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Success Story: Issaquah School District
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John Macartney, Resource Conservation Manager of the Issaquah School District, accepts Certificate of Recognition from Jeff Gaisford, Manager of Recycling & Environmental Services, King County Solid Waste Division. |
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Elementary school children carefully empty leftover milk before recycling their milk cartons. |
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Jan Woldseth, school board president of the Issaquah School District, receives Certificate of Recognition for the district from Jeff Gaisford. |
Number of schools in the district: 25
Began participating in the Green Schools Program: April 2005
Waste Reduction and Recycling
- Prior to participation in the program, the district-wide recycling rate was approximately 30 percent. Following program assistance, the recycling rate jumped to roughly 50 percent.
- The 13 Issaquah School District schools that had the highest rate increases achieved a combined total recycling increase of 2,028 yards per year and a combined garbage volume decrease of 1,845 yards per year.
- Three elementary schools - Sunset Hills, Discovery and Cougar Ridge - discontinued use of disposable lunch trays and began using washable, durable trays. These schools have a combined student population of more than 1,700 students.
- By replacing liquid soap dispensers with foam soap, the Issaquah School District saved water, time and money – and created less waste. Liquid dispensers and foam dispensers are the same size, but differ significantly in cost, waste generation, water use and maintenance. Read the full foam soap dispenser case study (PDF, 24 K).
- Over the past two school years, Issaquah School District distributed more than 60 dollies to help custodians make recycling collection more efficient.
- 225 classroom recycling containers, forty 32-gallon recycling collection containers for centralized collection of milk cartons, plastic bottles and aluminum cans, and many of the dollies were provided by King County’s Green Schools Program and the City of Issaquah.
These schools either increased the size of their outdoor recycling Dumpster or increased the frequency of recycling pick-up:
- Beaver Lake Middle School
- Cougar Ridge Elementary
- Discovery Elementary
- Maywood Middle School
- Pine Lake Middle School
Schools that decreased the size of their outdoor garbage Dumpster or decreased collection frequency include:
- Cougar Ridge Elementary School
- Issaquah Middle School
- Issaquah Valley Elementary School
- Sunny Hills Elementary School
Cost savings: During the 2006-07 school year, decreased disposal costs at the four schools listed above totaled nearly $17,000.
Energy Conservation
The Issaquah School District maintains a database of energy use per school. Due to a cold winter, malfunctioning equipment, long repair times and a 3.3 percent square footage increase this past year, the school district’s energy use was 6 percent greater than during the 2005-2006 school year. The Issaquah School District took several steps to reverse this situation, including repairing all vending misers throughout the district and altering the maintenance scheduling process
Water Conservation
The Issaquah School District:
- Expanded and maintained a database of water consumption (potable and irrigation) per school
- Specified low flow toilets, faucets and urinals as building standards
- Plans to install faucet aerators in most schools. Half-gallon aerators at Discovery Elementary reduced water flow from 12-gallons per minute to a one-half-gallon per minute.
- Installed 18 hose bib timers to reduce irrigation water use
Awards
King County Earth Heroes at School Awards from 2005 to 2007:
- Apollo Elementary School Recycling Program
- Teacher Doug Emery, Beaver Lake Middle School
- MRC volunteer Suzanne Bagdon, Briarwood Elementary School
- Teacher Tasha Kiemel, Discovery Elementary School
- Teachers Gabrielle Herring, Diane Parham and Leslie Smith, Endeavor Elementary School
- Principal Sheryl Belt and Custodian Dusty Duke, Issaquah Valley Elementary School
- Teacher Meggan Atkins, Maywood Middle School
- Custodian Dave Holbrook, Newcastle Elementary School
- Sunny Hills Elementary School Recycling Program
Comments
“The Green Schools Program provides the necessary guidance and tools to build a successful recycling program that can save the district money and educate the staff and students about proper recycling. School is a great place to influence student behavior and attitudes, and can encourage home recycling.” – John Macartney, Resource Conservation Manager
For more information about this district’s participation in the King County Green Schools Program, contact:
John Macartney, Resource Conservation Manager
Telephone: 425-417-8001
E-mail: johnmacartney@msn.com
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