Staff Meeting Notes
Use these notes to inform staff and teachers about the Recycle @ School pilot at
your school’s first administration meeting.
Speaking Notes

Our school will continue to participate in the Recycle @ School Pilot Program through the
2015-16 school year. Three additional schools will be joining us this year – for a total of
nine schools that now have the opportunity to recycle more waste.

For those teachers and staff who are new to our school, the Recycle @ School Pilot Program
is a partnership between the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD),
the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB) and Eastern Waste Management (EWM).
The goal of the recycling pilot is to expand recycling programs in schools throughout
Newfoundland and Labrador.

In response to feedback provided by last year’s participating schools, there are some
changes to the program for the upcoming year:
1. Recycling station bins have been disconnected for ease of moving and cleaning and
covers have been removed for ease of collection.
2. GREEN bins have replaced blue bins for refundable beverage containers. This is
primarily to assist younger students in all-grade or primary-elementary school to
sort waste into the correct bins.
3. GREY desk side paper recycling bins remain in ALL classrooms and can be emptied
into the larger hallway bins by teachers or a designated student when full.
4. READ ONLY IF YOUR SCHOOL HAS CLASSROOMS WHERE LUNCH IS CONSUMED:
Schools that had a “no food in the classroom” policy were more successful in
diverting waste. To assist schools such as ours where classrooms double as
cafeterias, our classrooms have also been equipped with a GREEN basket bin for
refundable beverage containers and a BLUE basket bin for mixed containers (which
requires a bag).
5. READ ONLY IF YOUR SCHOOL HAS KINDERGARTEN CLASSES: ALL kindergarten
classrooms have been equipped with a GREEN basket bin for refundable beverage
containers and a BLUE basket bin for mixed containers (which requires a bag) to help
these young students learn to recycle in their classrooms.

Education will continue to be a key component of this pilot program:
1. MMSB will be visiting our school in the coming weeks to deliver presentations to
staff and students on properly sorting waste. But staff also play a role – please lead
by example – take time to sort your own waste and help students participate in the
program, particularly while on lunch duty.
YOU MAY WISH TO SHARE SOME OF THE RESULTS FROM YOUR WASTE AUDIT
REPORT CARD TO MOTIVATE STAFF.
2. Last year’s classroom sorting guides will be replaced with instructional posters for
each classroom to help teach students to sort their waste. The posters will arrive
mid-September.
3. This year, MMSB will also offer greater on-site educational support for the Recycle
@ School Pilot through routine visits to our school to assess and maximize our
recycling efforts and work through any issues that may arise.
4. MMSB has updated educational resources to reflect the program changes.
Additional resources will be available as of Wednesday, September 9, 2015 via
MMSB’s website at http://www.mmsb.nl.ca/schools/recycle-school-pilot-program2/.

If you have any questions, our school’s project lead is: [appropriate school contact] who
will be working with MMSB to implement this pilot program.

By participating in this pilot, we are leading the way for other schools in our province. Let’s
work together to become environmental stewards and build on our recycling success.