Every day each Kansan produces an average of more than 5 lbs of trash - that's 3.2 million tons total each year! Over 40% of this waste is paper and a significant amount of it is produced by schools. Not suprisingly, the main material thrown away by schools is paper which often makes up at least a quarter of the waste a school produces. Likewise, according the U.S. EPA, over 26 million tons of food waste is produced each year in the U.S. much of which comes from school cafeterias.  Many of us think of most products as disposable; however, whether this material is burned, moved, or buried, it must go somewhere to be managed by someone. As landfill space becomes more scarce, it is essential that we reduce the amount of waste we produce. Schools have the opportunity to serve as models of waste reduction and centers of community education.  Students who practice waste reduction and conservation at school are more likely to practice these behaviors at home.