Bringing sustainability into the classroom!

It’s that time of year again! The start of a new season filled with new friends, new teachers, and new knowledge! With another new school year comes another school supply list with new notebooks, new pencils, the latest trendy backpack, and more shoes for all the growing feet! Although the materials for a new school year are necessary, the costs can start to add up, and not just financially, but environmentally too!

According to the Environmental Paper Network, the production and disposal of three 100-page spiral notebooks (about 3.6 pounds of paper) would represent about 10 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.  Multiplying that by the number of spiral notebooks used in the U.S. in one school year equals out to a pretty substantial carbon footprint. Although totally outlawing the use of paper notebooks is not feasible, many families can try to reduce their own carbon footprint by using less paper and focusing on electronic solutions. In this article, one Standford University master’s student calculates the comparison between the carbon dioxide emissions and environmental impacts of three spiral-bound notebooks and one Macbook laptop.

https://stanfordmag.org/contents/should-i-ditch-my-spiral

               For many young students, switching from paper to electronic notetaking is not exactly possible, especially at the elementary grade level. However, this is not the only way to prioritize the environment when going back to school shopping! Rather than settling for the usual name brands of spiral and composition notebooks, there are countless eco-friendly brands that sell similar products that can be utilized. Some of those brands include Honeyoung Notebooks, Notely Stationary, Decomposition Books, and many more! The key is finding a brand that can be made from zero-waste, sustainable, and recyclable materials.

An eco-friendly paper notebook is not the only shift in back-to-school shopping. There are many other ways your family can reduce waste and live sustainably. Decreasing the dependence on plastic products can have a huge impact on the environment. Almost every standard school supply required for student participation in a classroom is manufactured with some kind of plastic. Making the switch to reusable lunch containers, recycled pencil pouches, staple free staplers, and other plastic free items may have a positive effect on the environment. Have you ever had to wait in a long pick-up car line? It might seem nice to be first in line to pick the kiddos up from school, but sitting with the car running for an hour burns about one-fifth of a gallon of gas and produces about 4 pounds of carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere. For an entire week, that’s 20 pounds of carbon dioxide added to your carbon footprint! As an alternative, save on gas and wait a bit to join the pick-up line! For more information on easy environmentally friendly back-to-school switches, check out this link:

https://ecolunchboxes.com/blogs/news/great-green-products-for-an-eco-friendly-back-to-school

Here at the Sawgrass Nature Center, we wish you happy sustainable shopping and good luck in a blooming new school year!