Park Ridge-Niles District 64 students sorted end-of-year supplies for reuse and donated surplus materials to a Melrose Park school.

The annual Green Locker and Desk Clean-Out, which has run in prior years, asked students across all D64 schools to examine their supplies through a three-step process before throwing anything away, according to the district. Students identified items they could save for the upcoming school year, recycled paper products like folders and composition notebooks, and set aside gently used supplies for donation.

D64 packed the surplus supplies and sent them to Mannheim Middle School in Melrose Park, a sixth- through eighth-grade school in Mannheim School District 83 that serves 768 students. The district said the donation put resources directly into the hands of students who need them.

The clean-out is one of two sustainability efforts D64 highlighted on Tuesday, Sept. 8. The district also announced that Emerson Middle School's 8th-grade promotional dance went waste-free.

Organizers replaced single-use sports drinks and water bottles with large beverage carafes and compostable paper cups, saving more than 250 plastic bottles from the waste stream. Two waste-sorting stations separated landfill, recycling and compost items. Parent volunteers used tongs to pull out misplaced items.

The dance committee partnered with G & G Party Decor and Styling to prioritize rental decorations, reuse balloon elements and cut back on disposable materials.

Both initiatives are tied to the D64 Green Team, a parent volunteer group that helps organize sustainability programs across the district. D64 is recruiting new members through an online survey linked on its website.

Parents interested in joining the Green Team can find the survey through the district's announcement page.