of Mother Earth.

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