Zero waste is more than just recycling—it's a mindset and approach aimed at minimizing waste, conserving resources, and protecting both the environment and human health. It prioritizes reducing waste at the source, reusing items whenever possible, and finally recycling or composting what remains. At its core, the zero waste philosophy recognizes that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, and everything is a resource for something or someone else ().
С»ÆѼµ¼º½ ISD is aligned with the City of С»ÆѼµ¼º½'s zero waste to reach Zero Waste by 2040, which means reducing the amount of trash sent to area landfills by 90%. To accomplish this, С»ÆѼµ¼º½ ISD has several initiatives underway:
Lunchroom Composting & Recycling at Every С»ÆѼµ¼º½
All AISD schools have recycling and composting available for lunchtime waste. Since January 2022, AISD has diverted over 27 million pounds of waste from the landfill through school composting and recycling. Please do your part by properly into compost (green bag), recycling (white bag), and landfill trash (black bag) during meals.
Zero Waste & Trash Sorting Training
Zero Waste is a regular part of the monthly new custodial supervisor orientation. If you are interested in receiving an interactive waste-sorting training for your class, school, or department, fill out the , provided by AISD’s partner in zero waste, . You can also to be posted at your campus.
Food Services Waste Reduction
AISD Food & Nutrition services prevent waste by eliminating styrofoam trays, minimizing or eliminating packaging, providing reusable cups, trays, and cutleries where possible, to name a few. Food waste is also significantly reduced in our kitchens through scratch cooking, self-serve options, promoting share tables, and more. Learn more here.
Battery & E-waste Recycling
The AISD Warehouse ensures batteries and e-waste are responsibly managed through certified R2 recyclers. See the and submit an AISD help request to the warehouse for e-waste pickup for computers, tablets, phones, printers, and other technology used in AISD schools. For protection of sensitive data, AISD does not sell devices that store data to the public.
Surplus Sales & Auction
Occasionally, the AISD Central Warehouse hosts to make retired school materials available to the public. Surplus pop-up sales are promoted on social media and are open to the public. 100% of the proceeds go to support AISD students and schools while giving a new life to these goods. Additionally, the public can view and purchase equipment and materials available for auction on and .
Construction & Demolition Waste Reduction
С»ÆѼµ¼º½ ISD all major construction projects to divert a minimum of 75% by weight of the total non-hazardous construction and demolition materials from landfill and incineration facilities. This is higher than the City of С»ÆѼµ¼º½â€™s 50% requirement. Building material reuse and salvage are also part of AISD’s construction waste management practices.
Golden Trashcan Awards
Each year, AISD and Texas Disposal Systems review each school’s waste diversion data and conduct audits to identify the schools that are exceptional in sorting properly and keeping waste out of the landfill. The winning schools are awarded the Golden Trashcan Award! Check out the and aim for your school to be next!
Resources
Zero Waste class with resources:
- Kahoot games
- Sorting slide shows
- Access to Ecorise TEKS-aligned zero waste lessons for each grade
- Waste audit guidance
- Recycling and composting data available for each school
- Standard Operating Procedures
Keep С»ÆѼµ¼º½ Beautiful Generation Zero Waste:
is a free youth education program, created in partnership with Keep С»ÆѼµ¼º½ Beautiful & С»ÆѼµ¼º½ Resource Recovery, engaging K-12 students in TEKS-aligned educational and interactive activities that raise awareness about recycling, composting, and conservation, giving students simple solutions for reducing their waste.
contain lesson plans and materials for a classroom activity. These kits are a great add-on for sustainability lessons, perfect for use with a substitute teacher, and work well with non-traditional learning and youth groups. The Self Led Learning resources, including digital toolkits, are perfect for providing hands-on activities close to home and around your neighborhood.
Compost & Recycling Data Available for Your С»ÆѼµ¼º½
Track your school’s progress in keeping waste out of the landfill through composting and recycling. This data, provided by Texas Disposal Systems, is a great tool for problem-based learning across many content areas. View AISD waste data through the EcoAcademy site:
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