Not too long ago I pointed out that the Go Green Initiative, was doing great things to get schools involved protecting the environment. Now there’s word that more than a million students and teachers in the U.S. and around the world are a part of registered Go Green Initiative schools as the movement gathers momentum in the more than 750 schools in 41 states, Europe, Africa, Canada, Indonesia, and Mexico who are participating in one form or another.

Just one of the ways in which Go Green is helping schools make a difference is by providing guidance on waste diversion, and the numbers speak for themselves. With just 20 percent of the participating schools reporting numbers for the period between January 2006 and June 2007, they’ve kept over 5 million pounds of paper, cardboard, aluminum, plastic, cell phones, printer cartridges, and food waste out of the world's landfills.

That means they’ve collectively been able to avoid more than 15,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, save 1.3 billion gallons of water, 208 billion BTU’s of energy, and more than 64,000 cubic yards of space at landfills across the globe.

The amazing thing is that it’s all being done on a volunteer basis, as parents and PTA members are getting involved to help make a difference via the school system in their local communities. As Jill Buck, founder and executive director of Go Green puts it, “We are so excited to see such positive results without mandates or legislation of any kind -so many schools across the globe are involved because they want to be, not because they have to be.”

See also: Roots & Shoots For Youth

via:: press release

Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:

• How to Go Green: School Teachers
• The Go Green Initiative's School of the Week: Westmount Elementary in Alberta, Canada!
• CBS and EcoZone Launch Green Schools Initiative - and the Future of Green Advertising?
• The Go Green Initiative's School of the Week: Groton Central School in Groton, NY!

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