Waste Audit 2016

Yep!  We did it again.  Another waste audit.  Last week, we saved Monday’s garbage to conduct a thorough waste investigation.  We sorted it, counted it, measured it, and documented it.  Now we can use this data to help us figure out ways to Make Less Garbage at Jackman.  

Are you ready for this?  The total mass of Monday’s garbage... 24 kg... That’s slightly more than last year, but impressive nonetheless.  Just a few years ago, we had as much as 32 kg of garbage.  Here is a summary of what we found in this year’s waste audit.  

Recyclables - about 2 kg (That`s less than last year.)

Some papers (These should have been recycled.)

5 juice boxes (That’s much less than last year.  Still, these should have been recycled.)

Various food containers (For example, yogurt cups should have been rinsed and recycled.)

Lots of plastic spoons and forks (They can be reused or recycled.)

Various plastic bags (Yes, most bags can be recycled.)

Used markers (We collect these in rm 215 and take them to Staples for ‘special’ recycling.)

Food Waste - about 2 kg (That`s a lot less than last year.)

Some bread and a half eaten sandwich  (Remember our motto... Just Eat it!)

Fruit - For example, apples, grapes (These should have been eaten or composted.)

Fruit scraps –For example, banana peels (These should have been composted.)

  

Paper Towels & Soiled Papers - about 5 kg (That’s slightly less than last year.)

LOTS of paper towels from bathrooms 

    (We need to expand the green bin program to include bathrooms.)

Paper towels from classrooms, primarily kindergarten & daycare rooms 

     (Let’s encourage everyone to use the city compost more often.)

Real Garbage - a.k.a. LANDFILL - about 13 kg  (Yikes... that’s 5 kg more than last year!)

LOTS of snack wrappers and chip bags  (What can we do to reduce this?)

Lots of ‘Dixie’ cups  (Reusable cups are best.)

18 coffee cups (This is more than last year.  Reusable mugs are best.)

Photocopy carbons

Laminated posters (Did these really need to be laminated?)

Lots of craft materials, like string, lace, beads, glue, fabrics, table cloth, etc  

      (We need to think of better ways to have arts and crafts activities.)

Sand (Sand belongs in the sandbox, not the garbage.)

Pencil shavings, dust, dirt

Reusables - about 2 kg  (This is also more than last year.)

Pencils, erasers, markers, sidewalk chalk

     (We need to pick them up before they get swept away.) 

Plastic food containers (These should have been washed and reused.)

2 rolls of tape

Several party hats, still in the package

A plastic caddy (Update: Iraj said he would use this caddy.)

And surprisingly... 2 Halloween Costumes and 3 plastic pumpkins

Now let’s use this information to help us with our waste reductions efforts.  Together, we can Make Less Garbage at Jackman!

Waste-Free Wednesdays

Hey Jackman!  It’s your friendly neighbourhood eco team here.  We want to remind you about Jackman's #1 eco goal... MAKE LESS GARBAGE!  One way to accomplish this goal is to pack waste–free lunches and snacks.  So try to pack your food and drinks in reusable containers.  And try to reduce store-bought, individually wrapped lunch foods and snacks.  

We're excited about our new eco project, Waste-Free Wednesdays.  We hope that lots of Jackman kids and families will pack waste-free lunches, especially on Wednesdays.  You see, on Wednesdays in December, we will be counting how many waste-free lunches there are at Jackman.  We're on mission to find the most eco-friendly class.   

And get ready for this... the winning class will get a cookie party, featuring Mr. Cressman’s super-tasty, homemade, waste-free, chocolate-chip cookies.  Mmmmmmmm!

Packing waste-free lunches is a step in the right direction.  So, let's make it happen on Wednesdays (and everyday).  Just one more way we can MAKE LESS GARBAGE at Jackman.

Applesauce Taste Test

Hey everyone!  You should try our homemade applesauce!  It tastes great. And the kids from room 209 will soon be holding an applesauce taste test.  We want to know if you prefer store-bought applesauce or homemade applesauce! 

So far, most people have voted for homemade applesauce.   Only a small number of people said they like store bought applesauce best.  And some people, like me, can't tell the difference!   See the graph below.  

And check this out!  Homemade applesauce has less garbage, less ingredients, less sugar and it costs less money!   Homemade applesauce is an easy snack, a tasty snack, an eco-friendly snack.

Come by and take the test for yourself!!!    

Written by Kai

Graph by James and Kalen

                                                             

Gearing Up for Another Waste Audit

Jackman's eco goal is simple... MAKE LESS GARBAGE!   It take a little thought, a little planning, a little extra effort.   But it's worth it.   It's one way we can minimize our impact on the environment.  We hope everyone will join us as we strive to make less garbage. 

