The typical school classroom has little waste outside of paper, but holy smokes a lot of paper gets thrown away! Let's hope your classroom recycles, but even recycling takes energy and resources. The best option for the planet is to reduce, reduce, reduce.

Paper Purge

Find as many ways to reduce paper use as you can. For example, designate a spot in the classroom for pieces of paper that have only been used on one side. Reuse these pieces for scratch paper. For older students, try to shift to e-documents. Make it an option to e-mail assignments so you don't use any paper at all. Focus on activities that are based on action instead of a final product; for instance, choose oral reports instead of written. Another way to reduce paper use in your classroom is to get parents' e-mail addresses so you can e-mail announcements instead of sending home hard copies. Minimize the number of handouts you use. Research online instead of subscribing to magazines and newspapers. How many more ways can you find to purge paper? Have the kids design flyers that list the different ways your classroom has reduced paper use and waste. They can share them with other classrooms or even other schools. Better yet, make it an electronic document that you can e-mail to other staff and schools.

Take a Load Off at Lunch

Students will see immediate differences in waste levels after starting a paper purge, and they can also see drastic changes if they begin planning waste-free lunches. Split the classroom into two sections: those who bring lunch from home and those who eat school lunches. Have each group brainstorm ideas for how to reduce waste. Ideas for students who bring bag lunches include using reusable containers for food and eliminating overly packaged foods like individually wrapped string cheese and single-serving potato chip bags. Ideas for students who eat school lunches are more limited because the school's practices determine what they eat. One behavior they can control is the amount of food they take. They should only put the food they know they will eat on their plates. They can also be more conservative with using disposable items like napkins.

Take it to the next level and have your students organize a waste-free lunch day at your school. They can educate other students and staff about why it's important and how to do it. If your school has separate lunch periods for different age groups, you can have a contest to see who generates the least amount of waste. There are great resources for conducting waste-free lunch days and even creating year-round waste-free lunch programs online through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and www.wastefreelunches.org.