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Waste Reduction Success
Simple reduction and reuse ideas pay off in big ways for schools. They may: reuse envelopes
for inter-school mail and lunch money; get over-run paper from paper companies/printers; write
on both sides of paper; sell or give away the library's "discarded" books; use cloth toweling
rolls in restrooms; encourage students to pack home lunches in reusable containers with washable
napkins. Please read on for more great ideas!
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"It's the
Little Things"
For an educational segment, "The Trees
Say Thank You," children learn to conserve a natural
resource, the tree, by substituting a sponge for paper towel,
glass for paper cups and cloth for paper napkins. With "The
River Says Thank You," children learn to turn on water
only for the length of time they need.
Contact : Christine Maestri, 715-865-5452, Green Eggs & Ham Montessori, Stone Lake. |
|  Student
Action!
Before the students took charge, this school
lunch program used disposable lunch trays. Students
wrote letters and talked with administrators and school board
members and they listened! That next fall dishwashers were
installed and reusable trays were purchased. Students are
also working on a "Save the Rainforest" project,
which includes a "Rags to Rainforests" used clothing
drive.
Contact: Carla Oestreich, 414-262-1490, Webster Elementary
School, Watertown.
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| Eliminate 1,051,700 milk cartons/year?
In partnership with the UW-Stout, Dunn County, is studying
milk distribution in area school districts with a goal of
eliminating the one million plus milk cartons that are generated
by county public schools every year.
Contact: George Hayducsko, 715-232-4017,
Dunn County
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Businesses' Discards A School's
Blessing
Parents help local businesses find a place for no-longer wanted
items, such as: paper, worn uniform shirts (smocks), hospital
bed sheets (art projects), three ring binders, books, games,
shelving units, paper storage racks and chairs. The school thinks
its great!
Contact: Gwenda Helgert, 414-521-8054,
Lowell Elementary School, Waukesha. |
Trash to Treasure or Reduce, Reuse & Recreate (and make money)
Over 32 businesses statewide have donated their safe, would-be
"discarded" piano parts, ceramic tiles, petri dishes,
wooden paper cores, empty paper rolls, etc., to the Madison
Children's Museum Environmental Education Center. The TRASH
(Teen Recycling A rts Student Helpers) participants help throughout
the exhibit area and with special programs. For $3 (large kit)
or $1 (small), all Museum visitors can shop the popular Recycled
Arts area for materials they'll use to create art originals.
In '95, Recycled Arts raised $1,700.
Contact: Mary
Lou Krase, 608-256-8400, Madison Children's Museum. |
30,000 Shopping Bags or How to
Build a Volleyball Court
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It started with
a third grade class, a small community and a local "bag
business" liquidator. The students and community
members saved paper bags. Each week a four student committee
sorted, delivered and sold these bags to the liquidator.
These kids no t only tapped a frequently-discarded resource,
but have used this resource to build a volleyball court;
purchase supplies, calculators, a popcorn popper and answering
machine; and sponsor several helper appreciation "Ice
Cream Cone Days" and field trips.
Contact: Nan Alexander, 608-629-5611, Readstown
Elementary School.
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"Nature's
Recyclers"
A great nature lesson for students...vermicomposting is
also a great way to let nature "recycle" some
food discards and other organic matter. (Think of it as
a different kind of waste reducer!) The nutrient-rich
soil the worms produce can be used as a soil enhancer
to naturally beautify the school yard. The extra worms
are a money maker too!
Contact: Marcia Hilgendorf, 608-253-4391, The Lake
Delton School Community. |
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