Sustainable School

Waste Prevention & Recycling Drives

NYC Department of Education Electronic Waste Recycling Policy
The NYC DOE has policies in place to handle old computers, monitors, televisions, and more, generated at your school.

NYC Department of Education Book Recycling Policy
Old or unusable soft cover books can be recycled with paper and cardboard. This policy also addresses hard cover books.  

America Recycles Day(Grades K-12)
November 15 is America Recycles Day! Join an event, host an event, take the recycling pledge, and more!

Catalog Canceling Challenge (Grades 4-12)
19 billion catalogs are mailed out every year. All across the country students are canceling catalogs by the hundreds and thousands, find out how to be a part of the effort and start reducing at your school.

Elmer's Glue Crew (Grades K-12)
Collect your classroom's empty glue bottles and glue sticks. Elmer's Glue will help you recycle them and give you a chance to help save the planet while being eligible to win cash prizes!

Getting Tools to City Schools
Every school year, students need new notebooks and binders. Getting Schools to City Schools offers sustainable binders that can be reused every year. The binders are made from 100% recycled materials, and all proceeds from purchases go towards providing NYC schools with free school supplies.

Materials for the Arts (Grades PK-12)
Materials for the Arts gathers supplies from companies and individuals that no longer need them and redistributes them to educators who can reuse them. 

Office Depot: My School Recycles (Grades PK-12)
Earn free supplies for your school by recycling printer cartidges and small electronics! Office Depot will send you the collection boxes and pay for the shipping, this is a great recycling drive to set up in your school's main office.

RePlayGround
Looking for a green design or art project? Everyday recylables and trash can be upcycled into functional products and art. Downlaod DIY projects for the classroom or invite RePlayGround to your event!

Skraptacular
Skraptacular offers unique children's programs based on recycling education for a greener world. Turnkey curriculum invites children of all ages to take an active role in saving the environment and reducing waste, all while having fun.

TerraCycle (Grades PK-12)
TerraCycle is a local, New Jersey company that transforms materials that can't be recycled into useful and cool everyday products. Earn money for your school by collecting juice pouches, candy wrappers, and other materials.

Wearable Collections (Grades PK-12)
Materials like clothing and linens make up almost 6% of NYC's waste, the City throws out 193,000 tons of textiles every year! Host a textiles collection drive at your school and Wearable Collections will come and pick up what you've collected and pay you for the textiles.

Bike Racks

The NYC Department of Transportation
Would you like to see more bike parking available outside your school? Fill out an easy online form to suggest a new location for bike racks by your school.

Gardens

Grow to Learn: The NYC School Gardens Initiative
GTL's goal is to see that every New York City public school student has the opportuniy to get their hands into the soil -- and learn and grow. Apply mini-grant funding, register your school garden, see success stories, and download curriculum for your classroom.

Trees

Million Trees NYC
Join NYC's PlaNYC mission to plant one million new trees throughout the City. Does your school need trees or would you like additional trees? Then fill out the easy form found on their website to set up a site visit. 

Energy

Solar One
Solar One provides innovative, place-based sustainability education focusing on renewable energy and urban environments, including the Green Design Lab and short-term Enrichment Education workshops.

Every year, GrowNYC holds our Annual Spring Plant Sale in order to provide community groups with affordable perennial and annual flowering plants, herbs, ground covers, and vegetables grown by Greenmarket farmers and sold in wholesale quantities.