Module 1: Solid Waste Reduction

Identifying Opportunities

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Case Study:

Rome / Floyd County School Recycling Project

Summary

The Floyd County Board of Education in Rome, Georgia has implemented a successful recycling program for its schools. With a grant they received from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division in 1998, they have expanded the program into the Rome City School System and have written proposals for two area colleges.

Background

In April 1994, the Floyd County Board of Education in northwest Georgia launched a centralized source separation recycling program for a high school in Floyd County. In January 1996, with the help of grant money, a system wide recycling program was launched for seventeen Floyd County schools. The grant enabled the purchase of on-site equipment for the schools as well as a truck from a private partner. Formerly, the Floyd County School System was the primary contributor of waste to the landfill. With the school recycling program, this is no longer true. From January 1996 until November 1996, the number of dumpsters was reduced from 54 to 24. This represented a 50% reduction in waste to the Rome/Floyd County Landfill. This program involves 10,000 students and 1,295 employees. The teachers, students, and staff at each of the schools are responsible for sorting and collecting the waste. The waste is picked up and brought to a sorting center before it is recycled.

Results

During the 1996-1997 school year, Floyd County recycled 311,260 pounds of material and returned $14,723 to the schools for their use.

During the 1998-1999 school year, the Floyd County schools recycled the following:

Material	Pounds Recycled	Pounds/student/year	Dollars Returned
Aluminum	8,451 lbs	0.84 lbs	$15,662
Cardboard	131,810 lbs	13.8 lbs	$11,842
White Paper	61,368 lbs	6.1 lbs	$ 6,494
Mixed Paper	93,225 lbs	9.3 lbs	$ 2,559
Steel Cans	34,220 lbs	3.4 lbs	$ 1,673
TOTALS	329,074 lbs	33.44 lbs	$38,230

In total, the recycling project has diverted just over 1 million pounds from the landfill out of the Floyd County Schools alone. The revenue from the recycled wastestreams has gone back to schools where the principals have used these funds for additional carts and bins, landscaping, basketball courts, and other sports equipment. Materials are now being diverted from the Rome City Schools and the results both in diverted material volumes and dollars returned are expected to be similar per student population as in the county schools.

For More Case studies, see the Resources Section of this Module.

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