Molalla Middle School custodian leads green effort
Molalla River Middle School (MRMS) Head Custodian and Molalla River Chapter 110 Treasurer Karen McElfish gets a hand with tasks from custodian assistant and seventh grade leader, Caden Cox.
Karen McElfish, head custodian at Molalla River Middle School (MRMS) and treasurer of Molalla River Chapter 110 looked at the waste her school was generating and decided to make a change. She knew other schools in the district had recycling programs so why not MRMS?
McElfish teamed up with Sheryl Schiefelbein, a language arts teacher, to get MRMS certified as a green school by Clackamas County.
The school had to follow the county’s process for earning the certification, which started with an audit. After looking at how much and what type of waste MRMS was producing, McElfish zeroed in on the Styrofoam plates and bowls students were using for lunch. She estimated the school was going through about 2,500 a week.
“The big push is to get Styrofoam out,” McElfish said. “Our goal is to be Styrofoam free by 2020.”
McElfish figures it would take an extra half hour a day to have an employee wash the plates and bowls, but “after you do all the numbers, it is still cheaper.”
The school had enough in grant funds from the green certification and proceeds from container recycling to buy reusable plates and bowls. With a hand from the Parent Teacher Association, MRMS installed three drinking fountains that double as refill stations for reusable bottles. The school has also switched to recyclable containers for soap and other liquids.
The next goal in reducing waste at the school is to stop using plastic cutlery. Although a bigger hurdle in many ways, McElfish still plans to work at it. The work she has done so far has paved the way for MRMS to use only reusable plastic plates and bowls starting next school year.
In this rural Portland suburb, it is common to burn trash rather than recycle. McElfish, who used to live in Portland before moving to Molalla, said, “It’s an educational process here with the kids. Just because you’re 30 miles away doesn’t mean you can’t catch up.”
The students have jumped on the bandwagon at school. She hopes the students take what they learn about recycling and apply it at home or in other ways.
If you would like to start or expand a green certification effort at your school, McElfish is willing to help. You can contact her at karen.mcelfish@molallariv.k12.or.us or 503-829-6133 with questions.
Drinking fountains that double as water refill stations were installed in the school to cut down on the number of plastic bottles.
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