This article is one of the winning submissions from the first annual New York Post Scholars Contest, presented by Command Education.
New York City schools produce over 40,000 tons of waste annually. That’s approximately the weight of 3,018 MTA buses. To combat this problem, the NYC Department of Sanitation teamed up with the Department of Education and GrowNYC to create the Zero Waste Schools program in 2016.
According to Pascal Hannou, a contact at DSNY, every NYC school will be participating in the program by the end of 2024. Despite positive intentions and a seemingly sound plan, interviews contradicted claims of the program’s effectiveness.
The Zero Waste Schools program provides schools with a 28-page handbook that details ways to minimize their environmental impact. It outlines key information such as how to separate waste, when DSNY will collect it, and how school faculty can ensure the program’s success.
A major component of the initiative is mandated color-coded bins for sorting waste: black for garbage; blue for hard plastic and metal; green for paper; and brown for food scraps.
At The Clinton School in Manhattan, which has participated in the program since its inception, color-coded bins are ubiquitous. Students attempt to sort their waste, oftentimes making it fun with a basketball shot. Unfortunately, despite the rainbow of bins, the initiative is ineffective.
This is especially apparent in the Clinton cafeteria. Angel Arenas, a cafeteria worker, noted that staff prepares more than 350 meals daily, but students over-order and waste uneaten food. Arenas also stated unserved food simply “gets thrown out,” pointing to a black garbage can full of freshly prepared food.
Furthermore, regardless of the presence of specially marked bins, a school custodial worker who requested to not be named said that “nine out of ten times waste is not separated” correctly. The initial separation of waste is imperative, as any cross-contamination “turns it all into garbage.” He said, “we try our best,” but the high volume is too difficult for a small custodial team to separate.
This is consistent across schools. The latest NYC Waste Characterization Report found that the majority of school waste ended up in landfills, but could have been diverted with proper separation.
The same custodial worker noted a further shortcoming in the program: when “the garbage trucks come, they mix everything together.” This contradicts DSNY’s claim that they always keep waste separate. Additionally, food waste is required to be set out in special brown bins, which according to custodial staff are cost prohibitive for Clinton and other schools. These bins are often stolen off the street, he added.
In addition to these issues, the Zero Waste Schools program could publicize itself better. When asked what the program was, multiple high school students said they had no idea. “I don’t think that program is active,” said a staff member who wished to remain anonymous. This is likely because Clinton does not have the required sustainability coordinator, who according to the Zero Waste Schools handbook, would work to spread awareness and ensure program compliance.
With waste being a major contributor to climate change, large institutions such as NYC public schools should be obligated to reduce their environmental footprint. Moreover, an effective program could work to inspire youth to be more environmentally conscious, building a brighter future.
The Zero Waste Schools program is in need of an overhaul by schools, DSNY and lawmakers. There is clearly little oversight of the program as schools are commingling waste and not following other program requirements, such as maintaining sustainability coordinators.
According to the latest NYC Waste Characterization Report, as much as 86% of school waste could be diverted from landfills. More must be done to encourage school participation in the Zero Waste initiative, monitor the separation of waste and ensure DSNY appropriately collects the separate streams. With hope for change, Arenas notes, “I wish they were having these conversations.”
An 11th-grader at The Clinton School in Manhattan, Kluger hopes to own his own business or become a policy expert or a journalist—or all three.