LET’S KEEP VERMONT GREEN

School Outreach & Resources

Growing a Greener Future

In Vermont, the Universal Recycling Law ensures that consistent recycling and composting are available to everyone—especially in our schools. While school buildings are busy hubs that manage plenty of paper, plastic, and food scraps, their most vital role isn’t just sorting waste; it’s teaching the “why” behind it.

Schools serve as models for our entire community. When we teach students that composting and recycling are just part of the daily routine, those efforts become second nature. The habits learned in the cafeteria and classroom today are the foundations for the environmental leaders of tomorrow.

Tools for Schools & Businesses

Whether you are a local shop, a non-profit, or a school administrator, these guides help navigate Vermont’s requirements for “special” materials.

For items that require special care—such as chemicals, cleaners, and electronic waste, our guide provides safe disposal options to help keep your environment safe. Download the Special Recycling and Hazardous Materials Guide for Schools and Small Businesses

View the One-Page Summary of Vermont Materials Management Requirements for Institutions.

Let’s Work Together

Improving a recycling system or starting a new food scrap program can feel like a big lift, but you don’t have to do it alone.

If your school needs guidance, feel free to reach out to the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) at 802-828-1138 or contact us here at SWAC. Our outreach team is always happy to help local schools “check the boxes” and find systems that actually work for students and staff.

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What does my school need to do?

All schools are required to recycle mandated materials and keep food scraps out of the trash. Many local schools have their scraps hauled to a compost site, while others compost on-site or partner with local farmers to manage food waste.

Hazardous Materials Management

Hazardous waste management is not just for high school science labs. All schools in Vermont must manage their hazardous materials properly to protect students, staff, and the environment. Common hazardous wastes in schools include chemistry and art chemicals, janitorial cleaners, fluorescent bulbs, and batteries.

EPA Site Identification Numbers: Under Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, all schools are required to notify the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and obtain an EPA ID number for their site. This ensures your school is recognized as a handler of these materials and helps track the safe disposal of waste.

For assistance with EPA Site ID forms, manifests, or reporting requirements, please contact Wendy Edwards at the Vermont DEC:

Email: wendy.edwards@vermont.gov

Phone: 802-522-0261

Resources for Hazardous Waste:

Hazardous Waste Management and Reduction in Schools – A comprehensive guide on identifying and reducing hazardous materials on campus.

School Recycling Scorecard – Use this scorecard to see how your school is doing with its recycling and waste management goals.

Can our school donate excess food?

The Universal Recycling Law encourages people to donate extra food if it is properly handled and not previously served to organizations that feed the hungry. Guidance for Food Donation contains information on safe food handling for kitchen staff. By donating excess food from schools, you keep food out of landfills, lower costs, and support Vermonters in need.

Historically, a great deal of unused, high quality food from schools has gone to waste, often because of fear of liability should the donated food go bad. The federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act provides liability protection for food donors. In addition, a federal statute that is part of the National School Lunch Act provides specific protection for schools.

Resources for Food Donation:

Guidance for Food Donation

This document outlines how to safely manage food rescue in a school or institutional setting.

The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act

The full text of the federal law that protects schools and other donors from liability when donating in good faith.

How do we get help?

Ask around! You likely already have people in your school community including teachers, facilities and cafeteria staff, administrators, and parents who have experience with recycling, food scrap collection, and composting. Tapping into this local knowledge is often the best first step.

For technical guidance and specific program support, the following resources are available:

Technical Assistance and Site Visits

If your school needs help evaluating your current setup or improving your recycling and food scrap collection systems, technical assistance is available as a service to help your school meet state requirements. You can schedule a site visit or ask questions by contacting the ANR Solid Waste Program at 802-828-1138 or by contacting SWAC directly at info@rutlandcountyswac.org.

Guidance Documents

School Recycling Guide – A comprehensive manual for starting or improving recycling and composting programs in Vermont schools.

Education and Outreach

SWAC and ANR provide educational resources and outreach to help schools comply with state laws and reduce their environmental impact. Whether you need training for your staff on managing hazardous materials or help coordinating with local partners, we are here to provide the information and support you need to make your program successful.

Can our school feed leftover food to pigs and chickens?

Yes, but if feeding pigs, do not feed them meat, fish, or food scraps that have come in contact with meat or fish juices. Please follow the guidance from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture to ensure animal health and safety.

Resource for Animal Feed:

Guidance on Feeding Food Scraps to Pigs

TerraCycle

TerraCycle defines itself as “…a social enterprise Eliminating the Idea of Waste®.” They offer the opportunity to recycle many items that are not suitable for “blue bin” recycling, the recycling we practice in our day-to-day lives.

