Green Glossary

Buy recycled -

Purchasing products made of recycled materials.

Climate change -

Refers to any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer).

Closing the loop -

Purchasing products made with recycled content. Purchasing recycled products pro- motes the continued manufacture of these products, thus completing the recycling loop.

Compost -

The controlled microbial decomposition of organic matter (such as food scraps and yard trimmings) in the presence of oxygen into a humus- or soil-like material.

Contamination -

Foreign material that makes a recyclable or compostable material impure; for instance, food scraps on paper products.

Donation -

Instead of throwing out unwanted or old items, products or materials are given to other organizations in need.

Environmental or ecological footprint -

Your impact on the environment.

Facility walk-through -

A method to assess your schools waste generation practices through interviewing, observation, and estimation.

Fossil Fuel -

Fuel derived from ancient organic remains; e.g. peat, coal, crude oil, and natural gas.

Grasscycling -

Leaving grass clippings on the lawn to decompose and return nutrients back to the soil rather than bagging and disposing of them.

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) -

Gases in the Earth's atmosphere, such as water vapor (H2O), carbon diox- ide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and ozone (O3), that collectively act as a greenhouse gas by preventing too much heat from escaping from the atmosphere.

Hauler -

A garbage collection company that offers complete refuse removal service; many also collect recyclables.

Markets -

A recycling business (i.e., a buyer) or municipal recycling facility that accepts recyclable materials for processing and final sale to an end user, either for its own use or for resale.

Offer versus serve program -

In a cafeteria, employees offer food rather than serving it automatically. By taking only the food that it desired, individuals can help decrease food waste.

On-site composting -

Composting appropriate food wastes and yard trimmings in a compost pile out- side or compost bin indoors.

Records examination -

An examination of records such as purchasing invoices, sales logs, and waste hauling and recycling records to provide insight into your school's waste generation and removal patterns.

Recyclables -

Products or materials that can be collected, separated, and processed to be used as raw materials in the manufacture of new products.

Recycle -

A series of activities that includes collecting recyclable materials, sorting and processing recyclables into raw materials such as fibers, and manufacturing the raw materials into new products.

Recycled content products -

Products manufactured with recovered materials.

Recycling services -

Services provided by companies that recycle collected materials.

Reuse -

Using items again by repairing, donating, or selling them. Reuse is even better than recycling because the item does not have to be reprocessed before it can be used again.

Service-learning -

A method of encouraging student learning and development through active participation in a thoughtfully organized service that is conducted in, and meets the needs of, a community.

Source reduction -

Reducing or eliminating waste at the source before it is generated. Source reduction actually prevents the generation of waste in the first place, so it is the most preferred method of waste management and goes a long way toward protecting the environment. Also known as "waste prevention."

Take-back program -

A program in which products are returned to the manufacturer at the end of the product's life. The manufacturer is responsible for remanufacturing, recycling, or properly disposing of the products once they are returned.

Tracking -

Tools used for monitoring and evaluating waste reduction data.

Vermicomposting -

Using worms to break down organic waste.

Waste assessment -

A tool to help identify and quantify the amount of waste generated.

Waste-free lunch -

A lunch with no waste! Only reusable or recyclable items are used and leftover food is composted.

Waste prevention -

Reducing or eliminating waste at the source before it is generated. Also known as "source reduction."

Waste reduction -

Using source reduction, recycling, or composting to prevent or reduce waste generation.

Waste sort -

Identifying each component of a school's waste and calculating its percentage of the school's total waste generation.

Waste stream -

The total flow of solid waste from homes, businesses, institutions, and manufacturing plants that is recycled, burned, or disposed of in landfills, or segments thereof such as the "residential waste stream" or the "recyclable waste stream."