Discover Recycling is an annual event to support recycling education and projects in our schools. The 7th Annual Discover Recycling Event for Teachers was held on Saturday, September 24th, 2011. The day included a bus tour of Oahu's major recycling processing facilities, followed by a “Zero-Landfill” lunch, and a showcase of City recycling resources for schools.  Discover Recycling 2012 is tentatively set for September 2012.

Discover Recycling invites Oahu educators to learn more about the in’s and out’s of recycling, and encourages sustainable recycling projects on Oahu school campuses. The 2011 event featured a morning Tour de Trash of some of Oahu’s significant waste-processors, including Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill; the H-POWER waste-to-energy plant, where trash from residential and commercial collection is processed; RRR Recycling Services, where recyclables collected in blue carts are sorted; and Hawaiian Earth Products, where green waste from the green carts is composted.  Upon their return to Kapolei Hale, participants enjoyed a “No-Landfill” Lunch, demonstrating waste reduction, recycling and food waste composting.  Participants recycled their food waste with worms during an onsite worm-composting demonstration with Waikiki Worm Company.  During afternoon presentations, teachers learned more about resources the City has to offer schools to support their recycling projects, including classroom activity books and recycling education professionals available to help schools with their recycling programs, including Kokua Hawaii Foundation, The Green House Hawaii, Waikiki Worm Company, and Synagro Hawaii. Teachers went home with bags stuffed with recycled goodies and minds filled with trashy thoughts.

The Discover Recycling Fair has been the largest and most comprehensive recycling education event in the state. Check out the photo highlights from past events.  The most recent events engaged our teachers and student leaders in educational tours and workshops. Some of our past events were much larger fairs involving thousands of kids attending on class field trips to the Blaisdell Arena. Moving forward, the annual events will continue to provide an educational program for teachers, giving you easy access to all the recycling educational resources the City has to offer.

The Discover Recycling event is free for Oahu educators, who may invite up to three student leaders to accompany them.  To keep informed about the next annual Discover Recycling event, subscribe to Wasteline, the bi-monthly newsletter all about opala!