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CCSD 46 resource-committee highlights solar, composting and printing reductions
Summary
The district's resource conservation committee reported waste-diversion results (projected 112,000 pounds diverted this year), printing reductions and solar-array generation at the June 10 meeting; the committee recommended contract reviews and student participation in sustainability efforts.
Members of Grayslake CCSD 46's resource conservation committee presented program updates at the June 10 board meeting, highlighting solar production, composting and printing-reduction efforts.
Committee volunteers and staff said the district's four solar arrays have generated substantial renewable power since installation and framed the impact with carbon-emissions equivalents. The presentation included a numerical claim that the arrays have produced "over 15 gawatts of AC power" and stated the district has avoided approximately 14 metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions; those figures were reported to the board by committee members and appear in the presentation transcript. The presentation's narrative tied solar production to broader sustainability goals.
On waste diversion, the committee reported results of a January–February waste audit and estimated that the district diverted about 112,000 pounds of waste from landfills over the school year; of that, the committee said about 88,000 pounds were food and liquid waste, which the presenters converted to an equivalent of roughly 27,000 pounds of CO2 avoided using an EPA calculator. Committee volunteers said diversion rates at individual schools ranged from about 82% to 93%, with the strongest performance where there is a dedicated custodian, a staff compost champion and student leaders.
The district described service issues with weekly compost pickups at some schools and said it will evaluate renewal of the waste-management contract; committee members said they will work with the incoming CSBO and an outside contract analyst offered by the village at no cost to the district.
The committee also highlighted a printing-control system that prevented about 150,000 pages from being released to copiers (roughly 300 reams of paper, which the presenters equated to a little over 14 trees) and a student-led bread-tag recycling effort that collected thousands of tags to be repurposed by a nonprofit.
Committee members asked the board to consider procurement policy implications for sustainability purchases and recommended adding student representation to the committee. Board members encouraged continued measurement of environmental and economic impacts as the committee's work continues.
Sources: Resource Conservation Committee presentation to the board, June 10, 2026; presenters Jose (operations), Becky Palitener and Abby Petrainski.
