↑ Grab this Headline Animator

Schools from California to Africa are Saving Water Energy the Planet

Schools participating in the Go Green Initiative worldwide are reporting remarkable results when it comes to waste diversion. The Go Green Initiative Association, providing a comprehensive environmental improvement plan to schools across the country, is the first program of its kind to collect these types of diversion numbers.



's8220;We are so excited to see such positive results without mandates or legislation of any kind - to know that so many schools across the globe are involved because they want to be, not because they have to be,'s8221; said Jill Buck, founder and executive director of Go Green. 's8220;It's8217;s so inspiring to see this level of voluntary stewardship.'s8221;



And the numbers speak for themselves. In the 2005-06 school year, Go Green schools saved:



¨   
2 million pounds of paper

¨   
14, 000 pounds of cardboard

¨   
25,000 pounds of aluminum

¨   
48,300 pounds of plastic beverage containers

¨   
1650 cellular phones

¨   
8700 printer cartridges

¨   
202,090 pounds of mixed recyclables

¨   
13,648 pounds of food waste





And that's8217;s just from the 80 schools in five states that reported their waste diversion results.



's8220;Schools nationwide are looking for an environmental stewardship program and GGI provides them with the ability to create, execute, and accomplish a fully comprehensive environmental action plan promoting environmental stewardship,'s8221; according to GGI Board Member and former President of the National Recycling Association, Meg Morris. 's8220;It's8217;s all about behavioral changes, not curriculum.'s8221;



Texas had the highest number of schools - 41 - reporting first quarter diversion results. Texas was closely followed by California, which had 29 schools reporting. Schools in Georgia, New York and Ohio also participated in reporting their results.



Practically speaking, the cumulative diversion results can be interpreted to learn the real environmental impact the reporting Go Green schools are having on the planet. These schools:



¨   
Saved 24,792 trees

¨   
Avoided 17 billion BTUs of energy use

¨   
Avoided 892 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions

¨   
Avoided 7.2 million gallons of water use, due to paper recycling

¨   
Avoided 392,540 gallons of oil use, due to paper recycling

¨   
Kept 21,775 pounds of petroleum products out of our rivers and oceans, due to ink cartridge recycling



's8220;The numbers don's8217;t lie,'s8221; said Anne Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards Association. 's8220;It's8217;s easy to see the beneficial impact Go Green schools are having on the environment.'s8221;



The reporting schools, along with other schools in the Go Green family, are looking forward to a continuous improvement of their waste diversion in 2006 and beyond. 's8220;Our network continues to grow exponentially,'s8221; says Jill Buck, founder and executive director. 's8220;This time last year, our website averaged 350 hits per month. Since March 2006, we have averaged over 3,500 hits per month from all over the world. We's8217;ve already translated into Spanish, and have been asked to translate the program into French and Mandarin.'s8221;



About the Go Green Initiative Association 's8211; The Go Green Initiative is the nation's8217;s fastest growing fully comprehensive environmental action plan for schools. By promoting environmental stewardship on campuses from elementary schools through universities, Go Green works to involve families, businesses and local governments in the common goal of protecting human health through environmental stewardship. Since its inception in July 2002, the Go Green Initiative has been adopted by five State PTA Boards, implemented in 18 states and over 300 schools, along with seven schools in Europe and one school in Africa. More information is available online at www.GoGreenInitiative.org.

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

---

This article has been robotically scanned and tagged by Prnewsnow with the following search tags. No human manipulation of these tags take place.
| Writers | Masterpapers Com | |

---

4877 readers online...

, Local News