The Government of the District of Columbia has established an ambitious goal of diverting at least 80 percent of materials away from landfills and waste-to-energy facilities by 2032. To reach this goal, the District has established several laws related to waste, such as the Healthy Schools Act of 2010 and the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014. As part of the Healthy Schools Act, the Department of General Services (DGS) provides a zero-waste program for DC Public Schools and provides technical assistance to public charter schools. Schools play a critical role in fostering the knowledge and habits that students can use at school and for generations to come, including their understanding of how items they purchase, and use generate waste and how they handle the waste they produce.
Lesson Plans: Consider utilizing one or more of the following curricula resources to teach about the 4Rs (reduce, reuse, refuse, and recycle) and aiming for zero-waste.
Multiple Grades
- DGS has for different grade levels for the following topics: , , , and .
- , , (can be adapted for DC)
Elementary School
- for the Creative Curriculum Recycling Unit (Grades pre-K)
- (Grade 2-5)
- : Finding and Observing Decomposers activity on page 2 (Grades pre-K-2), use with
- Vermicomposting lessons (Grades and)
Middle and High School
- (Grades 6-8)
- Plastic Bottles in the Watershed (High School)
Student Audits and Actions: Consider the following student activities to engage students with the 4Rs and zero-waste.
- DC Reduce First! Challenges: , ,
- : How to
- Project Learning Tree Waste and Recycling Investigation (register for free download for and )
Celebratory Events: Consider bringing awareness to your school’s waste reduction initiatives by celebrating these national/international awareness days at your school.
- : April 22
- (best for high school): April
- : Nov. 15
- : week of June 17
- : usually October
- : day after Thanksgiving
Teacher Resources: Consider taking advantage of the following resources to improve waste reduction at your school.
- , subsection for includes requirements around recycling and waste
- Vermicomposting information for and a
Field Trips: Consider one or more of the following field trips to further students’ experiences.
- includes contact information for recycling and composting facilities, waste transfer stations, and more
- to the Organics Compost Facility in Prince George’s County
For More Information
- School custodial foreman/team: To learn more about the school’s recycling program and waste services
Capital LEAF Links:
- Capital LEAF Main page
- Energy Resources
- Health and Nutrition Resources
- Physical Environment Resources
- Schoolyard Habitat Resources
- Transportation Resources