School Curricula

In 2019, ecomaine, waste manager for 400,000 people in Maine, along with four municipal partners, piloted an internship program to address costly recycling contamination.  Before heading out into the communities, interns received a deep dive training into the waste hierarchy and the recent changes to the recycling market. Over 8 weeks, interns tagged recycling bins and provided residents with educational materials on proper recycling that utilized community-based social marketing principles.

On average, students produce 1.5 pounds of waste every single day. What does that mean? Well for example, a high school with 535 students did a waste composition study and calculated their waste generation to be 72 tons/year. This is equal to (on average) five and a half school buses!

Imagine buying 5 bags of groceries. On your way out of the store, you dump 2 of them directly in the trash. This is the reality for Americans, who waste roughly 40% of food produced for consumption. School cafeterias are no exception, but it doesn't have to be that way! This recorded webinar will outline the wasted food crisis, model methods for measuring wasted cafeteria food, and provide tangible solutions.

 Want to be a recycling hero in your community? Learn simple tips & tricks for optimizing your recycling education and outreach efforts in this recorded webinar. With the average attention span just 8 seconds –reaching residents, customers, and students with important recycling information is challenging. Most people believe they know how to recycle – yet our recycling contamination rates demonstrate otherwise. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection will share best practices from their statewide recycling initiative- Recycle Smart MA.

The last NRRA SHIP brings us to Sesame Street where we join Murray and Ovejita at the recycling center to learn about  what happens to plastic after it gets recycled (K-3). Students continue to explore how they can reduce waste by making the perfect compost recipe and how earthworms convert garbage into compost (4-6).

As NRRA's SHIP embarks on its eighth week, the cargo bay is busting out with trash bags even though we have been reducing and recycling our waste as much as possible during this journey. The food waste is astronomical! Can we load it into a space ship and shoot it into the universe rather than dump it into the sea? NRRA's Chef Suzette says, "No!" and tells us about her friend's (HowWeeLearn.com) alternative - composting in a bag (K-3):

The seventh voyage of NRRA's SHIP reveals how hazardous substances in household products can enter the environment if they are improperly used or disposed. Students begin the journey by tracing the way household hazardous waste enters the environment, recognizing how their homes are connected to the environment (K-3).

Aye aye Captain. First mate Gerley reporting on NRRA's SHIP lessons #6.

NRRA's SHIP continues navigating the polluted waters spawned from improper disposal of household hazardous waste. We start with learning the signal words (caution, warning, danger) (4-6) and/or visual symbols (7-8) that indicate the presence of hazardous substances in consumer products. Demonstration, singing, safety sign bingo (K-3), toilet paper roll kaleidoscopes (4-6) and discussions all help us identify products that contain hazardous substances. Certain information must appear on hazardous product labels.

All aboard as NRRA's SHIP Captain commands green cleaning techniques for swabbing the deck. The first step to implementing the green cleaning protocol is to discuss the meaning of the word 'hazardous' (4-6). The next step is to inventory the cleaning products on board and map the location of these products from bow to stern (7-8). For entertainment, comedian Scott The Recycle Guy, shares his fact-finding hazardous waste missions (4-6). NRRA's parting gift for SHIP #4 is "Toxic Showdown" (Art by Mark Bennett.