Environmental Solutionary Teacher Fellowship

July 2023-24��Summer Institute Day 2:

Zero Waste Unit Walkthrough

• Grab a bite to eat

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We recognize that the San Mateo County Office of Education was founded on stolen land that was taken from its original human stewards through the active process of colonialism and mass genocide.

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We recognize that the teachers and students we support, work and learn at schools that are built on the land of the Ramaytush (rah-my-toosh) Ohlone (oh-lone-E), peoples, who continue to be active stewards of this land, even through the transgenerational traumas of genocide and not being federally recognized for land rights and federal services.

SMCOE Land Acknowledgement

We hold this acknowledgment as a measure of accountability toward solidarity with Indigenous communities and current activism. We align our Environmental Solutionary Teacher Fellowship program with principles of Indigenous Knowledge, and believe in reconciliation and inviting and honoring the truth. It is critical that we show respect toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture, as this is necessary for our pursuit to create truly sustainable and climate-ready communities.

SMCOE Land Acknowledgement

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For more resources visit: ELSI Land Acknowledgement Resources

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And Look-Up Native Land You Live and Work on at: https://native-land.ca/

#HonorNativeLand US Dept of Arts and Culture

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Good Morning!

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• Name / Pronoun / Grade / Subject / District / School

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• How are you today? Anything that will impact your ability to collaborate?

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• Any emotions / thoughts / wonderings / inspiration from yesterday?

Knowledge

Action

Solutionary Unit of Study Elements and Flow

Agenda: (Zero) “Waste” & Climate Change

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• Problem Identification & Exploration
• Problem #1: Waste Generation
• Problem #2: Waste Sorting & Diversion
• Problem #3: Waste Hauling & Processing
• Solutions & Solutionaries
• Unit Planning Time

How do we make change?

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What is our locus of control?

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Is this solution equitably accessible?

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Small, do-able solution ← → large-scale

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Individual —— Community —— Policy

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Knowledge Phase:

Foundations of Human-Produced Waste

What is Zero Waste?

Zero Waste is a process and a philosophy that involves a redesign of products & consumption, so that all material goods can be reused or recycled – or not needed at all.

Overview

There is no waste in nature.

There is no waste in nature.

In this CIRCULAR SYSTEM, everything becomes food or nutrients for something else.

Problem: Humans have created materials that don’t naturally biodegrade. While we attempt to recycle materials, this is often not possible, so humans have to design systems to dispose of the WASTE we created.

Human-designed LINEAR systems = WASTE!

Problem Identification & Exploration:

Waste and Climate Change

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1. Waste Generation
2. Waste Sorting & Diversion
3. Waste Hauling & Processing

List all of the problems associated with WASTE.

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1. Think individually → write them down.
2. All group share.

The basics of “STUFF”

The Materials Economy

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How does “STUFF” become WASTE?

WASTE

Problem #1:

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Waste Generation =

Plastic Production & Pollution

Problem #1:

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Waste Generation

=

Plastic Production & Pollution

What is a Life Cycle?

The various stages through which something passes during its lifetime.

Life Cycle Analysis

A systematic set of procedures for compiling and examining the inputs and outputs of materials and energy and the associated environmental impacts directly attributable to the functioning of a product or service system throughout its life cycle.

Nurdle Pollution

Cancer Alley →

Neighborhood Advocacy - Shut the Petrochemical Plants Down!

Mental Models:

values, assumptions & beliefs

that shape the system

The waste system is largely driven by consumerism that goes beyond needs.

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• What are some of the mental models that drive this culture of consumption?

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• How do these mental models show up in your school community?

Culture of Consumption

Summarize:

• Key takeaways from problem #1

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• What is your sense of urgency about waste after this segment?

Problem #1:

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Waste Generation =

Plastic Production & Pollution

Landfill Recycling Compost

Problem #2:

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Waste Sorting & Diversion

What if it never gets put in a bin at all?

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LITTER: Trash that is left lying in an open or public space

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Over 51 Billion pieces of litter appear on U.S. roads each year.

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Tobacco products make up 38% of all litter, and plastic items have increased 165%.

Whose fault is litter?

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Corporate producer vs. consumer

Anti-litter campaigns

Campus Litter Audit:

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What materials make up litter?

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What questions are you and students asking?

What questions are you and students asking?

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• Why do people litter?

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• Where did the litter come from?

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• Where does it belong?

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• Why does this waste exist?

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• Should it be allowed to exist?

REFRAME?

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MOOP

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Matter

Out

Of

Place

What questions are you and students asking?

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• Why do people litter?

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• Where did the litter come from?

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• Where does it belong?

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• Why does this waste exist?

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• Should it be allowed to exist?

