Grants available for school recycling work

The Daily Inter Lake

Worms could be put to work turning school lunch scraps into rich soil, empty delivery vehicles could haul materials to recycling centers, or students could set up lunchroom recycling programs soon.

It all could be possible with $500 grants available to Flathead County schools through a new program called Waste Reduction Education.

Three of the grants are available from the Flathead County Solid Waste District in conjunction with the Waste Not Project.

Application packets went out to schools last week. Administrators and classroom teachers who want to implement and improve their school's waste reduction and recycling efforts are invited to apply.

Grants will be awarded by Nov. 1.

The grant program, which will become an annual effort, was created in response to surveys of area teachers and administrators last spring.

Twenty schools responded with information on their waste reduction and recycling programs, and what they need to take them further.

Many reported full and overflowing trash bins between garbage collection dates, a lack of waste-prevention policies, and staff who haul recyclables to collection centers themselves.

Grants will target what educators said are barriers to waste-reduction programs - no on-site collection or transportation for recyclables, no staff to supervise, high costs to start and continue a program, and no storage space.

Most schools already carry out the first two legs of the waste-reduction triangle by reducing and reusing everything possible.

Now, many said they would use the grants to buy containers or create storage for recyclable materials.

Educators also said they would use the money for field trips, transportation and pick-up costs, curriculum and lunchroom programs, all related to recycling and waste reduction.

To try for a grant, look for information in your school's grant packet. Call Mayre Flowers or Liesl Peterson at 756-8993 for more information.

The Waste Not Project is a collective project of Flathead Valley Community College's Service Learning Program, Flathead County Solid Waste District and Citizens for a Better Flathead.

They have joined for 13 years in consumer education to help reduce the volume and toxicity of the county's waste stream.