CASE STUDY

CASCADE SCHOOL DISTRICT SUSTAINABILITY

2021-2024 Successes:

Recycling Program Revitalized in 2022

  • Bins in all classrooms
  • Mixed and paper collection 2x week
  • 2,000 lbs of recycling diverted in May

13 Waste Audits Conducted 2021-2022

  • 864.5 lbs of cafeteria waste sorted
  • 23 student and 13 adult volunteers
  • 76% could be composted!

District-wide Composting Program Began during the 2022-2023 School Year

  • Food waste composted locally by Winton MFG
  • Waste Loop developed composting curricular resources for elementary classrooms

Waste Loop in the Classroom

  • Plastic pollution and solutions - 7th grade science
  • Arthropods and healthy soils - Home Link
  • Science of composting and vermiculture - CHS
  • Natural dyes with food scraps - Home Link
  • Recycling 101 - CHS
  • Closing the Loop on Lunch - K-5th grade
  • Casade Repairs Pilot - Discovery School

2024 - 2025 Goals:

  • Continue to support on-going composting and recycling programs.
  • Support development of a robust food sharing/rescue program at all schools.
  • Reduce single-use plastics in the cafeteria
  • Inspire and support students and teachers
  • Develop additional curricular resources for  classrooms
Recycling area with labeled bins for liquids, landfill, compost, mixed recycling, and landfill, with a man working in a kitchen window in the background.

Cafeteria sorting station in action during the first week of school at Peshastin Dryden Elementary.

Recycling bins labeled for mixed recycling and clean paper on a table in a recycling station.
Photograph of students and teachers at Alpine Lakes Elementary School participating in a waste diversion activity outside, with a hot water stream flowing over discarded waste, supported by a news article about volunteers managing waste audit.
A group of children and an adult collecting trash and recyclables into buckets at an outdoor cleanup event, with playground equipment and mountains in the background.
Pie charts showing waste audit data for Cascade School District in 2022, with categories for compostable, food rescue, mixed recycling, glass, liquid, and landfill, comparing volume and weight percentages.
Four girls sitting outdoors, sorting recyclables into large white buckets, with a container of compostable food scraps in the center.
Group of seven children standing outside, smiling, with homemade rocket models and a red launch pad on the ground.
A colorful drawing of Earth divided into two halves, one with green and blue representing nature, and the other with red and brown depicting pollution. The words 'RETHINK! SAY NO TO PLASTIC' are written on the drawing, emphasizing environmental aware
Four children planting a small plant in a garden bed with a sign that reads "Compost Pile"; a greenhouse, a yellow tractor, and gardening tools are in the background.
A recycling bin filled with crushed plastic bottles and a trash bin filled with crumpled papers and envelopes.
Two girls sitting at a table working on disassembled electronic devices, holding circuit boards and tools, in a classroom setting.
A group of people outdoors, assembling or repairing a blue mountain bike that is mounted on a work stand, with tools and equipment around them, in front of a building with a sign that reads 'Cascade Discovery'.
Two printed menus on a wooden surface, one for kindergarten and one for 3-5 grade, both titled 'Closing the Loop' with a lunch tray illustration and date April 2023.
A woman with a hat and long braided hair sitting at a wooden table with six children, explaining or showing something in her hands during an educational activity in a classroom.
Two women standing behind a table with recycling bins for liquids, compost, mixed recycling, and landfill, in a gymnasium with a basketball hoop and chairs stacked in the background, smiling and giving thumbs up.