Green | Sustainability at Quaker Ridge

Quaker Ridge is proud to support a greener, healthier planet.

Below you'll find details about our current sustainability programs, along with a preview of upcoming initiatives in the works.

Recycle Your Batteries at Quaker Ridge

A battery collection pod is located at the entrance to the Main Office. Staff, students, and families are encouraged to bring in used batteries of all types—including lithium-ion—and drop them in the pod for safe recycling.

Recycling batteries helps prevent harmful chemicals from entering the environment and supports a healthier planet for everyone.

Encouraging Reusables at School

As part of our PTA sustainability efforts, we’re working to reduce single-use items like plastic water bottles, zip-top bags, and disposable utensils at school. One simple way to help? Send your child to school each day with a reusable water bottle, food containers, and utensils.

Filtered water bottle filling stations are available throughout the school, making it easy for students to stay hydrated without needing disposable bottles.

With our lunchroom composting program now in place, we're getting closer to a zero-waste lunch period. The main items still ending up in the trash are things like zip-top bags and chip wrappers—things we can reduce with more reusable options.

Lunchroom Composting & Recycling at Quaker Ridge

At Quaker Ridge, food scraps are no longer treated as trash! During lunch, students place their leftover food into green compost bins lined with compostable bags. These bags are collected daily and sent to an off-site facility, where the scraps are turned into nutrient-rich compost.

We’ve also eliminated plastic forks from the lunchroom! All utensils are now compostable, made from renewable resources like sugarcane, corn, and wheat straw. Just like the food scraps, these eco-friendly items are composted along with the rest of the lunch waste.

This shift not only helps reduce landfill waste—it also supports a healthier environment for our students and our planet.

Recycling Rangers

Our Recycling Rangers program empowers upper-grade students to become leaders in sustainability. Rangers are trained to identify what belongs in the trash, compost, and recycling, and they help guide younger classmates in making the right choices when sorting their lunch waste.

By supporting daily lunchroom composting and recycling efforts, Recycling Rangers play a key role in reducing waste and promoting a greener school community.

Thank you for helping us make Quaker Ridge a greener school!

Questions? Contact Erica Moreira

Environmental Chair 2025-2026