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Duchesne waste audit improves 11%

Duchesne waste audit improves 11%
  • Burt Street News
Hannah Miller

Media Contact

Hannah Miller

319-610-8538

hannahmiller@duchesneacademy.org
 

Duchesne waste audit improves 11%

 

(Omaha, Neb.)- Duchesne Academy’s efforts in sustainability show significant improvement after the latest campus-wide waste audit.

 

The audit measured how much waste was made between April 18-25th and the diversion rate of that waste. The diversion rate is the percentage of total waste that is diverted from the landfill. The audit found Duchesne diverted 82.4% of waste from the landfill. This is an improvement from November’s audit, which had a diversion rate of 71.5%.

 

“This improvement can only happen because the Duchesne community has committed themselves to disposing things responsibly and properly,” Assistant Principal and Sustainability Coordinator Eric Krakowski said.

 

The goal is to achieve “Zero Waste” status, which is a 90% diversion rate. Duchesne achieved this in November 2022. The next waste audit will be conducted in fall of 2024.

 

Duchesne has been awarded several accolades for its efforts in sustainability through the years including ongoing EPA Energy Star Certification, a “Green Star Award” from the Ignatian Solidarity Network in 2017, the 2019 G7 Eco-Citizen Contest from the French Embassy in the US, and was named a US Department of Education Green Ribbon School in 2020.

 

Some of the school’s efforts in sustainability include campus-wide participation in recycling and composting, installation of solar panels, high-efficiency heat pumps, and LED lighting. Duchesne was the first school in Omaha to produce renewable energy on campus. Each class also has a sustainability requirement in the curriculum.

 

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About Duchesne Academy

Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart was founded in 1881 in Omaha, Nebraska. Duchesne is an all-girls, independent, Catholic high school. Located in historic Midtown, the campus is also home to a co-educational Preschool. Duchesne Academy is a member of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States and Canada.

  • Sustainability