Stanford’s commitment to a zero waste campus extends to the elementary schools on campus. Reaching over 700 students, teachers, and staff, this initiative offers a unique opportunity to educate younger generations on the importance of zero waste and empower them to contribute to environmental sustainability. Additionally, the strategy aligns with California’s SB 1383 mandate, which requires a significant reduction of organic waste in landfills, further supporting both environmental and social justice efforts.
1. Develop a sustainable, long-term plan/strategy for achieving zero waste in elementary schools.
2. Identify best practices for training, education, and accountability mechanisms for students, teachers, administrators, and custodial staff members.
3. Determine the need for a “green team” and “zero-waste champ” for both elementary schools.
4. Identify the best metrics of a successful waste reduction and diversion program that would provide opportunities for future improvement.
Zero waste champions were established at each school, and updated signage contributed to positive waste diversion results from this year’s intervention. The initiative built capacity for strategy implementation by identifying resources for students, teachers, staff, and parents, as well as key items that could be diverted. Strong relationships were fostered with key stakeholders, including Nixon Elementary, Palo Alto Unified School District, Oakland Unified School District, the Sustainable Schools Council, SproutUp, and Students for Sustainable Stanford.
The project fostered strong relationships among stakeholders to ensure a sustainable, long-term strategy and developed a zero-waste plan for implementation next year by the Office of Sustainability. By prioritizing zero-waste initiatives on the schools’ agendas, the project achieved increased diversion rates with minimal intervention, demonstrating the potential for further improvement. This strategy serves as a model that can be applied to other schools seeking assistance with sustainable practice.
The Office of Sustainability will be implementing the strategy, timeline, and recommendations from this project next year and in years to come. The project lead, Linda Vera, also intends to use the results to develop zero waste strategies for other schools in her hometown in Texas.
PRIMARY PARTNER: Stanford University Office of Sustainability
COLLABORATING PARTNERS: Palo Alto Unified School District, Oakland Unified School District, Nixon Elementary School, Escondido Elementary School, KatKid
Linda Vera (she/her) is a B.A. candidate in International Relations and minoring in Human Rights. Her IR specializations include National Security and Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources. Linda has experience conducting research with the Human Rights Department and the WMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab, presenting her work at the 2023 April Symposium of Undergraduate Research and Public Service. Linda has had experience with k-12 education systems as she spearheaded a campaign for bilingual education in elementary schools with The Leaders Readers Network in 2020. She is passionate about developing environmental policies channeled through grassroots mobilization, and the pragmatic implementation of zero-waste methodologies within unconventional settings. Linda will continue to utilize her knowledge as a Zero Waste intern for going zero-waste with campus-based k-12 schools.
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