MOOP: Matter Out Of Place

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• In the classroom
• On the playground
• In the hallways
• On the sidewalk
• In the school garden

Waste Stream Sorting

Waste Generation Projections by Region

World Bank - What a Waste 2.0

Total = 2.01 Billion Tons Per Year

United States MSW Generation

United States MSW Generation by Material, 2018

292.4 MILLION tons

United States MSW Management, 2018

62% MSW is landfilled or burned

United States MSW Composting by Material, 2018

42.6 MILLION tons

Other management: animal feed, land application, donation, anaerobic digestion

United States MSW Recycling by Material, 2018

69.1 MILLION tons

United States MSW Landfill by Material, 2018

146.1 MILLION tons

United States MSW Landfill by Material, 2018

146.1 MILLION tons

What’s wrong with this picture??????

United States MSW Landfill by Material, 2018

146.1 MILLION tons

What’s wrong with this picture??????

75+ % could have been diverted!

School Specific Data:

Waste Diversion is Inadequate in Schools

96+% of School MSW could have been diverted (recycled or composted)!

School Infrastructure is Behind

HOME

COLLEGE

CAREER

PUBLIC LIFE

??? SCHOOL ???

How is this connected to the climate crisis?

How is this connected to the climate crisis?

Worst case scenario: NO DIVERSION

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Best case scenario: 75-90% DIVERSION still leaves 20 million tons

of landfill trash/year in the U.S

Ecosystem Pollution = Carbon Sink Destruction

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Oceans absorb 30-50% of carbon

Soil absorbs 25-30% of carbon

Predict What You Think are the Most Pressing Impacts of Litter for Each Category

What is the Triple Bottom Line?

1. In trios, choose who will focus on Landfill / Recycling / Organics.
2. (20 min): Independently use Webquests to learn about waste processing strategy.
3. (5 min): Independently complete the TBL Analysis for that waste processing strategy.
4. (15 min): Discuss the TBL for each waste processing strategy with your group.

Text

Waste Processing Webquest

Landfills

• Build a model landfill
• Virtual or in-person Tours

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Recycling

• Recycled Art Projects
• Tours
• Recycling Plastics or Paper Experiments

Organics

• On-site composting
• Tie in food web or standards related to cycles

Text

Waste Processing Activities

Summarize:

• Key takeaways from problem #2

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• What is your sense of urgency about waste after this segment?

Problem #2:

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Waste Sorting & Diversion

Take 10 minutes to find a solo sit/stand spot outside.

Use this time to consider your relationship to consumption and waste. How do you feel about the impact human-designed systems have on the planet?

Processing time in nature

We made it.

We used it.

We sorted it.

Now what?

Problem #3:

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Waste Hauling & Processing

Composting

Composting:

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Commercial-scale

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Off-site

Aerated (Turned) Windrow

Aerated Static Pile

In-vessel

Vermicomposting

Composting:

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Small-scale

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On-site

Composting:

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Small-scale

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On-site

Composting:

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Closed Loop System

Composting

Challenges:

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Infrastructure

&

Labor

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Is recycling & compost collection in your custodial contract?

Has your Facilities Department funded the staff, carts, training & time to meet this requirement?

SB 1383: Local education agencies are required to maintain mandatory commercial recycling and organic recycling programs, including ensuring that schools have properly labeled recycling containers to collect bottles, cans, paper, cardboard, food waste, and other recyclable materials.

https://calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/slcp/schools/

Landfills in the Bay Area

Aerated Static Pile

Sanitary Landfill: built in 1976

• 65M cubic yard capacity
• 40M cubic yards
• 15-20 years left
• Receives ~ 3,500 tons/day

Sanitary Landfill Cross -

Section

Sanitary Landfill Cross -

Section

Landfills Contents & Decomposition

⛰️Landfills generally have very low rates of decomposition due to low O₂, moisture, and organic material combination

• Since these 3 factors are rarely present together in landfills, little decomp. occurs and landfills typically remain about the same size as when they were filled

🚯 Things that should NOT be landfilled:

• Hazardous waste (antifreeze, motor oil, cleaners, electronics, car batteries)
• Metals like copper & aluminum (should be recycled)
• Old tires; often left in large piles that hold standing water ideal for mosquito breeding

🗑️ Things that MUST BE be landfilled:

• Cardboard/food wrappers that have too much food residue & can’t be recycled
• Rubber, plastic films/wraps
• Styrofoam
• Food, yard waste, and paper can and do go in landfills, but should be recycled or composted

Landfill Issues

⛰️Landfills have environmental impacts like groundwater contamination and release of GHGs

🚱 Groundwater can be contaminated with heavy metals (lead, mercury), acids, medications, and bacteria if leachate leaks through lining into soil/groundwater beneath

🌡️🌍Greenhouse gases (CO₂ and CH₄ - methane) are released from landfills due to decomposition; both contribute to global warming & climate change

⛰️NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) = idea that communities don’t want landfills near them for a number of reasons

• Smell & sight
• Landfills can attract animals (rats, crows)
• Groundwater contamination concerns
• Landfills should be located far from river & streams and neighborhoods to avoid H₂O cont.

