Maintenance

Maintenance is an essential component of the Guide to Greening Your School because your maintenance department is on the frontlines of so many of the issues that affect a school’s impact on the environment. For example, maintenance staff is responsible for the toxic effects of the cleaning products they use, for a significant portion of how your school’s purchasing policy is implemented, for the environmental effects of pesticide use, and for how efficient your water and energy uses are.

The Center for Environmental Education is developing guidance to offer your maintenance staff as they work on these issues. We also aim to provide you with resources that will help you maintain environmentally friendly systems and processes you adopt in your school. Becoming a green school is not a one-time event. Making many of the changes we advocate for in our Guide to Greening Your School will require on-going maintenance strategies for you to continue being green. As we research ways to help you, please reference the links for these topics…

Water conservation-- Water Efficiency Checklist for your school facility managers.

Transportation efficiency-- EPA’s Clean School Bus USA website offers guidance in upgrading or “retrofitting” your buses and when to replace the old buses in the fleet.

Smart purchasing decisions-- Responsible Purchasing Network tells you what to consider when making environmentally friendly purchasing decisions for maintenance department items such as cleaners, lights, and paint.

Hazardous waste maintenance strategies—Take the Hazard out of Hazardous Waste

Recycling operations maintenance—Recycling Works: Facilities & Maintenance.