At school, TerraCycle Zero Waste Box programs can capture non-blue bin recyclables, like candy and snack wrappers. For schools where students continue to eat lunch in classrooms, due to the pandemic, the right Zero Waste Box can capture at least some of the additional lunchtime waste being produced, including plastic eating utensils and single-use, black plastic meal trays, neither of which are suitable for blue bin recycling.

Through a TerraCycle Zero Waste Box collection initiative, students are engaged in a very worthwhile project, with measurable, tangible results, while gaining first-hand experience in how to keep harder-to-recycle materials out of the landfill.

TerraCycle Zero Waste Boxes come with a fee, which depends on the size of box purchased. The fee covers shipping for the box and the cost of recycling the materials collected. If school funds are not available, a grant application, requesting funding to purchase of one or more boxes, can be submitted through our School Zero Waste Grant Program. Support is available to complete a grant application; contact John Jose if you need assistance.

This YouTube video by Lucy Biggers of “Now This Earth” provides an excellent overview of what TerraCycle is about and how their Zero Waste Box program works.

State of Vermont Resources

Universal Recycling in Schools: What does it mean for your school?

Waste Not Guide Poster – What to do with items that are banned from the trash

Agency of Natural Resources Hazardous Waste Management Assistance for Schools

Vaping/E-Cigarette Safety Management for Schools

Food Scraps webpage – How to design and build on-site compost systems, list of food scrap haulers

Food Donation webpages – information on Food Share Tables and how to rescue food for donation

Getting Started with School Composting Guide – Analyzing your options and getting tips for a successful system

On-Site Composting: A School Implementation Guide

Envision Program: Promoting Healthy School Environments – Assisting schools with Indoor Air quality

School Environmental Health Act 125 was passed into law with goals to improve school air quality, reduce hazardous exposures, and helps schools earn the Envision Certificate of Achievement.

Informed Green Solutions: Informed has a grant to work with VT schools on green cleaning and has many resources on their website, including a Toolkit for Green Cleaning and information on Environmentally Preferable Purchasing. They are interested in working with more K-12 schools as well as Early Childcare Facilities.

School Food Waste Solutions: When kids waste food, they not only waste resources but also set patterns of behavior for life. K–12 schools across the country are taking steps to change that.

Lesson Plans

Waste

Follow That Trail (K-3)

Plan a Waste-Free Lunch (1-6)

Be a Garbage Gumshoe (3-6)

Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt (3-6)

Trash Investigators (4-8)

Mock Trial: Roadside Dumpers (9-12)

Quest for Less Teacher Guide: A Teacher’s Guide to Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling

Recycling

Making Paper From Paper (K-3)

Don’t Throw Away Our Future: Start Recycling Today (1-5)

Math Problems: Recycling Economics (7-8)

Recycling Survey (K-12)

Organics

The Rotten Truth (3-6)

What is Biodegradable? (4-6)

How Hot is My Compost Pile? (7-8)

Food Waste Warrior Toolkit (5-12)

De “compost” ition (9-12)

Toxics

Identifying Hazardous Chemicals in the Classroom

How to Set Up a a Chemical Safety and Hygiene Plan (CSHP)

Chemical Safety in the Art Room 

Household Toxic Chemicals (4-6)

Secret Life of A Smart Phone (5-12), US Environmental Protection Agency

The Secret Life of Batteries (6-8)

Green Cleaning Project Guide (6-12)

Accompanying ELL resources:

Safer Alternatives (6-12)

Disposal (6-12)

Label Reading (6-12)

Reading a Pesticide Label

Resources

Stop Waste – Excellent information and curriculum materials.

Shelburne Farms – Provides environmental and sustainability education for children, adults, and educators, both through their website and at their farm.

Keep America Beautiful – Guidebooks available online are comprehensive, contain excellent overviews on waste-related topics, and have many well-designed classroom lessons.

Cornell Waste Management Institute – Research, outreach, training, and technical assistance, with a focus on organic residuals. Many lesson plans available through their Trash Goes To School program.

The Story of Stuff Project – Short films, lesson plans, podcasts about how we make, use, and throw away Stuff.

Vermont Building and General Service purchasing contracts – for recycling and food scrap collection containers and other supplies

Trash Contract Renegotiation Guide – Information for schools and businesses on waste hauling fees, to assist in contract negotiation and cost savings

New England Grassroots Environmental Fund – (NEGF) supports community-based environmental projects throughout New England. NEGF provides resources, tools, and trainings, as well as grants to groups and schools beginning or improving environmental projects.