OAK PARK : Recycling Raises Money for Schools

When people in Oak Park recycle, they’re throwing dollars into the community’s schools.

Operating the only drop-off center in the county that financially benefits a school district, Oak Park earns about $1,000 a month from newspapers, aluminum and soda bottles deposited at the Oak Park School District administration building, said Carla Beach, chairwoman of the Oak Park Recycling Committee.

Since the center opened in March, the district’s five schools have shared about $7,000 for field trips and other projects that deal primarily with the environment, Beach said.

The committee, a nonprofit group of volunteers and school and county officials, uses 10% of the money for maintenance and supplies for the center and gives the rest to the schools’ parent organizations. It began working with county officials and the district a year ago to serve as a model for other districts in Ventura County, organizers said.

Children in Oak Park, a community of about 11,000 north of Agoura Hills, will expand the project this month by separating paper used in the classroom.

By separating paper by color, students gain experience in recycling and help cut the schools’ trash bills, Beach said.

“You know this will carry over into the homes,” she said. “I see these children growing up to simply think of this as a matter of course. . . . You only throw away what you can’t use anymore.”

In January, the district intends to introduce a curriculum packet for grades kindergarten through six to deal with air, energy and water conservation, said Victoria Hand, manager of the department’s recycling effort. Such lessons would last about two weeks and offer teachers ideas for introducing conservation ethics into other subjects, she said.

Supt. Sue Hearn said the district also plans to meet with its grounds staff to talk about composting yard waste.

“The whole program has done a great deal to raise the level of awareness of children and their families,” Hearn said. “It has the potential to raise a whole generation of children who are aware of their environment and willing to do something about it.”

The solid waste department is working with other areas in the county, including Bell Canyon and Piru, to attempt similar programs, Hand said.

Oak Park “had a school district that wasn’t too large. It was a perfect place to test out these programs,” Hand said.