Parkway School District Goes Green With Blue Skies

Oct. 11, 2012 - PRLog -- ST. LOUIS, MO – The Parkway School District has adopted a composting policy - with the help of Blue Skies Recycling - in an effort to increase the district’s sustainability. Utilizing a $20,000 grant from the St. Louis Jefferson Solid Waste Management District, six schools will replace Styrofoam lunch trays with 100% recycled paper trays that are 100% compostable.

The pilot program will be launched in six schools in the north area of the district: Bellerive Elementary, Craig Elementary, McKelvey Elementary, Ross Elementary, Parkway Northeast Middle School, and Parkway North High School. These schools will be composting their recycled paper trays using Blue Skies Recycling’s organic recycling service. According to Erik Lueders, Parkway’s sustainability and purchasing manager, the district goes through about 700,000 Styrofoam trays annually, and this pilot program should reduce that number by about 25%. Not only will the program cut down on the amount of trays entering the landfill, but the paper trays will be composted, along with uneaten food, to create nutrient-rich soil for use across the country.

“We’re very excited to help the Parkway School District increase its sustainability through this pilot program,” said Blue Skies Founder Harry Cohen. “Not only will it have a beneficial impact on the environment, but it will teach children that recycling is very important to the health of the earth. Hopefully, we can expand this program to the entire school district in the years to come.”

Parkway Central High School junior, Julia Goldman, will also present a case to the Parkway Board of Education in April 2013, along with a fellow student, in an effort to expand the program to the entire district over the next couple of years.

About Blue Skies Recycling
Blue Skies Recycling specializes in organics, single-stream & glass recycling solutions. We’re the premier disposal service company servicing our hometown of St. Louis, MO as well as Louisville, KY and beyond. Blue Skies Recycling can customize a program to fit your organization's needs - big or small - for commercial, industrial and institutional recycling. Visit our website at http://www.blueskiesrecycling.com.