Beye School named environmental hero

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Oak Park’s Beye Elementary School was one of 10 recipients of the Illinois Environmental Hero Awards presented by Gov. Pat Quinn.

Each year, the governor honors environmental activists and organizations for helping residents, businesses and institutions make their places more environmentally friendly.

Since 2008, Beye has diverted 2,200 pounds of compostable food waste and 4,000 pounds of liquids from landfills.

Parent volunteers and school staff led the recycling effort among students, resulting in two $10,000 state grant awards.

Beye’s Green Team accepted the award April 1 at the Illinois Sustainable Schools Symposium at the Chicago Agricultural High School.

“Items such as crayons, shoes, chips bags and juice pouches are collected for a company that recycles them into other products,” said Ana Garcia-Doyle, a Green Team parent volunteer.

She also explained the district’s composting program that involved 420 students.

“Sorting bins are set out for students in the lunchroom where they put in nothing but food scraps. The lunchroom is our centerpiece for composting.”

Seven Generations Ahead, a nonprofit organization in Oak Park that promotes ecologically sustainable communities, has worked with School District 97 in the Zero Waste effort.

Garcia-Doyle recently spoke at the Chicago Green Festival at McCormick Place on how the Zero Waste program decreased trash by 55 percent while increasing recycling.

In February, Beye also hosted a tour group from Cincinnati, including representatives from the Keep Cincinnati Beautiful initiative and Sunny Delight beverage factory to observe the school’s Zero Waste setup.

“This entire program is something everyone can get engaged in. We learn to shift habits by doing actually doing things with our own two hands,” she said.