Energy Conservation Project--Recycling in Schools

I chose recycling in schools as the topic for my energy conservation project. My essential question was:

How much recycling does a typical high school classroom generate?

To come up with my findings I did a two week long analysis of all the recyclable garbage that was disposed of in Mr. Steele's class. I discovered that in a one week time period there are about 25 pounds of paper and 5 pounds of plastic/glass bottles and cans.

To take this study further I multiplied my findings by the number of classrooms in session at a given time and tried to determine how much recycling JDHS contributes to the landfill every year due to the lack of a school-wide classroom to classroom recycling program.

The results were pretty astounding. I estimate that there are TONS of recyclable materials added to our community landfill every year from schools across the district. JDHS has a fledgeling recycling program, but it is my belief that our town needs to institute school-wide and city-wide recycling programs. The landfill gets enough trash added each day as is... we do not need to put our recycling there too. The key to success would lie in training teachers and community members to be responsible about recycling.

There is a link to my powerpoint presentation on this subject below.