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Educating for the Environment

Waste in Schools

We provide Whatcom County students, teachers, school custodians, and food service staff the tools and technical know-how to reduce waste in schools.

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Support for Reducing School Waste

Working through waste at your school? You’re in the right place.

Everyone has a role to play in reducing waste – from custodians and kitchen staff to students and teachers. Whether you are new to sustainability efforts or looking to take your school’s waste systems to the next level, our education team has developed a suite of tools to help you get started and stay on track.

Explore our interactive training course, toolkits, and downloadable signage to discover practical strategies that can lower your school’s environmental footprint, improve efficiency, and build a culture of sustainability.

Custodial Training: How to Decrease and Divert Waste

This self-paced, interactive eLearning course was developed with custodial staff in mind, but is valuable for anyone supporting school sustainability efforts. Through hands-on activities and real-world scenarios, you will strengthen your waste management knowledge and skills.

At the end of the course, we invite you to complete a short feedback survey to help us improve future training tools.

Press the Start Course button below to begin.

Waste Reduction Toolkits

These toolkits were designed to guide schools through specific actions that reduce waste, recover resources, and promote long-term solutions.

Toolkits 

Durable Dishware Toolkit
A practical guide to help schools transition from single-use items to reusable dishware, reducing waste and long-term costs

Compost Collection and Food Recovery Toolkit
A resource designed to support schools in diverting food scraps from landfills through composting and donation strategies

Best Management Practices and Extended Efforts
A compilation of effective waste-reduction strategies and innovative practices that go beyond the basics to maximize sustainability in schools

Recycling Toolkit (coming soon)

Printable Signage for Waste Sorting

Clear signage helps reduce contamination in waste streams and supports proper sorting. We’ve created posters that are ready for download and print – perfect for every area of your school.

All signs are 11in x 8.5in unless otherwise noted.

Compost
Compost 11x17in.
Paper Towels Only
PTAG Recycling
PTAG Recycling 11x17in.
Paper Recycling
Cardboard Recycling

Landfill
Landfill 11x17in.
Specialty Signage
No Milk Cartons
Liquids Disposal
Silverware
Food Share Bin

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Lesson Kits

Kits can be borrowed for one week at a time. A staff from RE Sources will drop the kits off before the date you choose and pick them back up one week later.

Reserve a Lesson or Action kit

Lesson kits

Create a Cloud in your Classroom (grades K-2)
After observing and creating models, students will be able to describe the water cycle and how much freshwater is available for human use. Afterward, students will come up with ideas on how people can conserve this precious resource.

Fall Flooding and Summer Drought (grades 4-6)
Students participate in an activity where they learn about how and why the availability of freshwater changes with the seasons and how climate change is exacerbating it.

Build a Watershed (grades 6-8)
Students work together to build a watershed and will come up with solutions and actions people can take to help reduce the impact pollutants have on the environment.

Timeline of a Straw (grades 3-5) Not available yet, coming soon!
Students will build a model of the steps it takes for a straw to reach the landfill. Through this, they will learn about the energy and resources that are used in the process and will come up with actions people can take to minimize the impact our waste has on the environment.

Non-point Source Pollution in our Watershed (grades 6-8) Not available yet, coming soon!
Students will learn how non-point source pollution impacts the watershed using a watershed model, and come up with solutions and actions people can take to help reduce the impact pollutants have on the environment.

The 4 R’s (grades K-2) Not available yet, coming soon!
Students will learn how to prevent waste from going into landfills by learning about the 4 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle, rot) and why it is important.

 

Action project kits

How-To Bundle (grades K-5)
This is a bundle of instructions on various ways classrooms can reduce waste. It includes “How to Incorporate Good On One Side paper in the classroom,” “Start recycling crayons,” and more. Note: this is a bundle of instructions only, materials for projects are not included.

Re-Use Bundle (grades K-6)
Students will learn how they can turn items that they would normally throw away into new items. Note: this is a bundle of instructions only, materials for projects are not included.

Poster Making Bundle (grades K-12)
Students will learn how to create educational posters on reducing waste. Note: this is a bundle of instructions only, materials for creating posters are not included.

Litter Cleanup (stormwater emphasis) (grades K-12)
Students keep pollutants like litter out of the storm drains and out of our waterways by picking up litter on their school grounds.

Beach / Litter Cleanup (waste reduction emphasis) (grades K-12)
In an effort to reduce the amount of plastics and other litter that reaches the ocean and nearby waterways, students will participate in a litter clean-up of their school grounds or a beach clean-up.

Make your Own Paper (grades 1-12)
Students will take action to reduce paper waste by creating their own paper using scrap paper.

Marking Storm Drains with Decals (grades 3-12)
Students take action to educate folks about stormwater pollution by installing decals near storm drains on or near their school grounds.

Cafeteria Waste Audit (grades 4-12)
Students will perform a cafeteria waste audit to learn more about what the students and staff at their school are throwing away at lunch.

Classroom Waste Audit (grades K-3)
Students will learn about what types of things and how much waste they are throwing away in their classroom trash bins by performing a classroom waste audit.