Washington-Hoyt students cut waste

Washington-Hoyt Elementary School has an active green-school effort in its second year. “Our back-to-school barbecue which served 700 people was waste free,” said Emmy Murphy, a second-grade teacher. “With the help of Tacoma's Solid Waste division, everything used was either reused, recycled or composted. Absolutely no waste!” 

Washington-Hoyt has an ongoing, student-led program to recycle milk cartons, reduce waste and increase recycling. Efforts last school year resulted in one and a half tons less waste sent to the landfill, 6,000 milk cartons recycled and overall recycling more than tripled. “By double-siding copies and using half sheets of paper when possible, we saved 25,000 sheets of copy paper—we saved money and trees,” said Murphy. This student, parent, staff and community partnership is making a huge difference at Washington-Hoyt.

The school is also having the EnviroChallenger staff come to Washington-Hoyt to give free environmental lessons that are a mix of science, social responsibility and fun for students in second- through eighth-grade classrooms.