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SALT LAKE CITY —The Salt Lake City School District says its district-wide recycling program is a big success.
Dealing with waste management is a tricky process for school districts. The logistics can be difficult and sometimes a lot of things that can be recycled aren't.
"We were sending a fair amount of stuff to the landfill that didn't need to go there. Most school districts are doing it," said Salt Lake School District Energy and Resource Manager Greg Libecci.
Libecci said students seem to have really embraced the recycling program, especially in the last few years. So far this year, East High School has recycled more than 71,000 pounds of paper goods, while Northwest Middle School has done more than 40,000 and Edison Elementary has taken in more than 31,000 pounds.
"When I got involved about four years ago, we were [recycling] about 32 tons per month. Now, we're up to around 50 tons per month, and that is with some community contribution," Libecci said.
- East High School - 71,000 pounds
- Northwest Middle School - 40,000 pounds
- Edison Elementary - 31,000 pounds
He said the district has partnered with GreenFiber, which supplies paper bins to the schools at no cost. In fact, Libecci said they pay the schools for the paper they bring in. This has saved the district a lot of money.
"We were spending about $182,000 for waste management. In the most recent fiscal year to pass we're down to $99,000," he said.
Within the last three years, the district has been able to implement "mixed other" recycling, so it's able to recycle aluminum and plastic a lot better than it could previously.
"It's good for economics," Libecci said. "It's good for the environment and it's good social behavior."
