The Waste Free Schools Program (WFS) for Santa Cruz County is an innovative, collaborative, award-winning program which assists Santa Cruz County schools in institutionalizing on campus recycling, composting and reducing / reusing programs while instilling in the students and school staff a sense of environmental stewardship. The WFS Program is a joint program of The County of Santa Cruz, Ecology Action, Life Lab Science Program, and the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. Composting Resources Online www.compostsantacruzcounty.org

Brook Knoll Elementary students monitor lunchtime recycling.

Program Funders
Funding for the program is provided by County of Santa Cruz, GreenWaste, and the City of Scotts Valley.

Brief History
The WFS was established in September 1997. At that time, there were five participating elementary schools. The WFS is now in its 12th year and through its history has provided support and technical assistance to elementary, middle and high schools throughout the County. The participating schools, with support from the WFS, have succeeded in diverting over 7447.4 tons of material from local landfills and have saved local school districts approximately $504,365 to date. There are currently 36 school in the program.

Participating Schools
The WFS partners and funders would like to express appreciation to the following schools for their participation in and contribution to the WFS. The dedication and motivation shown by administration, staff and students at these schools is truly commendable.

Students at Mar Vista Elementary collect paper recycling from classrooms