When you take the Great Schools, Clean Streams pledge you promise to do your part to keep our waterways (and your home plumbing!) clean— and you help schools win funds for school projects or supplies.
Earth Day is coming up, so I know you’re being assaulted on all sides with little steps you can take to save the earth. This step really is little: it only takes a moment and you’ll not only help keep local waterways clean, you’ll keep your plumbing clear and potentially win your local school some funds.
Let me explain.
New Castle County is trying to stop untreated sewage from spilling from the sewer system into local streams and rivers. One cause of these spills is buildups of cooking fat, oils, and grease in sewer pipes— known as FOG. When residents dump FOG down their kitchen sink, it builds up and eventually clogs sewer pipes, causing backups into homes and spills into local waterways. Yuck!
The Great Schools, Clean Streams pledge just asks you to dispose of used cooking oils, fats, and grease by putting them in the trash rather than down the drain. Then, it asks you to choose what school you’d like to assign your pledge to. You can only pledge once per email address, and the pledge period ends April 20th.
The schools that collect the most pledges get cash prizes from the New Castle Department of Special Services. Public/charter and private schools will each have a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner.
- 1st place: $1,750
- 2nd place: $1,250
- 3rd place: $750
There will also be ten honorable mentions, each receiving $250 apiece. These will be allocated between public/charter and private schools without discrimination.
It’s a nice way to support your local school, but it’s also a reminder that our actions do impact our collective environment, and also OMG not to put things in your pipes that you will regret. A life lesson you don’t want to learn the hard way, trust me.