On the road to Zero Waste

On December 5, 2019, Country Day School hosted an international delegation of experts in Zero Waste, to support the school and youth from around the region to embrace and achieve Zero Waste.  The delegation conducted a school-wide Zero Waste audit and the preliminary results indicated that CDS was achieving at least a 56 percent diversion rate, meaning that 56 percent of all the discarded materials generated on the campus—by students, administration, landscaping, and cafeteria operations—are already being diverted from landfills, thanks to existing recycling and composting programs.

Since 2020, a number of zero waste initiatives have been implemented increasing the school’s diversion rate to 67%.  Our goal is to continue increasing this number in the years to come and act as a pilot project for other schools in Costa Rica and around the world.  Some of the initiatives that we will be sharing with our CDS community include on-site composting of yard clippings and food waste, organic garden beds, beach cleanups, eco-brick gardens, book supplies, and donations to our sister school Colegio Técnico de Turrubares, among others.   For more information and how to get involved or implement zero waste initiatives in your business and community, please contact Elena Mateo and Annemarie Sauter, Directors of Zero Waste Costa Rica at emateo@zerowastecostarica.org