DGS Sustainability & Energy (DGS-SE) is committed to supporting DC Public Schools (DCPS) in meeting the District's ambitious zero waste targets. By providing waste collection services and promoting proper sorting practices, DGS-SE helps schools comply with legal requirements under the Healthy Schools Act and DC Municipal Regulations, while fostering a culture of environmental stewardship.  

The DCPS Recycles! program wasdesigned to help fulfill legal requirements; improve building operations; reduce waste of money and natural resources; achieve the city’s target of zero waste by 2032; and teach DCPS students values and skills for a sustainable 21st century. The goal is to sort all waste properly so as much as possible can be composted or recycled instead of sent to a landfill or incinerator! 

DGS-SE & DCPS Guide to Zero Waste Success 

All DCPS schools are required by DC Municipal Regulations and the Healthy Schools Act to sort and collect paper recyclables, mixed recyclables, and non-recyclable trash. DGS managesa city-wide hauling contract that collects sorted recyclables and waste.  In schools that voluntarily opt-in, schools also sort organics (food scraps and soiled paper).  

DGS-SE provides the infrastructure for waste collection in DCPS schools, ensuring proper disposal of: 

• Paper Recyclables (e.g., classroom and office paper). 
• Mixed Recyclables (e.g., cans, bottles, plastics). 
• Trash (non-recyclable materials). 

When funds are available, schools have voluntarily participated in organics collection programs, sorting food scraps and soiled paper for composting. While the organics program is not yet widely available, its expansion aligns with the Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act, which could soon require organics collection citywide. Schools are encouraged to prioritize recycling and participate in future organics recycling initiatives as they become available. 

DCPS Recycling Responsibilities 

• Everyone (DCPS Students and Staff!) must sort waste using labeled bins. Contamination from improper sorting turns recyclables into trash. 
• Custodial Staff is responsible for collection but not sorting. 
• Administrators are tasked with ensuring compliance and can designate a recycling coordinator for their school and can play key roles in fostering participation. 
• For tips and guidance, review the DCPS Recycles! Waste Management Procedures Manual.  

DCPS Recycles! contributes to broader sustainability goals, including: 

• Increasing waste diversion rates to 80% by 2032. 
• Reducing total waste generation by 15% (from 2012 levels). 
• Supporting education to foster lifelong environmental stewardship. 

Get Started: Setting Up Your School 

Key Resources 

• Recycling and Trash Setup: Recycling Posters and Labels, Supplies Setup Cheat Sheet (PDF). Confirm all classrooms have properly labeled bins: blue for paper, black for trash, and ensure hallways and cafeterias have appropriate bins for mixed recyclables and trash. Proper bin setup supports DGS-SE’s waste collection services across recycling and organics programs 
• Waste Management Procedures: Waste Management Procedures for DCPS Schools (2017-2018). 

Organics Setup 

• Schools are encouraged to follow the Share Tables Guidance. 
• When available, schools participating in the organics program can reference the Organics Recycling Guide. 

Teach and Inspire: Classroom and Student Resources 

Lesson Plans 

Integrate hands-on, real-world recycling activities into your curriculum using these standards-aligned lesson plans. 

• Recycling: Recycle Right Lesson Plans (all grades). These lesson plans integrate ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ themes with learning standards. Pre-K teachers: see also Resources for the Creative Curriculum Recycling Unit.  
• Composting: Compost Lesson Plans. These lesson plans are designed to integrate cafeteria and garden compost learning with classroom concepts. 
• Reducing Waste: Reduce First! Challenge Lesson Plans. The DC Reduce First! Challenge is designed to engage schools around the question of how to reduce the amount of waste that we produce, focusing on different waste streams including food, paper, and plastics. These lesson plans relate to and expand on the concepts of the Reduce First! Challenge. 

Competitions & Challenges 

Compete in DGS competitions and challenges or run organize your own competition at your school! Competitions can make great student action projects, connect with classroom learning, and inspire school spirit year-round! 

Recycle Right Competition: Reward recycling accuracy (Instructions & Photos). The goal of this competition is to reward participants for ‘recycling right’, not recycling more, which is more in line with the Sustainable DC goal of sending zero waste to landfills by 2032. The competition instructions are targeted at schools that participate in the competition in October as part of Growing Healthy Schools Month, but they are designed so that your school can do this competition at any time. Check out pictures from the 2017 competition and read about schools that have competed. Download instructions here. 

