Recycle Across America

Start recycling right with standardized recycling labels for your school that will help you to improve recycling and save your school money.

5 Step Guide to

Recycle Across America

Overview


Recycle Across America "Let's recycle right! Welcome to Recycle Across America Schools Program. We're excited to have you on board and looking forward to helping you recycle right in your school. Here you'll find all you need to get started." - Mitch Hedlund, Founder & Executive Director, Recycle Across America

5 Steps

Who? Someone who...

Resource Checklist

Time

You'll need to dedicate a couple of hours to get your school on board, figuring out how this program will align with your existing recycling program and once you order your labels, you'll need a couple of hours to attach them and to ensure everyone in your school understands the program. Once the labels are attached, there isn't much ongoing time involved other than to assess how much your recycling rate has improved and how much money your school is saving in the process!


Fill in the Intake Form

This program means that your school can access the funding needed to purchase labels for your school and cover other small costs associated with getting this program up and running (e.g. printing posters etc.) As the School Champion, you should be willing to perform the following tasks as needed:

  • Work with RAA staff member to create implementation strategy
  • Fill out label order form
  • Provide a shipping address where the labels are guaranteed to be received by someone aware of the donation who can keep the labels in a safe place.
  • Help coordinate celebration and/or implementation event/provide volunteers (optional for school district donations)

To get started and to get connected with the RAA team, fill in this intake form which captures the very practical information needed to get started including details of your hauler, how recycling currently works at your school etc.


Order your Labels

Once you've filled in the intake form, you'll be ready to order the labels you need. There is a wide range of labels available depending on your school's needs. You'll get 100 labels for $350 and you can unlock the funding to purchase the labels by completing your 30 Day Challenge on your ChangeX page. The RAA team will answer any specific questions you have around types of labels or can help you if you have very specific or unique label needs.

You can find the Label order form in the Resources Folder


Attach the Labels

Once you have your labels, it'll be time to attach them to your bins! This can be done as a school-wide project, engaging kids and teachers or can be done by a smaller team that you have brought together. Your Toolkit gives lots of very practical tips on how to do this, including some discussions you need to have with your hauler ahead of time. Find your Toolkit in the Resources Folder.

Here's a short video to demonstrate some important tips when applying the standardized labels. 

 


Educate & share across the school

Communicating and sharing details of the new program across the whole school - students, teachers, administration - will be critical to the success of your program.

Here are some tips:

  • Choose a launch date, and make a school-wide announcement so that everyone in the building knows there is a change in the recycling program.
  • Send an email to classrooms and offices.
  • Hang up student-generated posters or RAA posters (RAA will share files upon request).
  • Have students develop and record a public service announcement to share via email.
  • Student volunteers may wish to travel from class to class to introduce the labels and explain then changes in the recycling program. Your Toolkit has many points that could be covered in a presentation.

Share photos & thank you

Companies and individuals make generous donations to help schools improve recycling. To celebrate this donation, PLEASE thank your donor.

You'll be prompted to share a photo on your ChangeX page and tell us how the program is going. There are also some additional ideas for thanking/sharing and celebrating your program in the toolkit that can be found in the resources folder. 

 

 


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