(Washington, D.C.) — The Department of General Services (DGS) announced today, Earth Day (April 22), the recipients of the DCPS Recycles! Honor Roll 2016. The 47 DCPS schools honored today have shown enthusiasm for, and excellence in, recycling.
“When it comes to recycling education, actions speak louder than words.” said Christopher Weaver, DGS Director. “In these schools, students are learning behaviors that are consistent with the knowledge and skills needed to be civic leaders in a sustainable 21st century.”
Of the 47 schools that have demonstrated enthusiasm for, and excellence in, recycling, 23 schools are honored with distinction for their exceptionally high performance in implementing organics recycling in their cafeterias and kitchens, while maintaining consistent paper recycling in classrooms and offices.
This year DCPS schools sent approximately 250 tons of organic materials to a composting facility instead of to an incinerator or landfill, an increase from last year of 150 percent, said Mark Chambers, DGS Director of Sustainability and Energy. “More importantly, students learned not only to ‘recycle more’ but to ‘reduce first’ and ‘recycle right’ by participating in DGS’s recycling challenges.”
“The schools that repeatedly make the Honor Roll have established recycling as part of their school cultures rather than relying on an individual champion to carry it forward,” said Beth Gingold, DGS Schools Conservation Coordinator. She added, “One of the best outcomes of a recycling program is the sense of pride and teamwork it creates among students, teachers, and maintenance staff, which spills over into other school-wide initiatives.”
Schools that are still working on rolling out their recycling programs have until May 30 to fill out the DCPS Recycles Honor Roll 2016 Application to be added to the DCPS Recycles! Honor Roll 2016 at the end of this school year.
See if your DCPS School made this year’s DCPS Recycles! 2016 Honorees list today!
