Michelle Arquillo's Page

Your organization

Urban Community School

Briefly describe your organization's products/services and the size of operations.

Urban Community School, founded in 1968, is a non-graded elementary school serving 430 students from preschool (age three) through the eighth level. UCS exists to provide a quality, individualized, Catholic/Christian education to children living in the Near West Side neighborhoods of Cleveland, particularly to those who, otherwise, might not have access to such an education.

Your website

http://www.urbancommunityschool.org

What attracts you to the concept of zero waste?

Not only is it a cost saving measure, it is a great way for us to teach our students about social responsibility as well as environmental science.

What is your organization doing to eliminate waste?

Currently we have a few students who collect recyclables once a week and deposit them in the City of Cleveland recycling container on our lot.

What motivated you to join ZeroWasteNEO.org?

Learn best practices, Other

What do you need to learn to be able to take action towards Zero Waste?

A ton! First, I need to learn what we are currently placing in the trash that is recyclable. I then need to find ways to reduce or eliminate non-recyclable waste. One of the biggest challenges I forsee is the disposable styrofoam trays that the lunch program uses every day.

Please describe your organization's waste reduction goals (i.e. zero waste by 2019).

Currently we do not have any goals set. We are in the infancy stages of initiating a sustainability plan.

If your organization has set a zero waste goal, how do you plan to reach that goal?

N/A