Waste Reduction and Recycling
Education Program for King County

Situation
King County’s Cedar Hills landfill accepts garbage from King County outside the City of Seattle. In 1987, King County concluded that waste reduction and recycling education could help extend the life of the landfill. To that end, Triangle Associates was hired to provide a five-year plan for educating all segments of the population, including youth. Triangle continues to work on the project creating, delivering, and evaluating innovative, highly-rated programs for King County schools on waste reduction and recycling. Triangle programs include elementary school assemblies, K-12th grade workshops, curriculum development and program support materials. As the County’s goals and messages have shifted through time, Triangle has modified its education programs to reflect those changes.

Process
Triangle has presented over 1,500 assemblies and thousands of classroom workshops to nearly every elementary school in King County. Elementary workshops reinforce the assembly messages and include topics such as garbology, proper recycling, and habitat stewardship. Pre and post evaluations demonstrate significant learning on the County’s key messages: zero waste of resources, consumption, waste reduction, and the importance of recycling. Secondary workshops add in a level of complexity appropriate to older students and consistently receive high marks from teachers and students alike.

Results
Triangle has developed a successful outreach program, the King County Green Team program, which includes action-based projects, visibility for these projects, and recognition and rewards for class efforts. The Green Team program teaches students how to put what they learn into action. As a result, thousands of students have started worm bins, reused paper, educated other students on recycling, eaten waste free lunches, adopted parks, and completed other school projects that range from simple to major change.