Reduce Reuse Recycle are some things we can do daily to help our environment. But when it comes to your kids’ school work that’s been shoved in the closet…What can we do?
At the end of each term, more school work comes home and accumulates over the years. And waiting for teenagers to sort things out themselves is like waiting to win the lotto.
So, instead of getting frustrated with it, see it as an opportunity to simplify our life while we’re reducing our environmental footprint.
In this article, you’ll find how to Reduce Reuse and Recycle your kids’ school work.
Sorting School Work to Reduce Reuse Recycle
Before we move on to the hows, let’s figure out what schoolwork you want to save and what to chuck.
Save – something unique to capture your children’s memory etc
- Artwork
- Cards/Messages
- Journals
- School photos/yearbooks
- Awards/report cards
Chuck – something doesn’t carry memory values
- Math/Spelling/Science things they practiced or filled blank
- Colouring Paper/Any art you don’t want
- Word Search/Quiz
- Duotangs
Now, we’re going to focus on the items in the CHUCK pile to reduce the amount going to the landfill.
How to Reduce Reuse Recycle?
The idea of Reduce Reuse Recycle goes hand in hand. For example, if you want to reduce the number of school supplies you purchase, then the best way to do so is to reuse them.
So let’s look at some ideas to promote greener living with your kids’ school work.
Reduce
Have you ever checked how many blank pages your kids’ notebooks have? Yep, there are quite a few pages that could be used. So instead of buying a notebook, just because it’s a new term/school year, you can ask your kids to use what they have from previous years.
Here’s another way to use those used notebooks with blank pages. And it’s for you to use! You might have been journaling or thinking about starting. This is a great way to use them and become more eco-friendly. At the same time, you’re showing your children ‘Don’t take things for granted.’
You’ll feel good about reducing the unnecessary purchases and the amount of recycled paper.
Reuse/Repurpose
Next, we’re looking at reusing your kids’ school work.
This may be one of the best choices you have to help our environment. As you know, when you reuse items, it reduces the amount of garbage, CO2 emissions and increases your happiness…because you’ll be using child-like imagination to create something.
So how can you reuse/repurpose kids’ school work? Here are some examples you should try!
The easiest is to reuse single-sided prints as a notepad. You can probably find a clipboard that your child hasn’t been using or simply staple them together. Or if you’re crafty, creating a special wrapping paper or an envelope is a great option.
Leftover duotangs will be excellent for creating a card or tags for a present! The most important thing is your creativity.
Reusing and Repurposing not only gives you great satisfaction, but they also help with your sustainable living.
Recycle
For recycling, I’ll share the amount of school paper I recycled and a simple math activity to raise awareness.
The amount of paper that actually gets recycled in Canada is 25% while another site says 100%. It isn’t very clear, so I like to have recycling as the last resource. Let’s do the math activity.
The total amount of school paper I recycled was almost 6.8 kg/ 15 lb, but it was from two children. So let’s divide it in half – 3.4 kg / 7.5 lb for a child. Then multiply it by 25 (number of students in a class).
3.4 kg / 15 lb X 25= 85 kg / 375 lb That’s a lot of school paper just for recycling.
That’s why recycling should be the last resource for your kids’ school paper & supplies.
Finally, I’d like to share some numbers from sorting my kids’ school work.
Saved items from the CHUCK pile
- Paper – 8.1 kg / 18 lb
- Duotangs – 47
- Notebooks – 31
- Plastic Sleeves & Dividers – 17
As I mentioned earlier, 6.8 kg/ 15 lb of school paper was Recycled. What I was thinking is how important it is to reduce/refuse to buy unnecessary school items and reuse/repurpose them. That way, we can reduce the number of items to recycle.
Imagine how much power we have as a collective to help our environment. Let’s keep the mantra – Reduce Reuse Recycle!