AUSTIN (KXAN) — Local nonprofit Keep Austin Beautiful received a $10,000 grant to launch a program that will help three Austin schools learn how to reduce landfill waste and work toward a zero-waste culture.
Austin Climate Action and Resilience awarded the $10,000 Food Waste Innovation Grant to Keep Austin Beautiful to launch its Zero Waste Heroes program, according to a press release from the city.
Keep Austin Beautiful will collaborate with the Austin Independent School District to provide direct support to three campuses: Overton Elementary, Marshall Middle, and Eastside Early College High School. The city said in the release that the program “aims to reduce landfill waste, engage the school community, and build a lasting culture of zero waste.”
The Zero Waste Heroes program will teach K-12 students “age-appropriate” lessons on things like composting, recycling, and landfill diversion, as well as providing hands-on activities to give the students practical tools for waste reduction, the release said.
Keep Austin Beautiful staff will lead interactive activities to “reinforce learning and inspire lasting behavior change.” Students, teachers, staff, and families will be involved in improving a culture of sustainability across the three campuses.
According to the city, the Climate Action and Resilience Office’s Food Waste Innovation Program “provides a platform for community partners to test and expand creative solutions to prevent, rescue, repurpose, and capture food waste with the goal of keeping more organic material out of landfills.”
“We’re excited to team up with the City of Austin and Keep Austin Beautiful to advance composting and landfill waste diversion at schools,” Darien Clary, Director of Sustainability at AISD, said in the release. “By engaging our students, teachers, and staff to build a campus culture of zero waste, everyday actions turn into lifelong habits that strengthen both our schools and our community.”
Austin Climate Action and Resilience director Zach Baumer said the grant helps empower local organizations to turn creative ideas into real solutions for the city. Rodney Ahart, Chief Executive Officer at Keep Austin Beautiful, said in the release that it also empowers students, teachers, and staff to embrace zero-waste practices that will foster “a lasting positive impact on our schools and neighborhoods.”
This is the second grant awarded through the Food Waste Innovation Program. Last year, The Refugee Collective was awarded the grant and diverted nearly 30 tons of food waste from local restaurants, producers, and their own certified organic farm, according to the city’s release. It also supported compost production for their crops and educational workshops using food scraps for natural dyeing.
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