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San Marcos Elementary students present waste-diversion project showing large cut in lunchtime landfill waste
Summary
Fourth- and fifth-grade students from San Marcos Elementary presented results of a school waste audit and a new waste-sorting program they say will divert tens of thousands of pounds and drink cartons from the landfill each year; the City Council presented certificates recognizing the effort.
San Marcos Elementary students presented the results of a student-led lunchroom waste-diversion project to the San Marcos City Council on April 22, showing a substantial reduction in landfill-bound waste when sorting and simple operational changes are used.
Students said the project began after district maintenance staff asked the class to test a plan to reduce landfill waste. "We learned that many of the things the students at San Marcos Elementary School have been throwing in the trash do not belong there," said Karina Arenas, one of the student presenters. Students described conducting a professional-style waste audit at lunchtime and weighing categories of trash, recycling and food waste as part of the project.
The students reported the audit found roughly 8,182 pounds of lunch waste in the sample they measured; they said only about 10 pounds should have been landfill trash, with roughly 103 pounds food waste, 15 pounds recycling and 54 pounds liquid in the sample. Student presenters said the data showed the school could reduce lunchtime landfill waste by more than 90 percent through sorting and simple changes, including installing a ketchup dispenser to replace single-use packets and placing three labeled bins (landfill, compost/food waste and recycling) at the lunch station. "If we do this right, food waste will get turned into compost that can be used to fertilize plants," said Rafael Arroyo Ramos.
The students credited the San Marcos Unified School District maintenance and operations team and a local nonprofit identified as the BCK program for grant support and materials. Student presenters said their school project will divert about 31,000 pounds of waste from the landfill annually, 85 percent of which they said is food or liquid, and that the school will recycle as many as 100,000 drink cartons per year. They also said the district has 16 other schools that had not yet adopted similar sorting systems; if all district schools recycled cartons, students said the total would be roughly 1,700,000 cartons kept out of landfill each year.
Mayor Jones and Deputy Mayor Sunella joined council members in recognizing the students and their teacher with certificates for the program. The council recessed briefly to present certificates and to take photos with the San Marcos Elementary Green Team. Students said their next steps include sharing information with families so sorting practices can extend to the home.
The presentation and recognition took place during the council's proclamations and presentations portion of the April 22 meeting and concluded with the city awarding certificates to the student ambassadors and thanking school staff and the BCK team for support.
The council did not take any formal policy action on the item; the presentation was an informational recognition and the students were invited to share their audit results and demonstration work with the city.
