Blog

Aug 29, 2023

Tee Cee's Tip for Monday, Aug. 21, 2023

Dear Tee Cee: As my kids go back to school, I’d like to get them started with some more sustainable habits. School supplies of all types seem to be made of plastic and wrapped in unrecyclable plastic.

Dear Tee Cee: As my kids go back to school, I’d like to get them started with some more sustainable habits. School supplies of all types seem to be made of plastic and wrapped in unrecyclable plastic. Do you have any zero waste back-to-school tips? — FR

Dear FR: Here’s to a new school year and new habits. To get you started, here are a few back-to-school tips that will reduce the amount of plastic and waste sent to the landfill while saving you money:

Pack Zero Waste lunches and snacks: Your kids’ lunchboxes are a great place to start making sustainable swaps.

A lot of school-related waste is generated in school cafeterias, and much of that can be avoided. If you pack lunches, try incorporating reusable foodware such as reusable cutlery, sandwich containers (such as beeswax wrap, fabric envelopes, metal containers, etc.), water bottles, napkins and reusable straws. (Just avoid packing a glass straw for school.) And make sure food scraps go in the compost.

See what office/school supplies you have first: Growing up, at the end of the school year, we would unload our leftover school supplies into boxes labeled for pencils, notebook paper, folders, etc. Come fall, we would check the boxes of supplies before buying anything new. No need to go buy five new three-ring binders every year.

Buy (and donate) secondhand: Kids grow quickly, and their styles can change just as fast. Thrifting is fun, so encourage kiddos to get their back-to-school “fits” at a secondhand store. Secondhand stores sell more school supplies than just clothes, including backpacks, notebooks, calculators and more. When your kids outgrow their school supplies, please consider donating them to continue this waste-reducing and cost-saving cycle.

Keep learning: We can all work toward a more sustainable future by educating ourselves and others on simple things that make a difference. Even if we graduated from school years ago, there’s so much to learn — especially from our young ones.

Do your kids go to an Eco-Cycle Green Star School? If so, their school likely recycles and composts two-thirds of their overall waste. Eco-Cycle has a whole department of zero waste teachers who go into classrooms to help students, faculty and schools recycle, compost and reduce waste. Check out the free, 170-page Zero Waste Schools Activity Guide at ecocycle.org for more ideas on how to make environmental education fun and engaging. — Tee Cee

Send your zero waste questions to [email protected] or call Eco-Cycle at 303-444-6634.

Sign up for email newsletters