Welcome to National Green Week Waste-Free Snacks waste reduction challenge where together schools across the nation will try to reduce their combined snack trash by ½ million lbs in just 5 days! This is not as daunting as it may seem. There are many small changes you can implement at your school to achieve this goal. For example, did you realize that according to USA Today, the average American creates 3.5 pounds of trash each day? Small changes like packing snacks, drinks and lunches in reusable containers can lead to big improvements for the planet. Nearly 750,000 students from 1,000's of schools in nationwide participated in National Green Week 2010's Waste-Free Snacks challenge, effectively eliminating 300,000 lbs of trash in just 5 days.

If your school cannot participate during the designated time period of Feb. 7-11, 2011 then choose your own week before April 18, 2011.

Waste-Free Snacks Overview
Students nationwide will participate in the largest school based waste-reduction program in history by pledging to carry their drinks and snacks in reusable containers for a week. The combined participating school totals are tallied and posted on the GEF website on Earth Day 2011 (April 22).

Schools participating in the Waste-Free Snacks program are encouraged to take the following steps to ensure your school's success in the waste reduction portion of National Green Week 2011. Schools across the nation will be providing their waste reduction numbers via GEF online surveys to add to the nationwide goal.

Waste Free Snacks Weigh-in Procedures:
The week prior to National Green Week 2011 or a week prior to your chosen time period:

1. Prior to informing your student population and their families of this program it is best to have an accurate assessment of actual classroom snack trash weight totals ahead of time (i.e. one to two days prior to sending the parent letter home). GEF has found that if families are alerted to the program prior to the first weigh-in then it leads to inaccurate pre-weights (as we found that families starting using reusable containers upon learning about the program). Therefore, please assign a group of student green keepers to collect all classroom snack trash and weigh prior to the parent letter going home. Please view the pre and during National Green Week weigh-in procedures listed below for all the details on how to accomplish this simple, yet eye opening task. Read on for next steps.
   
   
2. Watch the Fisher Green School Experiment video with your students and staff so that they can understand and get excited about how the program works. (Please note that IXG Green Packs were used at Fisher Elementary School however they are not a requirement of this program, any reusable containers brought from home can be utilized and are encouraged). If you are interested in IXG Green Packs, they are significantly discounted for National Green Week 2010.
   
   
3. Make sure that your teachers are on board as they will need to make sure that only snack trash is collected for the day(s) of your pre-weight measures. Educate teachers by emailing them this customizable letter to let them know of their role in the program along with the lessons and activities that are available to them.
   
   
4. Inform the families of your students by using this customizable letter to educate them on the program and their role in providing waste-free snacks. Students and parents should be reminded that all snacks and drinks brought in during this week are trash-free with the exception of fruit remains i.e. apple cores, banana peels, etc. Therefore, snack packaging, disposable bottles, juice packs, and other trash is strongly discouraged. This letter explains that families should plan ahead and shop early for bulk items to prepare for the Waste-Free Snacks program at your school
   
   
5. Assign a group of children (Green Keepers of the week) to provide leadership in weighing snack trash after the program begins.
   
   
6. Inform custodial personnel that snack trash will be separated out and measured once during the week prior to your Green Week and once during your National Green Week or your schools chosen Green Week up until April 18, 2011.
   
   
7. Snack trash for the entire school should be weighed on a medical scale and recorded by students. Students should also photograph the pre-weigh-in trash for comparison with next week's weigh-in (and to post on the National Green Week community site). Actual trash does need not be kept until end of National Green Week. Instead GEF recommends that schools create a visual simulation of actual trash by stuffing trash bags with recyclables to same size as real trash size.
   
   
8. Extrapolate your daily snack trash for one week based on your single day weigh-in or continue to weigh-in daily.
   
   
9. Optional: Use this downloadable press release to inform your local community press of your participation in National Green Week and invite them to cover your weigh-in.
   
   
10. Optional: Request support from your local city/town mayor or town manager utilizing the letter to town/city officials. Request that town employees pack waste-free lunches during National Green Week.

Please visit the National Green Week Curriculum section for a host of standards based lessons, books, activities, posters and experiments to optimize your schools participation in the program. Here you will find a step-by-step week long series of waste reduction lessons for each grade. In addition, five days of grade level, theme-based lesson plans and coordinating printable posters are available free to registered participants.

Let’s continue to empower students to make a difference by making good green choices in their own lives. If you could please help GEF spread the word on the National Green Week program with other teachers and schools in your communities by forwarding this link, we would appreciate it!

Thanks to the school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community eco-enthusiasts that will make this program a memorable experience!

Please visit the Green Thumb Challenge, Green Energy Challenge, and Green Team Projects!

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