Recycling is a way of life at San Diego Unified... and saves taxpayers money

Did you know the majority of waste generated in classrooms and even lunch courts is recyclable or can be turned into compost, saving taxpayers $34,000 a month? As the nation celebrates America Recycles Day on Nov. 15, San Diego Unified students are taking the lead in recycling by participating in campus environmental clubs, Green Teams, Planet Protectors clubs, student body recycling efforts, and more.


These recycling ambassadors encourage students and staff at their school to recycle paper, cardboard, beverage containers, rigid plastics, metal, and more. All recyclables can be mixed together in the recycling bins on campus.

Some schools have even set a goal to create “Zero Waste” and are composting lunch and cafeteria scraps in their school garden! Through these efforts, the district is able to divert more than 240 tons of material per month from landfill disposal when school is in session. That saves our district and taxpayers more than $34,000 per month in disposal costs, not to mention saving valuable resources.

When students and staff recycle and compost at school and at home, it means that industry doesn’t have to chop down, extract or mine to collect more raw materials for making the things we use every day.
San Diego Unified doesn’t stop there when it comes to waste diversion. In addition to the mixed recycling program available at schools and district offices, programs are in place for diverting scrap metal, wood waste, pallets, landscape waste, construction and demolition debris, electronics, and shredded documents. District batteries and fluorescent lamps (universal waste) are also recycled and disposed of properly.

For more information about America Recycles Day, check out www.americarecyclesday.org. For information and resources for recycling at your school, please visit the district’s recycling website at www.sandi.net/energy or contact Janet Whited, recycling specialist, auxiliary services, at 858-637-6268 or jwhited@sandi.net.

Technology helps cut district landscaping water usage

More than $20,000 is expected to be saved in the next school year and San Diego Unified will help the region conserve water with a new irrigation management control system for its nearly 200 facilities.

The new Ethernet-connected devices at district facilities will allow greater efficiency and more cost effective remote monitoring of irrigation systems.This system monitors and controls irrigation systems using weather, vegetation type, and other data to help the San Diego Unified conserve water usage at nearly 200 facilities.

During the 2012-13 school year, Keith Hetzler and Tom Groot, Irrigation Control Specialists, and the Telecommunications Department coordinated efforts to successfully support the installation of Ethernet communication converters in place of old phone lines and modems within San Diego Unified's existing Central Irrigation Management Control System.

This changeover in hardware will realize an immediate payback in its first year of operation. For additional information contact Jim Hallauer, Planned Projects Supervisor, Scripps Mesa Zone at jhallauer@sandi.net, 858-627-7116.