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Going Green: Back to School, Eco-Friendly Style –
By Hana Haatainen Caye
New pencils. New notebooks. New backpacks. New clothes. Don’t you just love the beginning of a new school year? But did you ever stop to think about how much waste each new round of education brings? Not to mention the expense! Maybe there’s a better, greener way to prepare.
Bare Necessities
Greening up your school year starts with changing your mindset. Going back to school does not mean having to buy a bunch of new stuff. Before you hit the mall, gather the kiddos and take inventory. If Betsy only used one-third of the paper in last year’s notebooks, rip out those pages and let her use the same ones this year. What about the backpacks? Talk to your kids about this and you’ll find they really don’t need a new one every year. And when it comes to wardrobe, pick up a new outfit for the first day of school, then stick with last year’s clothes, if they still fit.
Once you determine what supplies you need to buy, think about what exactly you are purchasing. Is it made from sustainable materials? Are there environmentally friendly options available? Look for pencils made from recycled material and sold in recyclable packaging. Buy refillable pens. Did you know that over 1.6 billion pens are thrown away in the U.S. every year? When you use refillable pens, you have a more convenient option that won’t contribute to wastefulness.
Myobon.com provides a nice assortment of reasonably priced, environmentally friendly school supplies, including pencils made from recycled newspaper, notebooks made with sugarcane paper, PVC-free binders built from compressed and recycled cardboard and much more.
There and Back Again
While your parents and grandparents may have walked to school (uphill both ways), this isn’t as safe an option as it was back in their time. In more recent decades, being chauffeured to school became the norm for an entire generation of children. Over time, riding the bus somehow became uncool or inconvenient, so parents succumbed to the whining and started dropping off and picking up their kids, an impractical scenario both economically and ecologically. Your taxes already pay for the transportation, so why not take advantage of the “free” bus ride?
Another option for those who live close enough to walk to school is arranging for a “driver” to walk with them. The concept of a paid walking “driver” was born in 2003 in Lecco, Italy. Paid staff or family members escorted kids to school in a Pied Piper fashion, picking up more kids along the route. This safe mode of transport eliminated 100,000 miles of car travel in six years!
What’s for Lunch?
Ditch the brown bag and invest in a reusable, washable lunch box made from organic cotton or recycled materials such as juice boxes, avoiding plastics and vinyl. Keep lunches cold by freezing water in a reusable container and slipping it in beside the food while utilizing safe BPA-free containers for sandwiches, fruit and snacks so you can avoid lunch waste altogether. Stay away from pre-packaged foods, which are not eco-friendly, economical or healthy. For easy clean up, keep a supply of cloth napkins in fun fabrics. Challenge your kids to a trash-free lunch routine and reward them for their efforts with a special prize at the end of each report period.
Going green is much easier than you think. By starting off the school year on an eco-friendly foot, you can convince your kids to conserve more and waste less for a better school experience.
