Find all sorts of resources here for moving your school along a path to zero waste.

Food Waste Reduction Toolkit for Illinois Schools

Green Locker Clean-Out Guide

Zero Waste Schools Event Guide

Kindergarten & New Student Zero Waste Orientation 

ZWS Food Waste Reduction Steps for Food Service

Back-to-School Supplies: A Zero Waste Guide

Volunteer Opportunities Guide

This is the Moment… To Reduce Wasted Food

Green Your Halloween Guide

Tips for a Healthy, Waste-free Classroom

Use these signs as reference to create your own. Keep in mind that signs are most effective if they are color coded, use photos, show the most commonly used items in the lunchroom, and are placed at eye level. The order of collection containers and their corresponding signs is essential to the success of any sorting program. Consider using different colored bags in the collection containers to differentiate the waste streams. (See the Sorting Station section below for details about additional best practices for setting up a sorting station.)

Recycling: This set of signs is designed for schools that would like to recycle in the lunchroom. Lunchroom recycling requires a bucket or bin for collecting leftover liquid since all drink containers must be empty in order to be recycled. This set of signs also includes a sign for stacking trays. Stacking trays will greatly reduce the volume of landfill waste as well as the number of times the custodian needs to change the landfill bags. Click HERE for signs in English. Click HERE for bilingual English/Spanish signs.

Recycling & Commercial Composting: This set of signs is designed for schools that would like to recycle and do commercial composting. Lunchroom recycling requires a bucket or bin for collecting leftover liquid since all drink containers must be empty in order to be recycled. This set of signs also includes a sign for stacking trays. Stacking trays significantly reduces the volume they take up, as well as the number of times the custodian needs to change the landfill bags. If your trays are compostable, the stacked trays can be added to the compost bin at the end of each lunch period. Click HERE for signs in English. Click HERE for bilingual English/Spanish signs.

Recycling & Onsite Composting: This set of signs is designed for schools that would like to recycle and do onsite composting. Lunchroom recycling requires a bucket or bin for collecting leftover liquid since all drink containers must be empty in order to be recycled. This set of signs also includes a sign for stacking trays. Stacking trays significantly reduces the volume they take up, as well as the number of times the custodian needs to change the landfill bags. Click HERE for signs in English. Click HERE for bilingual English/Spanish signs.

Share table signs: Share tables are a great way to prevent good food from going to landfills. A share table is a place where students can place items from a school meal if they choose not to eat them. These items are then made available to other children who may want or need another serving during or after the meal service or they can be donated to an outside organization. Contact your local health department before implementing a share table or food donation program to find out if local health and food safety codes in your area allow these practices. See the section on share tables in this Toolkit for more information.

Share Table Signs with Milk. Click HERE for English sign. Click HERE for bilingual English/Spanish sign.

Share Table Sign no Milk. Click HERE for English sign. Click HERE for bilingual English/Spanish sign.

Kitchen sorting signs: Recycling, Landfill, and Commercial Composting. Click HERE to download signs.

Sample signs for classroom/hallway/office recycling:

Click HERE to download Option 1.

Click HERE to download Option 2.

Sign attachment method: A best practice for sign placement is to attach signs directly above the sorting bins. If your sorting bins are against a wall, then they can easily be taped to the wall. But if the bins need to be located away from walls, here is a low-cost method for attaching them. The only materials needed are small hand clamps (available at hardware stores for about $1 each) and rulers or wood shims (also available at hardware stores).

     

The purpose of a sorting station is to separate material streams (to separate recyclables from landfill trash, for example). Here are some best practices and things to consider when setting up a sorting station:

Sequence of bins
The sequence or order that bins are located within a sorting station is important to efficient sorting. It helps for students to form a line and move through the station in one direction. 

Consider what students have on their lunch trays/lunch boxes and the most efficient way to get those materials sorted. 

Here are some tips for sequencing bins:

• Locate the liquids bin at the front of the station so that students can empty unfinished drinks before they have the chance to spill them.

• Locate the recycling bin immediately after the liquids bin since students will already be holding their emptied drink containers.

• If incorporating commercial composting, locate the compost bin after the landfill bin. This is because it is easier to first pick the plastic landfill trash off trays, then shake off the food scraps into the compost bin, compared to the other way around.

