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Custodian Sandra Galicia helps students separate and recycle lunch trash on Monday at Mission Estancia Elementary School in Carlsbad. BILL WECHTER • U-T

November 19, 2012_Encinitas, California_USA_|Fourth grader Julia Durkin, left, reaches to deposit some fruit into a recycle bucket brought to the lunch table by lunch supervisor Julie Allen, right, to assist with the students recycling their lunch trash at Mission Estancia Elementary School in Carlsbad.| BILL WECHTER

Some schools in Encinitas and Carlsbad have been able to drastically reduce the amount of trash they’re sending to a landfill and also cut disposal costs as part of a recycling effort that has grown over the past couple of years.

Students at Encinitas Union School District’s nine campuses have been sorting their trash this year with the help of large, specially designed carts. The effort has cut the number of trash bags that some campuses fill each day from as many as 18 down to two, said Camille Sowinski, who helps oversee the effort for the district.

“We have really, really reduced a lot of trash,” she said.

This has saved the district an estimated $30,000 in fees for Dumpsters and other trash-related costs, she said.

Superintendent Tim Baird said he considers it the most effective recycling program he has ever seen.

The effort “has been incredibly successful at reducing waste that would normally end up in our trash cans and teaching students about the benefits of recycling,” he said.

The students sort their trash into compostable food, recyclable materials and trash. Students at all of the district’s schools attended assemblies about what should go into each bin.

Most of the students already are recycling at home, so it makes sense to have them do it at school, too, Sowinski said.

Students at Mission Estancia Elementary School said Monday that they didn’t mind sorting their trash.

“I think it’s a really good idea,” said Taylor Evans, a sixth-grader. “All of the students here seem to love it.”

Once the trash is sorted, some of the food waste goes into a compost bin to be eaten by worms, while cans and bottles are saved to be sold to recyclers.

“It’s just wonderful for the kids in so many ways,” said Mission Estancia Principal Sharmila Kraft. “They are actually involved with not only taking care of the Earth, but also becoming financially literate.”

The work started last year as a pilot program at La Costa Heights Elementary School.

A few schools had similar lunchtime programs even before that, including Paul Ecke Central Elementary and Olivenhain Pioneer Elementary.

It’s part of a bigger push to conserve energy, discourage waste and increase the use of reusable energy in the district. The district has a “green team” of parents and educators who oversee the effort.

“It’s a nice resource for sharing ideas and bringing new projects to school,” said Harriett Davey, a parent who’s on the team.

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