Students for Zero Waste Week

This year's Students for Zero Waste Week campaign will be taking place between March 3 - April 25, 2025. To participate, please complete the registration form.

Students are inviting their local communities to "Go Green and Think Blue" by joining them in the annual Students for Zero Waste Week campaign. During this campaign, students focus on reducing land-based waste in order to protect the health of local marine environments. These young leaders are raising awareness of how various types of waste affect the health of local watersheds, national marine sanctuaries, and the ocean. In addition to solid waste, some schools are looking at ways to reduce their energy and water use on campus with hopes of raising awareness of how increased energy and water use also impacts the health of the ocean.

All PreK-12 schools are invited to participate in this free campaign! Interested schools should choose one week (or more) during the campaign period to designate as their Zero Waste Week.

What is "Students for Zero Waste Week"?

Students for Zero Waste Week is a school-driven, week-long campaign to reduce waste on school campuses and within local communities with the intention of moving towards zero waste.
Students for Zero Waste Week is a great opportunity to raise school and community awareness about how we all can reduce waste and be better ocean stewards!
Students for Zero Waste Week is a separate campaign from the Ocean Guardian School program. Any K-12 school is welcome to participate in Students for Zero Waste Week without having to participate in the Ocean Guardian School program. In addition, Ocean Guardian Schools are NOT required to participate in Students for Zero Waste Week.

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Zero Waste Week at your school

Choose the best week for your school to participate during the campaign period to designate as your Zero Waste Week.
The extent to which your school is involved is up to your school!
Students and their communities are encouraged to share their progress on social media using #zerowasteweek.

Zero Waste Week Challenge

Students for Zero Waste Week invites you to take the Zero Waste Week Challenge to reduce waste at your school, in your community and at home. The list below is not complete. Can you think of other ways to reduce waste and help keep our ocean clean?

Step up your recycling and composting efforts
Replace single use condiment packets with bulk dispensers
Use cloth napkins instead of paper
Power down your computers and other electronic devices when not in use Refuse products containing microbeads
Replace single use plastic items (such as drink bottles, sandwich baggies, snack bags, spork packs, etc.) with reusable alternatives

Students for Zero Waste Week encourages participating schools to use Litterati to help document litter hotspots and identify the most common brands and products that make up litter profiles.

Students for Zero Waste Week was established in 2013 by eight schools in and around the Carmel River watershed in central California. These eight schools are part of NOAA's Ocean Guardian School program, a program funded through the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries which encourages students to become "guardians" of the ocean through stewardship-based projects on campus and in their communities.

For more information, contact Alyssa Leadingham at sanctuary.education@noaa.gov.