Reduce First! Challenges: 

• Lunch Edition: Target food waste (Instructions). Did you know that 20 to 30 percent of waste from a typical school cafeteria is actually whole uneaten and unopened items?  The DC Reduce First Challenge - Lunch Edition is designed to reduce food waste (not just compost it) from school lunches. Conduct simple surveys to count whole uneaten and unopened food items per student lunch, and then take actions to reduce wasted items. You can conduct the challenge activity at any time during the school year. Download instructions here. 
• Paper Edition: Reduce paper usage (Instructions). Did you know that preventing one ton of paper waste saves between 15 and 17 mature trees? Schools can generate a lot of paper waste each day. In many cases, this paper gets recycled. But what about reducing paper use in the first place? The DC Reduce First Challenge – Paper Edition is a challenge, open to all DC schools, focused on reducing paper use.  During the challenge, schools will conduct simple surveys of paper waste and then take action to reduce paper usage. Download instructions here. 
• Plastic Edition: Combat plastic pollution (Instructions). Did you know that according to the World Economic Forum, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050? The problem of pollution in the ocean is so alarming that in December 2017, the United Nations passed a resolution to curb plastic waste. The DC government and many partner organizations are also working to address litter in our local waterways. The DC Reduce First! Challenge: Plastic Edition is designed to raise awareness about this problem and reduce plastic waste in school communities. Conduct waste audits to target plastic pollution and reduce waste to stop pollution before it happens! Download instructions here. 

Student Activities  

• Cafeteria Waste Audit Instructions: Help students analyze waste streams. Uncover what types and how much waste your school produces. Conduct a cafeteria waste audit using the instructions for How to Conduct a School Cafeteria Waste Audit. Use the DCPS Recycles! Waste Datasheet and report your data back to DGS. 
• Games and Field Trips: Get moving and get outside to learn more about recycling and compost! Play the Sort-It-Out Game and Recycling Relay Race with students to make sure they know what materials go in which bin.See our Field Trip List about recycling, composting, reuse, nature and more. 
• Compost and Garden: Connect classroom learning with cafeteria sorting and school garden composting with these resources.Start a classroom worm bin using DPR’s Classroom Worm Bin How-To Guide 

Engage and Improve: School Events, Citywide Competitions, and Community 

Schoolwide Engagement 

• Saving Food: Start a share table to save food from going to waste! Use Share Tables:Guidance for DC Schools as a starting point.  
• Organize a Locker Clean-Out Tips to minimize waste at the end of the year. 
• Zero Waste Events: Use the Zero Waste Event Checklist to host recycling-friendly events.  
• DCPS Recycles! Honor Roll Program: Check out past honorees and learn how to qualify (Details). 
• Start a school green team to either launch or improve a recycling program. If your school already has a green team, see how you can get involved. 

One of the best ways to improve your school’s zero waste programs is to read about what other schools are doing well. Read past DCPS Recycles! newsletters and school highlights below to get inspired, or see previous years’ DCPS Recycles! Honorees. 

• Mann Elementary School: Where Recycling is Easy 
• DCPS Recycles! Program Newsletters 
• DCPS Recycles! Program Highlights (by School Year) 
• Van Ness Elementary School Early Childhood Students Lead the Way in Recycling, Earth Day 2016
• C.W. Harris Gives Back to the Earth, Earth Day 2015
• View our Interactive Maps to explore the participation of schools across the city and learn about schools making an impact.

Troubleshoot: Common Challenges 

Sorting Contamination 

• Tip Sheets: 5 Steps to Recycle Right, Acceptable Materials List. 
• Train staff and students using provided posters and interactive activities. 

Additional Help 

Contact the DGS-SE team for troubleshooting and training: [email protected]. 

Explore More Resources: Tools and References 

DC Zero Waste Frameworks: 

Zero Waste by 2032 Overview: Learn more about DC’s sustainability goals. 

Healthy Schools Act Compliance: Understand legal requirements for waste sorting. 

The Story of Waste Story Map: Where does our waste go? "The Story of Waste" offers real answers to this question by allowing users to explore where our waste comes from and encouraging us to ask bigger questions about what we can do about it.  

Recycling 

• Acceptable Materials List.
• DCPS Recycles! Recycling Posters and Labels.
• DCPS Recycles! Recycling Posters and Labels: Download visual aids for sorting bins.
• DCPS Recycles! 5 Steps to Recycle Right: A Helpful Starting Place for Recycling Every School Year
• DCPS Recycles! Acceptable Materials List: Review what is and isn’t acceptalbe for recycling.
• DCPS Recycles! Leadership Responsibilities Checklist: A guide for school administrators to build effective recycling programs. 
• DCPS Recycles! Supplies Set-Up Cheat Sheet - 447.1 KB (pdf)
• DCPS Recycles! Waste Datasheet 

Organics 

• Share Tables Guidance.
• Classroom Composting Guide. 
• Organics Recycling Program 

Construction: Construction Teams should reach out to [email protected] for DGS-SE Design Guidance when working on school modernization projects to design a school that maximizes the possibility of recycling success.