🚫⚖️ Landfills are often placed near low-income or BIPOC communities that don’t have the resources or political power to fight against these decisions

Waste Incineration & Ocean Dumping

⛰️Waste can be incinerated (burned) to reduce the volume that needs to be landfilled; since most waste (paper, plastic, food) = hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen, it easily combusts at high temp.

Can reduce volume by 90%, but also releases CO₂ and air pollutants (PM, SO_x, NO_x)

• Bottom ash may contain toxic metals (lead, mercury, cadmium) & is stored in ash ponds, then taken to special landfills
• Toxic metals can leach out of storage ponds or be released into atmosphere

⛰️Illegal ocean dumping occurs in some countries with few environmental regulations or lack of enforcement

• Plastic especially collects into large floating garbage patches in the ocean

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• Can suffocate animals if they ingest (eat) it or entangle them so they can’t fly or swim and may starve

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⛰️ “Waste to energy” = false solution

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1. Not Maximizing Recycling

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• More Downcycling than Recycling

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• Recycling Market is in Crisis

The Recycling Myth

1. Not Maximizing Our Potential

26% of Glass was recycled

65% of Paper was recycled

34% of Metal was recycled

9% of plastic was recycled

The Issues with DOWN-CYCLING

Down-cycling: a recycling practice that involves breaking an item down into its component elements or materials. Once the constituent elements or materials are recovered, they are reused if possible but usually as a lower-value product.

Predict How Many Times Each Material Can Be Recycled

The Issues with DOWN-CYCLING

5-7 Lives Maximum

The Issue with Down-Cycling

90-100% infinite recycling

5-7 Lives Maximum

90-100% infinite recycling

2 lives MAXIMUM

Make the System Visible

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2001: China joined WTO & began to accept most of the world’s recycling

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2016: Documentary “Plastic China” released

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2018: Operation National Sword = China banned most recycling imports

The Recycling Crisis

Toxic Tours

Other Interesting and Important Waste Hauling and Processing Topics

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E-Waste and Space Waste

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The Amount of Waste in Space Has Reached A Critical Point...

E-Waste Has Become a Big Problem!

Disaster Clean-Up Waste

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Hazardous Waste

Hauling to Multiple Landfills

Summarize:

• Key takeaways from problem #3

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• What is your sense of urgency about waste after this segment?

Problem #3:

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Waste Hauling & Processing

Solutions Development and Action:

Zero Waste

Supporting your solutionary students:

• Meet them where they are

What if you carried ALL of your waste with you this week?

Supporting your solutionary students:

• Set them up for success

Supporting your solutionary students:

• Be realistic about their locus of control

Supporting your solutionary students:

• AND push them to think about root causes and taking BIG ACTION

Supporting your solutionary students:

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• Put it into context

Just Transition Principles

Just Transition Principles

Drawdown Solutions

#3 Reduce Food Waste

#55 Household Recycling

#56 Industrial Recycling

#70 Recycled Paper

Supporting your solutionary students:

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• Introduce them to LOTS of solutionaries: videos, guest presenters, posters, webquests, books

Goldman Environmental Prize

Solving the Plastic Pollution Crisis

Solving the Plastic Pollution Crisis: Plastic-Free Cleaning Products

Solving the Plastic Pollution Crisis:

Reusable Glass Bottles Shared Across Multiples Companies

Solving the Plastic Pollution Crisis:

Reusable Food Containers

Solving the Plastic Pollution Crisis:

Manila’s Zero Waste Neighborhoods

Campaign to DIVEST CalSTRS from Fossil Fuels

San Mateo County Examples of Solutionaries

Bahia School Waste journey Video

Teacher Planning Time

1. What are your initial ideas for how you might incorporate the environmental solutionary zero waste unit of study in 2023-24?
1. Foundation
2. Problem Cycles
3. Solutions
4. Reflection

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2) What resources do you want to explore further? There are unit exemplars in the Solutionary Teaching section of our Cohort 2023-24 website. �

3) What questions are coming up that you want to discuss with other fellows or facilitators?

Closing

ESTF Program

Deliverables

All ESTF cohort participants will submit two final deliverables:

1) Written Case Study

and

2) Capstone Slide Presentation

Find resources and more information on the Program Deliverables and Capstone Page (ESTF Website)

View previous fellow case studies on the SMCOE ESTF Website (scroll down to bottom)

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Day 2 Exit Ticket

• Your feedback helps us improve our programs. Please complete the exit ticket before leaving today - thanks! �
• Day 2 Exit Ticket

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Day 3 Reminders - Wednesday, July 19

• Please note your field trip start time. Find more detailed information on locations, what to bring, etc. in the ESTF Day 3 Field Trip Information document.
• We will meet at SMCOE at 12:00pm for lunch and community-partner presentations/tabling from 1:00-4:00pm

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