Green Sword Policy Working Group

JULIE GAGEN, TOWN OF WESTON SUSTAINABILITY COORDINATOR

DIANE PURSLEY, TOWN OF LEXINGTON GREEN TEAMS

Agenda

• Waste Reduction Policy Template for Schools
• Job Description Templates for School Staff
• Sharing Different Approaches
• Weston
• Lexington

Policy Template Highlights

• The School Committee of the Town/City of [District Name] will act to make school waste reduction and diversion an integral part of the everyday operations of the school district and of the school curriculum to conserve the earth’s limited resources.
• It will be the policy of the [District Name] Public Schools to recycle materials (at a minimum paper, cardboard, bottles and cans) that would otherwise become waste, in alignment with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's Waste Disposal Bans,
• The [District Name] Public Schools will integrate additional resource reduction, reuse and repair programs, wherever practical and financially feasible.

Link to Policy Template: https://sites.google.com/beverlyma.gov/k-12-waste-reduction-diversion/policy?authuser=0#h.2nui6hegooqe

Job Description Highlights

• Custodian
• Follows MA State Waste Ban procedures, including the separation of recyclables.
• Ensures compliance with all local/state/federal ordinances relating to environmental issues, including recycling and food waste regulations.
• Kitchen Staff
• Breaks down cardboard and paperboard packaging for food items and places in appropriate receptacles for recycling.
• Empties and rinses glass, metal and plastic packaging for food items and places in appropriate receptacles for recycling.
• Places any food scraps or food waste into a bin specifically labeled for composting.
• Lunch Aides/Volunteers
• Assists and educates students with placement of lunch waste into the proper receptacles
• Uses grabbers to remove contamination from recycling and composting streams.

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Composting in Schools

BOTTOM-UP (SMALL COMMUNITY) APPROACH

WESTON SUSTAINABILITY

Context: How things Work in Weston

• Population 11,000
• Facilities works with Schools and Municipal Resources
• Waste is managed through Facilities Department
• Part of School Budget, coordinate with Assistant Superintendent of Budget & Finance
• Facilities Director
• Sustainability Coordinator
• Custodial Staff
• Schools, Lead by Principals / Head Custodian of each school
• About 150 students/grade
• 5 schools
• Food Services in-house
• Each school manages its own work-flow, ordering, meal planning, etc.

Creating a School Policy and Implementing Policy are two different efforts (both are needed)

Bottom-Up Approach

School-Based Approach

• Facilities/ Sustainability Coordinator: develop framework for developing and implementing waste programs in each school
• Food Services develops its own product purchasing policy
• Custodial staff develops its own workflow
• Facilities negotiates contracts, prioritizes waste reduction
• Each school develops its own school policy for waste reduction
• Student-led Green Teams
• Staff support
• School Committee/ Department develops an overarching Sustainability Policy, which includes waste reduction

Summary

Build Relationships

Bottom-up approach

Meet and get to know the staff, what they do, what would work for them

Meet with students, teachers, and administration

Find your champions / key contacts

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Keep Perspective

Program-approach, tailored for the school environment

Behavior change takes time

Be flexible, willing to learn and adjust

Long-Lasting

We are all on the same team

Regular check-ins

Be a resource

Long-term approach

Annual policy/program review

Composting in Schools

FROM GRASS ROOTS BY SCHOOL TO INSTITUTIONALIZING IN LEXINGTON

WWW.LEXINGTONGREENTEAMS.ORG

Context: How things work in Lexington

• Population 34,000 (approximately 11,000 households)
• Facilities works with Schools and Municipal Resources
• Waste and Custodial Staff is managed through Facilities Department
• Compost pick-up contract managed through School Finance/Procurement Dept
• Schools
• 10 schools (One high school, two middle schools, six elementary and one Pre-K)
• Whitson’s Food Services
• Food Service is centrally managed, but food offerings and packaging differ by school level

Grass-roots, “Volunteer-Driven” Approach

• Started with a pilot of three schools in 2015, funded with grants and parent-driven
• After successful pilot, School Administration added funding for all schools for the following school year
• Worked from 2016 through 2019 to get all nine schools composting through volunteer advocacy at the school administration level
• Established “LPS Green Teams”, an alliance of all the schools’ green team volunteers
• Volunteer leaders continually collaborate and advocate for:
• Consistent service and processes across all schools
• Reduction of packaging and use of compostable materials
• Food share and food recovery policies

Now, how to institutionalize?

• Volunteers graduate as their kids do…
• Waste Reduction Policy Adopted by School Committee in 2019
• No success yet on codifying job descriptions, just informal discussions
• Sustainability Champion Role at each school proposed in December 2022 for FY24
• Using the example of existing Wellness Champion role
• School Committee agreed to prioritize the expense for the budget
• Could not have gotten approval without Policy already adopted because “Champion” linked to implementing the Policy

What is a Sustainability Champion?

• The Sustainability Champion would
• Be a financially compensated, year-long staff role acting as a voice and leader of sustainability practices in each school community (estimated $1300 stipend per school)
• Lead a tailored program of initiatives to include staff, students and the parents in their specific school community
• The goal is that the Sustainability Champion would ensure that composting at lunch is always a part of the story
• Stipend qualifies to be funded from the MassDEP Recycle Dividend Program
• Additional costs like prizes and incentives could be funded by PTOs