How to Reduce Plastic Waste in School

I am sure you all have seen the staggering amount of plastic coming from schools and I have always wondered how to reduce plastic waste in school.

We all are aware of the harm caused by plastic waste all over the world. I had been trying to remove plastic from my daily life as much as possible. You can check out my post “Essential Key Green Habits for a Powerful Eco-Friendly Lifestyle – A Dynamic Recap of Series 1-10” to know all about the changes I have made in my life.

You just google for any kid’s product or school supplies and 95% of the stuff you will get is made from plastic. As a parent, I can control what I buy for my kid at home and I have already started doing it. But she still gets a large quantity of single-use plastic from school and uses quite a bit in the school.

I spent quite a bit of time analyzing the situation and looking for ready-made solutions but I could find none. But it was a few years ago things are surely changing for the better and I can see most of the schools are trying to reduce plastic waste but it will take some time.

But as a parent, I decided to put in all the effort I could to reduce plastic waste in school. I am going to tell you what changes I have made in the past few years, after several lengthy productive discussions and working with school staff for several hours a day. In this post, I will give you practical steps to reduce plastic waste at school.

Reduce Plastic Waste in School – Bring Reusable Containers

A few years ago, I used to pack mine, my partners and even my kid’s lunches in plastic wraps and it used to baffle me to see the amount of plastic I was using. The simplest change I made in my and my kid’s life is to simply replace the plastic wrap with reusable lunch boxes and ensure that all food is wrapped in Bee’s reusable wrap paper.  Plastic drink bottles are replaced with reusable water bottles and with the detailed explanation to kids, the journey was easier than I had imagined.

Now days so many cute pretty lunch boxes are available and if your kids like to have hot lunch you can refer to “5 Cool Picks for Kids Insulated Lunch Boxes: Keep Lunchtime Fun and Fresh!” to find the lunch box based on your preference, liking and budget.

My favorite one for my younger one is OmieBox.

Plastic water bottles, which my kids used to buy at least 2-3 a day daily, and now all this plastic has been replaced by cute pretty stainless-steel water bottles. You can check out “Kids Stainless Steel Water Bottle : Top 7 Brands” to find your perfect one based on your needs and your kid’s liking.

Just by replacing 3 items I have reduced the huge amount of plastic in my kid’s lives but It was not enough, I went ahead to speak to their friends and their moms, and after putting in some effort and time explaining my point of view of them, quite a few of them agreed and replaced these items in their kid’s lives too.

Reduce Plastic Waste in School- Say No to Single-Use Plastics

In my kid’s school, they used to get one meal a day from school and entire disposable plastic cutlery was provided. I started by ensuring to pack reusable stainless-steel cutlery in age-appropriate sizes in my kid’s school bags and explained to my kids the benefit of using reusable over disposable.

Once they became comfortable using reusable cutlery, I used the same process that I have used for lunch boxes and it took a little more time but, in the end, almost 70-75% of families agreed with my approach.

This single step made the school look at its policies of using disposable cutlery, after having a few discussions with school staff, they were not able to replace the plastic disposable cutlery entirely but they started encouraging the students to bring their reusable cutlery and also provided alternate biodegradable cutlery.

Getting into the biodegradable cutlery required a big cost analysis which had to undergo at a very senior level but in the end, we were able to convince them as the number of students using disposable cutlery had reduced quite a bit.

Reduce Plastic Waste in School- Organize Plastic-Free Classes & Events

Right from the time my older one started attending school, I would have bought at least 100 plastic files as each year the file will have the class name and level printed on it and the same file couldn’t be reused for next year. I tried to speak to the school about it but they just can’t agree to replace the printed files and instead have a section where a paper slip can be put with the class name and section. Just by this simple change, the same file can be reused for several years instead of buying a new plastic file every year.

I was not able to get the school to make changes to their system, so I came up with my solution. I started contacting seniors of my kids and started reusing those files. Seniors were more than happy to get rid of their stuff and I was saving the planet by not buying additional files. I haven’t bought any files once I decided to follow this.

I have seen another problem not just in schools but also in almost all corporations. Any event and you will find the name tags and entry pass of that event in plastic pouches. In the past few years between both my kids and my workplace, I have more than 100 plastic pouches at home and I am not sure what to do with this unnecessary plastic. The quality of these pouches is not so bad that they need to be disposed of immediately but I have yet to find any use of them.

I have found a solution as there are several clear plastic name pouches available online (Amazon), I have personally tried them and I found them more than satisfactory. Now it’s just a problem with us to start using them. I have inserted a paper name tag along with the QR code for the digital scanning on the same slip. All participants were asked to return these pouches at the end of the event.

This will help in reducing the plastic waste to a great extent. If anyone has another creative idea for these plastic pouches or name tags please let me know. I am open to discussing any creative idea to resolve this issue.

For me, this is still a work in progress as most of the events are still using customized items that can’t be reused.

