How to help save the earth - Reusing at School

Here are some tips for students. You are the future, and the sooner you start conserving, the longer our universe will last.

Lunch supplies:

• Aluminum Foil- Save, cut into tiny pieces, use for glitter on art projects
• Candy boxes- Use for wrapping gifts, store notes, letters and paper clips in
• Cereal boxes- Cut into puzzles, cut into book marks, make into folders
• Glass bottles- Use as a candleholder, use as a vase, use as a fish tank
• Lunch boxes- Fill with art supplies, use for a sewing kit, store cassettes in
• Paper lunch bags- Reuse for tomorrow's lunch, make paper bag puppets
• Plastic baggies- Wash out, keep pocket change in, reuse for lunch
• Plastic bottles- Fill with water and freeze for cooler, fill with colored sand for door-stop
• Plastic cups- Put change in, use as a pen holder, make sand castles with them

School Supplies:

• Books & Magazines- Donate books to a library, sell to other students, make a collage
• Calculator- Give to someone to fix it, give to a child to play school with
• Crayons- Make into shavings to use as glitter, make into wax to drip over a vase
• Paper- Use for scrap, use for wrapping gifts, cut for phone messages, make cards
• Spiral notebook wire- Cut and bend to use for tree ornament.
• Three-ring binders- Reuse for classes the next year, use to store recipe cards
• Tissue boxes- Cut off top for storing small objects, cut into flash cards for studying

What can be recycled in schools?

In the classroom:

• All paper including, white and colored, computer, construction,
• Note book, copying and typing
• All envelopes (even windows) and folders
• Newspapers and inserts
• Magazines & catalogs
• Paperback books (no hard covers)
• Shredded paper
• Paper bags
• Thin cardboard
• Corrugated cardboard

In the cafeteria:

• Aluminum cans
• Glass bottles and Jars
• Tin cans
• Juice and Milk cartons
• Juice boxes (straws in the trash)
• Soda bottles and Milk Jugs
• Metal Snack Packs (i.e., fruit)
• Any plastic bottle or jug with a #1 or #2 on the bottom

Recycling bins should always be placed next to the trashcans.
Posters should be placed near every recycling bin.

How to help save the earth-things to do at home

Before you throw something in the trash, consider ways that you might be able to reuse it.

• an empty jar can become a storage container for leftovers or knick-knacks.
• Sell unwanted but usable household items in a yard sale.
• Donate clean, usable goods to a charity.
• Re-use old envelopes - cover the name and address with a sticker or paper.
• Re-use sheets of paper that have only been used on one side for drawing and writing on, or to make telephone pads and shopping lists.
• Use empty plastic water or soft drink bottles as drink bottles for school.
• Save old egg cartons, toilet rolls, and margarine and ice-cream tubs to make arts and crafts.
• Save your plastic shopping bags and re-use them next time you go to the supermarket.
• Use paper and plastic shopping bags, rather than purchased bags, to hold your trash.
• Cut the bottoms off milk cartons and soft drink bottles, punch some holes in them, and use them to plant seedlings.
• Buy a battery charger and recharge and reuse batteries.
• Pass on magazines and books to friends--or to hospitals, senior centers, and others who would enjoy them.
• Give old clothing, household goods, and furniture to charitable organizations. Or hold a garage sale. Other people will pay you for things you no longer want.
• Create a market for what you recycle by buying products made of recycled materials.