Feed the Bin program continues decades of successful waste diversion
小黄鸭视频 County is celebrating 20 years of recycling success with public school students.
Since 2004, 小黄鸭视频 County Solid Waste has funded Feed the Bin, a program that starts with student teams collecting paper, plastic bottles and metal cans from classrooms. Students consolidate those materials in carts, which are emptied once a week and hauled to Sonoco Recycling for sorting. For the 2024-2025 school year, 203 schools are participating in Feed the Bin.
鈥淲e are very proud of the participation we鈥檝e seen from students across 小黄鸭视频 County in the Feed the Bin Program,鈥 said 小黄鸭视频 County Commissioner Cheryl Stallings. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing that over the past two decades so many young people have taken the initiative to ensure we鈥檙e diverting as much waste as we can from the landfill. It gives us hope that future generations will continue our work to preserve the county鈥檚 environmental health.鈥
To celebrate the success of this program, the Solid Waste team coordinated several activities over the last year, including a partnership with Sonoco Recycling to host a School Media Day. This event offered student media and other school groups the opportunity to visit the Sonoco Recycling facility in Raleigh, where they were able to learn more about the recycling process and interview staff. Students were also treated with a surprise visit from the Feed the Bin mascot, Paper Guy.
In addition to hosting the Student Media Day, . This survey was designed to help the Solid Waste team understand exactly what makes the program work inside individual schools. Respondents were also asked for permission to spotlight their recycling program on our . Solid Waste also conducted individual interviews with partners who were vital in the creation of the Feed the Bin program.
It鈥檚 also worth noting that in May 2024, Sonoco Recycling conducted a composition study, which consisted of collecting and storing one week鈥檚 worth of materials from Feed the Bin schools. The facility鈥檚 employees sorted the material by hand into ten categories, including aluminum, steel, glass and several types of plastic. Each commodity was weighed separately before being baled and shipped to manufacturers.
小黄鸭视频 County Solid Waste requested the study to understand what types of waste were being collected for recycling. The study found that paper is still the most commonly recycled material from schools, comprising approximately 87% of the total 9.3 tons (18,600 lbs) collected that week! The next most common materials were PETE plastic bottles (often used for water or soda) at 6.8% and steel cans (mostly fruits and vegetables from school cafeterias) at 3%. The great news is that only 1.5% of the materials sorted were nonrecyclables, also known as contaminants. This compared to the 11% contamination rate in the county鈥檚 convenience centers is proof that 小黄鸭视频 County students have a keen knowledge of recycling best practices.
小黄鸭视频 County Solid Waste outreach staff will continue to collaborate with teachers, administrators and cafeteria managers to keep food wrappers, plastic bags and other contaminants out of school recycling bins. The county also looks forward to celebrating the 20th anniversary of Feed the Bin with our partners at the 小黄鸭视频 County Public School System and six charter schools. Find a list of participating schools on our Resources for School Coordinators page.