• If incorporating a share table into a sorting station, it helps to locate it at the very front of the station so students can focus on those items first. Some schools opt instead to locate a share table just after the food service counter (and not part of the sorting station) so that food service staff can more easily monitor it.

Note: Allowing individual students to sort their materials as soon as they are done eating, rather than having all students use the sorting station at dismissal, will also ease crowding at the station and reduce the overall time needed for the sorting process. Encouraging students to sort materials on their trays before coming up to the sorting station will also help speed up the process.

UPDATED! SGA’s Lunchroom Waste Audit Guide (Audit guide & printable form)

SGA’s At-Home Food Waste Activity (Audit & action items)

Guide to Conducting Student Food Waste Audits: A Resource for Schools (USEPA, USDA, University of Arkansas)

Chicago Public Schools Recycling Guide

Green Pages Directory for recycling other common items, including: Books, Cartridges/Inkjet Toner, Art Supplies (Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County)

Cook County Green Guide provides tips and information about recycling food scraps, textiles, and other common household items

SWALCO’s Recycling Guide showcases specific neighborhood recycling programs to help residents learn how to properly reduce their waste

SWANCC’s tips for avoiding contamination highlights commonly misplaced items, including nuisance and dangerous materials 

Guides

How-to and Educational Videos

Additional Resources

  • We Compost Recognition Program  (Illinois Food Scrap Coalition) Get your school’s composting efforts recognized! 
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  • Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) Visit the BPI website to find all sorts of certified compostable products for use in municipal and commercial composting facilities. BPI maintains an up-to-date catalog of companies and products that have met BPI standards.

NEW! Seven Generations Ahead Share Table Toolkit (Everything a school needs to optimize food recovery efforts through the use of share tables)

The Use of Share Tables in Child Nutrition Programs (USDA)

Illinois State Board of Education’s School Nutrition Programs Administrative Handbook (See Section J-8)

 
 
 
 
 

Presentations

Center for Environmental Health’s Ditching Disposables Toolkit, Everything a school or district needs to help them make the transition from single-use food service ware to healthier and more sustainable reusable options

The Conscious Cafeteria Report, A national pilot study on reusable foodware for healthier, more sustainable schools

Wasted Food Scale (US EPA)

Turn a Wasteful Lunch into a Zero Waste Lunch

Offer vs. Serve (Offer versus Serve (OVS) is a provision in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) that allows students to decline some of the food offered.)

SGA’s Offer vs. Serve and Share Table Training

Why does food waste matter? (In this video from the World Wildlife Fund for grades K-8, students will learn what it takes to get food to their plate and how they can help the planet through food choices they make everyday.)

What You Can Do To Help Prevent Wasted Food (USDA)

Tools for Preventing and Diverting Wasted Food (US EPA)

Food Loss and Waste Animated Shorts (FDA)

Use condiment dispensers instead of single-use condiment packets

Use bulk utensil and napkin dispensers instead of bundled utensil/napkin packets

Switch to washable utensils or lunch trays

Switch to recyclable or compostable packaging or serviceware

Curricula

Activities

Films

Organizations

Videos

Curricula

Activities & Field Trips

Infographics Library

Evanston/Skokie School District 65: This case study focuses on how D65 has made huge strides towards becoming zero waste after years of hard work and determination. Thanks to dedicated parents, students, and staff, and key support at the district level, D65 is significantly reducing waste in two ways — sourcing compostable lunch trays and composting food scraps.

Spring Lake Elementary School: An Illinois school garden case study.

OVS/Share Table Training (15 minutes)

Wasted Food Action Alliance Share Table/OVS Presentation from 8/28/2024

Serving Up Sustainability: From Restaurants to the Home Kitchen webinar from 10/18/2023 (IL Green Alliance YouTube channel, 1:28 hours)

Going for Zero Waste at School webinar from 5/10/2022 (SGA YouTube channel, 58:57 min.)

Zero Waste School Practices During COVID-19  webinar from 9/2/2020 (SGA YouTube channel, 1:30 hours)

Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC)

Solid Waste Agency of Lake Cook County (SWALCO)

School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education (SCARCE)

Illinois Green Schools Project (Illinois Green Alliance)

Mindful Waste

The Center for Green Schools

Cafeteria Culture

Stop Waste