New Rochelle’s $10,000 Tax Money Standing Around Un-Utilized

Written By: Talk of the Sound News

These are my comments shared at the Board of Education meeting on January 8th 2012

Dear Board,

I wanted to share with you that since January 2nd, I implemented comprehensive Recycling Programs in 4 schools. 2 Elementary, 1 Middle and 1 Highschool.

Prior to Roll out, I helped teachers do extensive education around environmental issues, earth projects and recycling. This education was spread into Math, English, Science and Social Studies classes.

I trained lunchroom monitors, and custodians. I set up the Lunchroom Recycling station, as well as building recycling stations. I organized together with B&G the flow of materials. With Foodservice together we found ways to reduce the single use containers.

On roll out day, the Superintendent came to support and to set the tone.

All schools have enthusiastically participating children and supportive adults and are reporting a 90% reduction in garbage.

I am NOT describing New Rochelle’s schools.

In June of 2012, following John Quinn’s memo, mandating all schools to implement recycling as per NY state law, B&G bought for just under $10,000.00 containers and bins.

I have just been to Barnard and there, the brand new commingled container has not EVER seen a bottle. In fact, it has now 3 inches of water in it, and is quietly rusting. All office paper, which was nicely sorted in the building into clear plastic bags were thrown in the garbage and the paper container only contained cardboard and not a single leaf of classroom or office paper.

Every sports fan knows, that your team is only as good as the coach is.

New Rochelle’s does not have a winning recycling team, and we have $10,000 worth of our tax money now rusting away. And we STILL don’t have any recycling going on.

Let’s change that.

Let’s take a school, say… Isaac Young, and document the current situation. We could use Trinity’s students that have a full film media lab to do the filming. Let’s document the token recycling bin in the corner, the complete lack of recycling, the mountains of trash, the non awareness of environmental issues, the culture of “it’s all garbage to me”.

And then we can introduce education around environment, earth studies, get guest speakers in, see films, set up recycling stations, and document the transition from the current 32 bags of trash every lunch down to 2. What a celebration that would be.

7 thoughts on “New Rochelle’s $10,000 Tax Money Standing Around Un-Utilized”

  1. I was pleased to find this
    I was pleased to find this information , I want you to thank for your time of this wonderful read!!! I definately enjoy every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff of your blog a must read blog!!!!
    ______________________________
    electric motor manufacturer
    electric motor manufacturer

    compactor storage system
    compactor storage system

    pressure transmitter
    pressure transmitter

    web development company
    web development company

  2. Recycling Programs
    Very few people who are thinking about their county and success and take hand to support to give a successive way and share such a useful information which can help to implement as soon and funding is another important part for the board.
    __________________________________
    buy sennheiser headphones | pest control

    1. recycling in schools and plastic grocery bags
      I admire Anna Giordano for her dedication and hard work. There is no excuse for the laziness in the schools for not recycling.

      I also am disgusted in the amount of people still using hundreds of plastic bags instead of resusable ones. New Rochelle should do what the city of Rye does, and soon the towns of Mamaroneck and Larchmont. Let’s stop plastic bags from ending up in the sound.

      margaret m.

      1. I will like to see you eat in the school lunch room
        you should see what a mess the recycling area is, you would not eat in the school lunch room. Plus you would not want your children there either.

      2. Whose fault is that mess? The kids or the adults?
        In all the schools with custodial staff that “get it” the recycling area is not a mess. Mess is only where you have adults that don’t care.

        If you haven’t already, re-read my blog on the cost of garbage. Do you really want to keep throwing our school taxes into the garbage?

      3. Thank you Margaret
        Please email me at schoollunchrecycling@gmail.com and I will help you start the movement to ban the plastic bags in New Rochelle.

        Thousands of communities and hundreds of countries have banned the bags, New Rochelle can too.

Comments are closed.