CCC Continues Partnerships with EcoSchools and Dairy Farmers of Canada

CCC believes in the importance of environmental and recycling literacy. To this end, CCC is pleased to continue its support of school education programs. Two of these programs are featured below.

EcoSchools

This year, Carton Council of Canada and EcoSchools Canada continued working together to support effective beverage carton recycling through activities including a carton recycling contest, adding new data collection questions to the Sort Your Waste action, and ongoing data collection through the Conduct a Waste Audit action.

As part of the Conduct a Waste Audit action, students collect, measure, and visually assess 24 hours of waste generated at their school. During the visual waste audit, students examine the contents of each bag with a particular focus on specific categories of waste and then estimate the percentage for each category.

Unfortunately, this year the audit reported lower capture rates for milk cartons (47% recycled vs. 61% previously) and drink boxes (42% recycled vs. 66% previously). Some of these results can be attributed to the expansion of the program nationally and the onboarding of new schools (e.g., 57% of participating schools had not completed the action last year). It is hoped that by continuing to educate schools about proper carton recycling practices, we will see an improvement in carton recycling rates.

Also, through its partnership with EcoSchools, CCC proudly launched Carton Recycling School Grants this past October. The grants are designed to help schools enhance their recycling systems and significantly reduce waste sent to landfills.

A total of nine grants are available and include one grant of $1,000 and eight grants of $500. To be eligible for a grant, school teams must:

• Ensure that food and beverage cartons are accepted as part of the school’s recycling program
• Provide a clear plan outlining the recycling system project
• Describe or show evidence of the school’s need for a new or improved recycling system
• Highlight how students will be involved in planning and implementing the project

Grant applications are being accepted until December 20, 2024.

Dairy Farmers of Canada

Recycling Right with Milk is a school-lead initiative that encourages students to work together to develop better recycling habits, while supporting the habit of drinking milk. The program, supported by CCC as well as Recycle Everywhere is offered to Manitoba schools and focuses on leadership, sustainability, and nutrition.

Schools are encouraged to establish a “Moo Crew” to support the distribution of milk and the appropriate recycling of milk cartons. Students are offered the opportunity to demonstrate responsibility while learning about milk as a nutritious beverage choice and about the importance of recycling cartons.