Recycling Education

The Solid Waste Education Department provides a variety of education programs to Bergen County schools and civic groups. These programs include classroom recycling and waste reduction programs for all grade levels including pre-K. Civic group programs are generally geared towards Senior Citizen Groups, Clubs, Libraries and Environmental Groups. Public education programs include the following:

Classroom Presentations
Presentations are available for pre-k through eighth grade. Each of the classroom programs available has been developed for a specific age group or grade level. Information presented within that program is introduced so those specific educational objectives, consistent with that particular age group, are achieved.

 
Listed below are the educational programs and their targeted grade level:
Roxy the Recycling Raccoon - (Pre-K to Grade 3) Through the use of a raccoon puppet, shadow boxes, a garbage can and a recycling box children experience a visual as well as verbal explanation as to what materials can and should be recycled. Students become "garbage detectives" in order to help Roxy the Recycling Raccoon eliminate "recyclables in the garbage." This program is approximately 1/2 hour long.
 
Wonderful Working Worms - (appropriate for third grade through eighth grade) A traveling composting bin, complete with red worms, which explores the world of composting and examines the difference between worm composting (which can be done indoors) and outdoor composting. Classroom teachers will be able to request worms from this bin after our presentation, in order to begin their own "worm bin." This program ranges from 1/2 to 1 hour in length depending upon the age of the audience.

For further information about these programs or to schedule a program, please contact Angela Bonanno-Lynch, abonanno-lynch@bcua.org, Solid Waste Education Technical Advisor at (201) 807-5821.


Civic Group Presentations
Available to any civic or community-based organization. Programs include a speaker who comes prepared with props and focuses on one of the following topics: Composting, Environmental Shopping or Recycling/Waste Reduction.


Environmental Shopping
A program developed for the average consumer focusing on ways to shop with the environment in mind (i.e. reduced packaging, packaging recyclability, etc.). The program can be done on-site or in a cooperating supermarket.


Education Assistance
Education staff members are also available to assist students, teachers, administrators and/or entire school districts in the areas of:

  • Providing educational material and/or resources on recycling and other solid waste management issues.
  • Providing assistance in the incorporation of recycling and waste reduction education into existing curriculum.
  • Providing assistance in initiating a recycling/waste reduction program or enhancing/improving an existing program for individual schools, organizations and school districts.
For information about any of the education or assistance programs, please contact Angela Bonanno-Lynch, Solid Waste Education Technical Advisor at (201) 807-5821.