Download educational materials and recycling signs

A variety of signs and educational materials are available for school cafeterias, breakrooms, classrooms, and other areas.

Due to efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Hennepin County is unable to fulfill orders of school recycling resources until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. 

Our signs and educational materials are available as download only versions so you can print them yourself. 

View and download school recycling resources.

Sign up for our Sustainable Schools newsletter to stay informed about when we will be filling orders again.

Reduce waste and improve recycling at your school

Hennepin County has grants available to public and private, K-12 schools to start or improve programs to reduce waste and keep recycling and organic materials, including food and non-recyclable paper, out of the trash.

See the school recycling grants flyer (PDF) for an overview of the program.

Application timeline

Applications are being accepted for 2020 school recycling grants. Applications for grants of up to $50,000 are due by 4 p.m. on Thursday, February 27. 

Applications under $15,000 will be accepted on a rolling basis as funds remain.

Eligible organizations, expenses and activities

Eligible organizations include public and non-public K-12 schools in Hennepin County.

Grant funding can be used to purchase equipment and supplies, including recycling and organics recycling containers, sorting stations, reusable food service ware, bulk condiment dispensers, organics hauling, and compostable bags.

Review the school recycling grant guidelines (PDF) for more information about the program, eligible project activities and allowable expenses.

Apply

The following document must be submitted to apply. 

• 2020 school recycling grant application (DOCX)
• 2020 budget spreadsheet (XLSX)
• W-9 form – submit an existing one from your organization or complete the W-9 form (PDF)

Information meetings

Bring your project ideas, get questions about the program answered, and discuss other ways county staff can help make your project a success. 

An information session will be held Thursday, February 6, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the St. Louis Park Library at 3240 Library Lane, St. Louis Park, MN 55426.

Or you can watch a recording of the online webinar information session.

Contact us

You are encouraged to contact the program manager, Kira Berglund, to discuss project ideas at kira.berglund@hennepin.us or 612-596-1498.

Diverting organic materials, which includes food, napkins and other compostable products, at schools is a significant opportunity to put waste to better use through food donation, food-to-animals, or organic composting programs.

For more information and tips on getting started, see the organics recycling in schools best practices guide (PDF)

Common organic wastes at schools

Food waste

These include scraps from kitchen prep, lunches and snacks.

Paper products

These include paper towels, napkins and tissues.

Food-soiled paper

These items include paper lunch bags, pizza boxes, and certified compostable or uncoated paper products

Organic waste is commonly collected in the following areas in schools:

• Kitchen
• Cafeteria
• Restrooms
• Faculty lounge

Organics recycling options

Food-to-people programs

Donate edible food to organizations that help people in need.

Food-to-livestock programs

Have your food processed into feed for livestock.

Organics composting

Have your food scraps and food-soiled paper products turned into valuable compost.

Learn more about organics recycling.

Tips and lessons learned

The capital cost of starting up an organics recycling programs includes, but is not limited to:

• Compostable bags
• Educational materials and advertising
• New containers for organic waste

Efficiently operated organics recycling programs can pay for themselves. Significant cost savings can result from:

• Reduced trash service:
  Pick-up required less frequently

• State and county solid waste tax exemptions:
  There is a 31.5 percent tax for trash and no tax for organics

• Reduced tipping fee on organic waste:
  At Hennepin County facilities, trash costs $58 per ton plus taxes and fees while organics costs $25 per ton

Expect to spend some time educating both students and staff about an organics recycling program, especially during the initial start-up of the program. Have dedicated monitors (which can be students, staff, parents, or other volunteers) at waste containers to educate students and assist them with sorting. Monitors should educate and encourage sorting while offering minimal assistance so that the organics program can eventually operate with little or no supervision.

Most of the waste produced at schools can be recycled or composted. The following resources can help you start or improve a recycling program at your school.

Sorting video

Our sorting video (YouTube) is intended to help students learn how to sort and properly recycling their lunch waste.

The video gives a brief overview of why recycling and organics recycling is important, then instructs students how to sort their waste into recycling, organics recycling, and trash. The video is intended to be generic enough to be used by schools throughout Hennepin County.

Benefits of recycling programs

Implementing recycling and organics collection in schools provides environmental, educational and financial benefits:

• Environmental: By recycling, new products are made from materials being thrown away. Diverting organic waste means that leftover food is donated to help people in need, fed to animals or recycled into compost.
• Educational: Recycling and organics recycling presents hands-on environmental education opportunities that provide a forum for teaching many scientific topics, such as decomposition, pollution, habitat loss, microbiology, chemistry, soil ecology, manufacturing and engineering.
• Financial: Schools can reduce disposal costs and taxes associated with solid waste disposal.

