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Texas Disposal Systems: building a greener future >>>

Not so long ago school was all about the three Rs: reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic. (If you find that funny, thank a teacher). These days students, teachers, parents, all of us, need to go back to school and study three different Rs: Reclaim. Recycle. Repurpose.

That first R is pretty simple really. RECLAIM is making the best use of what's already there: if you can use one napkin instead of a different one for every time you get sauce on your face 'cause you missed your mouth — or when you get your older brother's cool jeans when he grows out of them. (We'll get to the second R in a second.) The third one, REPURPOSE is what it sounds like. Cut the bottom of an old 2-liter soda bottle and use it as a bird feeder. Fill the individual "cups" in an egg carton with a little soil and sprout plants. Use an old lawnmower engine to power a go-cart or a scooter.

The middle R takes a little more effort. There are really two parts to it.

RECYCLING is taking things that we've used for one purpose and reusing the raw materials they're made from for a different purpose. Old plastic bottles can become shiny new kayaks. Old glass can become new jewelry. For details, jump to recycling.

COMPOSTING is kind of like recycling for dirt. It means taking some of the food we'd normally toss in the trash and saving it to make rich new soils and mulches to help grow trees and gardens. For more, jump to composting.

That's what GREEN SCHOOL SOLUTIONS is all about. At Texas Disposal Systems we've been working to find ways to apply the new three Rs to the thoughtful use of the day-to-day materials that make our lives easier, richer, happier ... and more sustainable. It makes great sense to partner with our schools so we can address the issues on two fronts by:
- developing practical ways to collect and re-process lots more of the things we used to throw away, and
- putting our heads together to come up with innovative solutions as we move into the future.

If this all starts looking like a giant circle — where we all pull stuff out of the trash and it comes back to us as new stuff or new dirt — you get the picture. At Texas Disposal Systems we pick up the recyclables and organic waste and get them prepared for their new lives. We'll also keep track of how much material your school keeps out of the trash and put the results on this website.