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Grants, carton recycling partnerships and high school program propel local recycling efforts
Summary
The committee discussed grant opportunities from the Center for EcoTechnology and carton-recycling partnerships that require elementary–high school pairings; Simsbury High School reported rapid uptake of new recycling programs and student-led education efforts.
Committee members reported progress on several waste and recycling initiatives and discussed potential grants and partnerships for schools.
The group said the Center for EcoTechnology has renewed grant funds to help municipalities prepare for anticipated state food-waste legislation; committee members plan to involve school nutrition staff to determine whether local schools meet thresholds that could require compliance. Separately, a carton-recycling partnership requires an elementary school to partner with a high school to qualify for grant funds; the committee planned to ask Simsbury High School leadership whether an elementary school partner would participate.
Simsbury High School representatives reported a recent ramp-up of recycling efforts: cafeteria recycling has been reintroduced with liquid bins and carton collection, and the student environmental committee is delivering short presentations to ninth-grade science classes to increase participation. Committee members proposed creating a short video or community-TV segment showcasing school recycling and suggested students produce a vignette that could be shared on Simsbury Community Television.
Members also discussed inviting the regional recycling center to the Sustainability Fair and organizing a public tour of the recycling facility in June to raise resident awareness of how recycling is processed.
Follow-up tasks include confirming grant eligibility with school nutrition staff, asking specific schools to partner on the carton recycling grant and coordinating media or student-produced materials to publicize school recycling successes.
