Feed the Bin program continues decades of successful waste diversion
Wake County is celebrating 20 years of recycling success with public school and charter school students.
Since 2004, Wake County Solid Waste has funded Feed the Bin, a program that starts with student teams collecting paper, plastic bottles and metal cans from classrooms. Students consolidate those materials in carts, which are emptied once a week and hauled to Sonoco Recycling for sorting. During the 2023–2024 school year, 203 schools participated in Feed the Bin.
“We are very proud of the participation we’ve seen from students across Wake County in the Feed the Bin Program,” said Wake County Commissioner Tara Waters. “It’s amazing that over the past two decades so many young people have taken the initiative to ensure we’re diverting as much waste as we can from the landfill.”
In May 2024, Sonoco Recycling conducted a composition study, which consisted of collecting and storing one week’s worth of materials from Feed the Bin schools. The facility’s employees sorted the material by hand into ten categories, including aluminum, steel, glass and several types of plastic. Each commodity was weighed separately before being baled and shipped to manufacturers.
Wake County Solid Waste requested the study to understand what types of waste were being collected for recycling. The study found that paper is still the most commonly recycled material from schools, comprising approximately 87% of the total 9.3 tons (18,600 lbs.) collected that week! The next most common materials were PETE plastic bottles (often used for water or soda) at 6.8% and steel cans (mostly fruits and vegetables from school cafeterias) at 3%. The great news is that only 1.5% of the materials sorted were nonrecyclable!
Wake County Solid Waste outreach staff will continue to collaborate with teachers, administrators and cafeteria managers to keep food wrappers, plastic bags and other contaminants out of school recycling bins. The county also looks forward to celebrating the 20th anniversary of Feed the Bin with our partners at Wake County Public School System and six charter schools. Find a list of participating schools on our Resources for School Coordinators page.
