Scattergood Friends School, located near West Branch, Iowa, has been awarded the 2004 Best School Recycling Program prize by the Iowa Recycling Association (IRA).
Scattergood has been a long-time customer of City Carton Recycling, Iowa City, Iowa.
The recycling company nominated the school for the award, according to a release from City Carton.
Founded by the Society of Friends – also known as Quakers -- in 1890, Scattergood’s program encompasses reuse and composting in addition to traditional recycling, according to City Carton. Items for compost are collected while preparing and cleaning up school meals and recycled paper is used on a daily basis in the classrooms and offices. The school van makes weekly trips to drop off recyclables including glass, metals, paper, bottles and cans to City Carton’s Iowa City plant.
Each of the 80 students and teachers at Scattergood recycles and composts about five pounds of material every week, says City Carton, which adds up to about 10.5 tons of material recycled per year.
In addition to recycling, Scattergood maintains a certified organic farm. The 80-acre farm was established in 1944 and since then has supplied the school with over 3,500 pounds of organic produce, says City Carton.