Setting up a recycling program

The recycling guide for Minnesota schools (PDF), published by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, is a great resource for setting up a school recycling program.

School waste study

A school waste sort study, conducted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Hennepin County and City of Minneapolis, gives some key insights into waste generation at schools, including that nearly 80 percent of school waste could be recycled.

Waste sort guide

Interested in learning more about the amount and type of waste produced at your schools by conducting a waste audit or waste sort?

Check out our how-to guide for conducting a waste sort (PDF) for step-by-step instructions for conducting a waste sort, including how to organize and set up the sort, what equipment you will need, and how to collect data with sample data sheets.

School reuse and cleanout day guide

The school reuse and cleanout day guide (PDF), from Rethink Recycling, has ideas to help prevent waste and maximize the reuse and recycling of materials during cleanout at the end of the school year.

Videos

• Richfield Dual Language School:
  Spanish recycling song with English subtitles (YouTube)

• Washburn High School Green Team:
  Faced with Waste (YouTube)

• Weaver Lake Elementary School:
  Lunchroom Sorting Table (YouTube)

• Hennepin County and South View Middle School:
  Milk Cartons and Juice Boxes Recycling (YouTube)

Bring hands-on learning about recycling and waste reduction to your school

Hennepin County has staff available to give classroom presentations to engage students in hands-on learning about waste generation, the benefits of recycling and the importance of sorting waste correctly at school and everywhere else.

Some presentations provide a comprehensive overview to help students understand the importance of participating in the school recycling program. For schools that have already done such presentations, additional lessons delve deeper into different topics areas, including paper recycling, investigating packaging and composting.

Review presentations available (PDF).

For more information or to sign up your class, contact Kira Berglund at kira.berglund@hennepin.us or 612-596-1498.

School recycling meetings provide an opportunity for school staff and volunteers to learn about environmental topics and share successes and challenges related to their recycling and organics programs.

Meetings are held every other month during the school year. Meetings are typically held on Friday mornings in September, November, January, March, and May.

Contact Kira Berglund at kira.berglund@hennepin.us to be added to the contact list.

Grants awarded in 2020

Hennepin County awarded 10 grants totaling $149,800 to schools and school districts to reduce waste and expand recycling and organics programs. Grant recipients include four public school districts, four charter schools, and two non-public schools.

Academy of Holy Angels (Richfield)

$14,600 to improve their recycling and organics recycling program in the cafeteria and expand to athletic facilities. They will also replace single-use food service ware with compostable options.

Academy of Whole Learning (Minnetonka)

$700 to start composting on-site.

Best Academy (Minneapolis)

$20,900 to start an organics recycling program in three cafeterias and to expand recycling to the hallways.

Bloomington Public Schools (Jefferson High School)

$2,300 to replace disposable cups with compostable cups in their student-run coffee shop.

Hiawatha High School (Minneapolis)

$3,900 to reduce waste by replacing condiment packets with pumps and disposable plastic utensils with reusable metal ones in the cafeteria.

Minneapolis Public Schools

$30,500 for projects at the following schools:

• Anne Sullivan School and Anishinabe Academy will reduce waste by replacing disposable plastic utensils with reusable metal ones in the cafeteria and by bringing breakfasts to classrooms in coolers instead of plastic bags. They will also expand recycling to the hallways and outside the building.
• Bancroft Elementary will expand waste reduction efforts by using reusable utensils and cups for breakfast in the classroom. They will also add organics and recycling bins to the hallways to capture materials from the classrooms.
• Folwell School Performing Arts Magnet and Richard R. Green Central Park Elementary will improve their organics recycling program by installing waste sorting stations in their cafeterias.
• Seward Montessori will reduce waste by replacing disposable plastic utensils with reusable metal ones in the cafeteria.

Osseo Area Schools

$45,100 for Osseo Area Schools to improve their recycling program by standardizing containers in the classrooms and expanding recycling at their four middle and three high schools. They will begin collecting recycling in common areas, including the cafeterias.

Performing Institute of Minnesota Arts High School (Eden Prairie)

$4,100 to expand organics to the cafeteria and restrooms and to expand recycling to common areas.

Robbinsdale Area Schools

$26,600 for the district to expand recycling at Cooper High School by adding containers in common areas. They will also reduce waste from single-use plastic water bottles by installing water bottle fillers in 16 of their buildings.

Seven Hills Preparatory Academy (Bloomington & Richfield)

$1,100 to expand recycling to the cafeterias at both schools and start composting on-site at the Richfield site.