Reduce Plastic Waste in School-Create Recycling Programs

Another way that will help in reducing plastic waste is to educate people about recycling. Quite a bit of plastic waste can be recycled if separated and collected successfully.

I have seen if the collection is done at a very small level, our ragpickers or garbage collection people just mix it up post collecting and all our effort goes to waste. That’s why all the plastic waste must be cleaned and collected in the right bins and the quantity is substantial to make a difference to the collection.

Together we can come and make a difference. Teaching kids to reduce plastic waste in school will be an excellent idea. Kids can be our great source of initiation as they can force their parents, grandparents, or other caretakers to do the right thing at a larger scale than us doing it individually.

I conduct reducing, reusing, and recycling sessions for my kids along with their friends in my society quite often. Even my kid’s school also conducts these sessions regularly. They have even placed recycling stations very accessible to all the kids and they are making a huge difference.

Reduce Plastic Waste in School- Involve Everyone

In my experience, in one person’s capacity, you can do a limited change only as we can control only what happens with our family, kids, and in the house. But if we involve the entire community, school staff, and all other parents in the process, it will help to reduce plastic waste in school for sure.

Reduce Plastic Waste in School-Other Small Tips

There are several small things that I have implemented in my daily life when it comes to my kid’s schooling like below.

Whenever I have to buy school bags or lunch bags, I buy eco-friendly materials like canvas bag which are washable. You might face challenges in making kids use these as these are not fancy looking as some other brands.

School kids need to use a lot of pencils and they do lose a lot of them too. Recently I tried WORLD FIRST PLANTABLE PENCIL and I have already planted a few of them. My flowers seem to be growing well with the seeds from these pencils.

There are several other small items we buy for our kids that can be easily replaced by eco-friendly sustainable materials, we just need to think and put in a little effort. We just have to think creatively and smartly. I am still experimenting with more ideas and will pen them down soon.

You can read our other posts here.

FAQ

I always feel more comfortable reading any post if I get answers to the most frequently asked questions also on the same page. That’s the reason I try my best to answer as many questions as possible in my posts. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions I found on Google, pls read on.

• How can students reduce the use of plastic?
  • Making intelligent decisions in everyday life can result in a significant decrease in single-use plastic usage. Students can practice basic yet useful practices, including using reusable cutlery, avoiding plastic straws, and choosing products with minimal or no plastic packaging.
• What are 5 ways to reduce plastic waste in school?
  • Avoid single-use plastics such as drinking straws.
  • If you go shopping, remember to take a cloth bag.
  • Recycle chewing gum… it’s also make of plastic!
  • Buy more bulk food and fewer packaged products.
  • Replace plastic Tupperware for glass or steel containers.
• How can we reduce plastic for kids?
  • Fill up at a fountain. Drink out of a reusable water bottle instead of a plastic version.
  • Make a better bag. Pack sandwiches and snacks in reusable containers or cloth sacks instead of plastic bags.
  • Snack on fruit.
  • Build a good goodie bag.
  • Buy in bulk.
• How to convince someone to stop using plastic?
  • Here are my top three ways to break up with plastic, along with their alternatives:
    • Eat real food, not processed food wrapped in plastic. Processed food, convenience food and to-go food almost always come in shiny plastic wrappers and containers. …
    • Ban the bottle.
    • Refuse single-use plastic.
• How can we reduce personal plastic use?
  • Set your table with cloth napkins and reusable dishes, glasses, and silverware as often as possible. Think green before you shop. Bring your own reusable bag for carrying your purchases, and try to buy items with minimal packaging. If you bring your lunch, package it in reusable containers instead of disposable ones.
• How is plastic waste reduced?
  • Carrying a reusable bottle is a great way to cut your plastic use and save money too. You can use the Refill app to find a place to fill up your water bottle for free when you are out and about. Many cafes, restaurants and bars are also happy to refill your bottle too.
• How do we manage plastic waste in school?
  • Various methods are used to dispose of plastic waste, including recycling, disposal in landfills, incineration, microbial degradation, and conversion into valuable materials.
• How can we reduce plastic waste at work?
  • Remove all single-use water cups and bottles and encourage staff to use refillable water bottles. Stop supplying and handing out plastic straws and cutlery. Remove individual rubbish bins and replace with centralized re-cycling points. Carry out a simple waste audit to find out how much waste you are producing.
• What is plastic for students?
  • It is a kind of material that is made by people and can be formed into almost any shape. Most plastics are strong, long-lasting, and lightweight. They resist damage by water, heat, chemicals, and electricity. In addition, plastics can be made in many colors.
• How to stop plastic pollution for kids?
  • Please encourage your family to shop for snacks, cereal, and pasta in bulk, then store it in reusable glass jars when needed. Pack an eco-friendly lunch for school and trips out. Be sure to use reusable containers, and switch from cling film and food wrap to sandwich pockets and beeswax wraps. Never litter!