For Schools

View our NEW Waste Reduction & Recycling Guidebook for Businesses, Schools, and Institutions (2020)

View our 2025 Youth Program List

Mandatory Recycling
Recycling is mandatory in Ulster County. All persons, commercial businesses, schools, institutions, and non-profit organizations are required to source separate the regulated recyclable materials. Ulster County Schools also have annual reporting requirements under the law, to verify their recycling practices. The Agency offers many programs and services in pursuit of our mission. The UCRRA Recycling Outreach Team is available to assist with education and enforcement practices to ensure compliance with the Ulster County Recycling Law. Visit our webpage to learn more about local laws.

Free Posters, Bin Stickers, & More
UCRRA can provide free collection bin stickers for Recycling, Composting, and Trash receptacles. UCRRA also offers free posters to improve recycling or composting sorting stations at your school. The Recycling Outreach Team has many other fact sheets, guidebooks, and media available for schools to engage their students about waste-sustainability. Please contact us to request supplies.

Site Visits & Consultations
The Recycling Outreach Team is available to assist Ulster County schools, restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and other facilities with free and professional consultation services to improve or implement recycling, composting, or waste reduction programs. Are you recycling as much as you could be? Are there other ways to reduce disposal costs by reducing waste? What’s involved with starting a composting program? Our team can help you develop a successful plan to reach your goals and connect you to resources for your projects. If you’d like to request a site visit, please complete a Request Form and our staff will be in touch with you!

Composting Services
Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency’s Partners in Composting Program is available to large food scrap generators such as; commercial businesses, cafés/restaurants, grocers, food manufacturers, office buildings, schools, hospitals/assisted living facilities, special festivals/events, or local municipalities. Partners must become enrolled in our composting service to set up a new composting account. To learn more, please contact Angelina Brandt, Director of Sustainability at APEO@UCRRA.ORG. UCRRA’s Recycling Outreach Team can provide a high level of consultation services about other composting options too!

Tours & Presentations
The Recycling Outreach Team offers many other free educational services that would make great field trips or Earth Day activities for your students. The Recycling Outreach Team can interact with your school in a number of ways, such as: conducting large assemblies, classroom visits, educational presentations and fun games for kids, host a recycling outreach table at school events and more! Please visit our webpage to learn more!

TIPS FOR BETTER SCHOOL RECYCLING

Contact your recycler to make sure you understand the Do’s and Don’ts of your recycling program. Ask for a flyer or Fact Sheet on what can be recycled with the company.
Make sure recycling bins are cleaned regularly and well-maintained.
Provide employees and teachers with a copy of your recycling policy, and send reminder memos for Earth Day, America Recycles Day, etc.
Do not line the recycling bin with plastic bags, especially black plastic bags.
Recycling bins should be clearly labeled for faculty and students. If possible, color-code bins or make sure each recycling bin looks consistent in size, color, etc. and use signs to identify the different bins and what materials can be recycled/composted/discarded. The Recycling Outreach Team offers free recycling/trash/compost stickers for schools!
Make sure recycling bins are always located directly next to trash bins.
Keep a separate bin for deposit containers (water bottles, soda cans, etc) where students and staff have lunch or snacks. Use the funds from the bottle redemption program to support other school recycling programs or donate the funds to a local community group!
Celebrate Earth Day, Compost Awareness Week, and America Recycles Day! Engage the students with the importance of recycling.
Periodically share your recycling stats with your employees/customers to keep them motivated to recycle right!

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

NYSAR3 Green School Grant Program
The New York State Association for Reduction, ReUse, and Recycling has a Green School Grant Program open for public and private schools grades K-12. Your school could become eligible for up to $500 in funds to help establish or support a recycling or composting program! Awards are given twice yearly. These grants are competitive, so ingenuity and initiative is key to conceptualizing your grant proposal.

NYSAR3 College Council Grant Program
NYSAR3 College Council grants are awarded through a competitive application process designed to provide a limited number of awards to New York State Universities and colleges. Up to $10,000 is awarded for projects that focus on source reduction, reuse, or recycling. Each member institution is eligible to apply for project funding up to $5,000. Project proposals that incorporate pollution prevention will be more competitive in the grant evaluation process.

Rethink Food Waste NY – Free Technical Assistance Available!
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation recently announced a new three-year contract with the Center for EcoTechnology (CET) to provide additional technical assistance for those interested in sustainably managing excess food and food scraps, to further reduce the amount of wasted food in New York State. This new initiative provides free food waste solutions for New York colleges and universities, and others. CET will provide customized recommendations to reduce the amount of food wasted, create solutions to realize potential monetary savings to your purchasing costs, and assist in implementing food scraps collection and recycling programs. Assistance is available at no cost to facilities in New York. Learn more about Rethink Food Waste NY and how to get started today.

PepsiCo – Recycle Rally
Recycle Rally is a free nationwide school recycling program designed specifically for K-12 schools. It provides access to a vast array of downloadable resources and incentives. Participating Schools set recycling goals, track progress, and earn reward points for each estimated bottle and can recycled. Participants can redeem reward points for useful supplies or gift cards to help the school. Recycle Rally also hosts contests and promotions that offer opportunities to win additional prizes for encouraging and increasing recycling.

Walmart – Local Community Grants
Eligible applicants include: a K-12 public or nonprofit private school, charter school, community/junior college, state/private college or university (among many other eligible applicant types). Eligible projects may focus on Environmental Sustainability: Preventing waste, increasing recycling, or supporting other programs that work to improve the environment in the local service area (among many other eligible project topics). Local Community grants range from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $5,000. All organizations applying for a Local Community grant must be “CyberGrants FrontDoor” verified prior to applying. Learn more about the Walmart Community Grant Program.

CLYNK
CLYNK is a bottle collection and redemption program; Bag it, Tag it, Scan it, Drop it. Contact CLYNK to see how this program can help your school learn about recycling, encourage recycling efforts, and raise needed funds for important program objectives. For more information, please call the CLYNK to Give dedicated phone line at (866) 228-8454 or visit their website to learn more about CLYNK