Currently the school district would have you believe that paper is recycled regularly, but it is not. The official policy which was passed by the school committee is not being properly monitored to assure compliance.
Recycling must become a part of our culture, and it should be actively taught at the school. This can be done by insuring that our disposal service will handle school recycling as part of the normal trash pickup. Then we must make sure to provide receptacles for each material at the appropriate locations when disposal normally occurs. Most importantly, we must monitor the behavior of individuals at the disposal sites to insure compliance.
We need to educate and remind the staff and students on a regular basis that recycling is a way of life. Augment this with lessons about recycling in social studies, science, math, and health classes. We should encourage a parent to be the "compliance officer" to make sure that the recycling policies are being carried out.
Foamed polystyrene #6 (Styrofoam) is not currently being recycled in Medford, and to my knowledge is not cost effective or energy efficient to recycle. Alternatives such as coated paper present financial issues. It is not clear why washable trays would not be better, but it is possible that the cost of washing and the energy used would be worse than the economic and environmental cost of foamed polystyrene.
The new elementary buildings were built with modern HVAC plants, and are energy efficient. We can still encourage turning off lights where not needed, such as bathrooms, or hallways, gyms, and cafeterias where natural light is sufficient.
We should consider rooftop solar electrical and hot water panels. These have educational value as well. With the right safety installations we could have such installations as rooftop gardens to take advantage of unobstructed sunlight. There are several companies with web sites that will install and maintain panels. Although current electrical rates show questionable financial viability, most models do not take into account the potential astronomical rise in the price of fuel over the next 20 years as China and India and other developing areas of the world increase the demand, while the supply will continue to decrease.
We should also consider encouraging walk and ride to school initiatives that reduce the number of individual car trips. Unfortunately many families couple the drop at school with leaving for a commute to a job, so the incentive to reduce the trip is much less. We should also encourage conservation at home. CFL lights, fewer car trips, car pooling, bicycling, and walking are ways that we all can save energy.