And soon, we will put our garbage to the test.  We will conduct another waste audit.  We do it every year.  We save a whole day's worth of Jackman's garbage.  The eco team will conduct a thorough investigation to see exactly what is in there.   It's a messy job, but someone's got to do it.  We will sort it, discuss it, count it, measure it, weigh it and document it.  Then we use this data to make plans for further waste reduction efforts.  Look at our data from the last three years...

2013 - total waste 36 kg 

2014 - total waste 31 kg 

2015 - total waste 21 kg

As you can see, we are making less garbage.  
Here are things we discovered in last year's audit... 

• way too many paper towels, even one paper towel that measured 7m long 
• tons and tons of snack wrappers and other kinds of packaging
• 3 cans, 12 coffee cups and 15 juice boxes (ugh!)

What will 2016 bring?  Are we making less garbage at Jackman?  We hope so.   And soon we'll know exactly how much.  

Jackman's Harvest Festival

It's that time of year again!  It's time for Jackman's Harvest Festival!   It's one of our favourite events.   It's a great way to celebrate our schoolyard greening and eco school initiatives

It's on Friday, October 21, 5:30 - 8:30

Of course there will be lots of food... Popcorn, fresh lemonade,  apples. and of course, everyone's fall favourite... CHILI!    

And this year, we've got something extra special for you.   We're making a salad with our very own Jackman garden greens (lettuce, kale, swiss chard).   It doesn't get any fresher than that!  Drop by for a taste.  

Oh, and don't forget about the Bake Sale.  The Book Sale.  The Pumpkin Sale.  The Scarecrows.  And of course there will be lots of music and dancing. 

This year, we're working to make the festival a garbage-free event.  The lemonade cups are biodegradable   So are the bowls.   The forks are recyclable.   The food waste will be compostable.   There will be plenty of reusable cups to use for water.  No garbage cans needed at our event.  Nothing gets sent to the landfill.  As you know, Jackman takes waste reduction seriously.  Thanks for supporting our garbage free initiative.  

Jackman's Harvest Festival is definitely an event your won't want to miss!   See you all on Friday!

Garden Compost / City Compost

At Jackman, we've been composting for years.  We've been collecting apple cores, banana peels and other fruit and veggie scraps in silver buckets and carting them out to the school yard where we have 3 large compost containers.   That's where our 'garbage' transforms into beautiful rich soil.  It's nature's way of composting.  We call this Jackman's Garden Compost!  It's a win-win situation.   We win because we make less garbage.   And we win because we're creating healthy gardens at Jackman.

Now, the City of Toronto has invited schools to participate in the green bin organic waste program.   We call this our City Compost!   At Jackman, we are now asking everyone to stop throwing their paper towels and tissues in the garbage and put them in the city compost bins instead.   Simple.

Please Note:  We don't want kids to put their fruit in there.   They should save fruit and veggie scraps for our garden compost.   And we don't want kids to put their uneaten lunch food in there.   That's just wasteful.   "Just eat it" is our motto.   We're targeting paper towels and tissues in our city compost program.   In the near future, we'll also add city compost containers to the washrooms at Jackman.  

So, everyone now knows the difference between these two waste reduction programs. It's easy.  Here's a quick review...

Garden Compost... City Compost.  

Making less garbage is Jackman's eco goal.  Our Garden Compost and City Compost programs helps us accomplish that.   It's a small thing we can do to make a big difference.   Let's do everything we can to make less garbage.  

Make Less Garbage

This week at Jackman, we were encouraged to consider a very important eco goal.  We need to...Make Less Garbage!  This is achieved when we reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible.   Reduce means... making less garbage and using less 'stuff'.   We need to be more aware of the packaging that all our 'stuff' comes in.  Reuse means... using things again.  It's easy to pack a waste-free lunch with reusable containers, bring a reusable water bottle to school.  Reusable coffee cups too.  Recycle means... making things new again.   We can recycle papers and many other things at school.  We need to educate ourselves about what can and cannot be recycled.   Unfortunately, coffee cups and snack wrappers cannot be recycled.   

We also realize that composting is nature's way of recycling.   At Jackman we turn our apple cores, banana peelings and other fruit scraps into rich compost.   Then we use this compost in our gardens.  It's a win-win situation.   We win because we make less garbage.  We also win because our gardens are healthier.   

If we do our part in reducing, reusing and recycling as much as we can, then we'll be sending less waste to landfill.   Did you know that Toronto's landfill is 200km away, near London, Ontario?   We had a laugh when we discovered that Toronto's Landfill is called 'Green' Lane.  There's nothing 'green' about this landfill.  

We are committed to reducing our waste at Jackman.  Will you join us?