What is the connection between food and the climate crisis? When we hear concern about the rising surface temperature of the planet, what does this actually mean? What are some of the impacts we are experiencing in the United States? And what does the food in your refrigerator have to do with the climate crisis? […]
Getting Back on Track with Zero Waste
Determined to overcome pandemic challenges and interruptions, schools in SGA’s Zero Waste Schools-Lake County Program have made it a priority to get their zero waste lunchrooms back up and running. The Zero Waste Schools team at SGA created a 15-minute education video to teach/re-teach students the How & Why of going for zero waste to […]
Toolkit Helps Schools Reduce Food Waste
Greta Kringle, a chemistry and environmental science teacher at Solorio Academy High School, a Chicago Public School, makes sure her students learn more about waste than they probably ever wanted to know. Her goal is to make science relevant to her students’ everyday lives, and when she gets to the unit on food waste, the […]
SGA webinar makes the case for reusable ...
SGA’s Zero Waste Schools program hosted more than 90 attendees from around the country for its March 16 webinar, School cafeterias reimagined: The case for reusable foodware. The webinar was designed to help schools envision how they can create a better dining experience while protecting student health, cutting costs, and reducing waste by switching to […]
Solorio students host Pumpkin Smash
Leading the way to increased composting awareness in Chicago, the Zero Waste Team from Solorio High School coordinated a Pumpkin Smash for their Gage Park community on Nov. 7. Typically held the Saturday after Halloween, these events provide communities the opportunity to drop off their pumpkins for composting instead of landfilling them. Composting is not […]
SGA webinar helps schools adapt zero was...
Despite the challenges, school leaders across the country are figuring out ways to adapt their zero waste strategies for school year 20-21, and some are even using the disruption caused by the pandemic to establish better, more sustainable ways of doing things. This was the big take-away from SGA’s webinar Zero Waste School Practices During […]
‘Microplastic Madness’ film screening in
In honor of Plastic Free July last month, SGA hosted a screening of the award-winning film “Microplastic Madness” followed by a panel discussion with the film’s co-directors, Debby Lee Cohen and Atsuko Quirk from Cafeteria Culture, and Andrea Densham, Conservation Policy Director at the Shedd Aquarium. Our goal was to share the film’s inspiring youth-focused […]
Oak Park River Forest High School takes ...
In the school movement to reduce landfill waste, Oak Park River Forest High School (OPRFHS) took a major step on Feb. 24. On that day, the school launched its zero waste program, marking a new way of doing things in its two cafeterias. This means that students now use sorting station bins for recycling and […]
Northwood Jr. High is fourth District 11...
Principal Sergio Gonzalez at Northwood Jr. High at Elm Place is proof that school leadership is key to the success of any zero waste program. Recognizing the impact that waste reduction efforts would have on his students and the environment, the enthusiastic school leader did not want to wait until the school was in its […]
Oak Terrace students achieve ninety perc...
Our impact on the environment is a top concern of students at Oak Terrace School. “Our students are truly in tune with what is going on in the world around them and want to take an active role in making a difference,” remarked associate principal Shalagh O’Neill. Last year the students successfully urged the school […]