Recycling is Back at Sandwich, NH, Central School!
By Nancy Fredrickson, Sandwich Energy Committee
Recycling is back at Sandwich Central School thanks to the volunteer efforts of the town’s energy committee and a Community Catalyst Fund grant that provided funding for construction of an outdoor storage shed.
Due to severe space shortages our K‐6 school’s recycling program had been put on hold indefinitely in 2007 and all recyclables were being land‐filled; mixed into the school’s dumpster trash. This included school recyclables as well as any recyclables that were generated by events that use the school building throughout the year such as Town Meeting, community suppers, sporting events, etc.
Our spacious, new Recycle Shed puts an end to that practice! It permanently houses 12 recycle bins which students on the school’s Green Team fill during their lunch/recess from collection bins placed throughout the school. The shed also has space for the collection of the large amount of cardboard the school generates. Both students and the custodian bring the cardboard to the shed. When the shed is full volunteers from the community pick up the bins on their regular household trips to the town’s transfer station where the recyclables are added to the town’s new single stream recycling program used by all residents. The outside location of the new shed makes this process incredibly “user friendly” since no staff members or keys to the school building are needed when bins are transported and volunteers can transfer the materials whenever it is convenient.
The school’s Garden Club will also benefit from the new storage space the shed offers. There is now space to store the tools the students use to work in the school vegetable gardens. No more lugging hoses and pitchforks to the school and home again for each club meeting!
All the white pine lumber for the 6’X10’ shed was sourced from and milled inSandwich. The shed was partially built at the mill site and then transported by local builders to its permanent location at the school. Once on‐site, Green Team students added the walls and designed the layout for the interior storage.
The shed project has provided opportunities for the Green Team students to discuss the concepts of local sourcing and construction, carbon impacts of distant manufacturing and to learn more about the town’s single stream recycling program. These discussions have helped to inform our students’ plans for a school wide campaign to Reduce and Reuse as well as Recycle. The new shed promises to be the starting point for many more positive Green Team projects both withinSandwichCentralSchooland the wider community. Thank you Community Catalyst Fund!
Tags: Community Catalyst Fund, Green Teams, local action, locally-sourced materials, New Hampshire, Recycling, student climate action
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