Why is Sustainability important?
Making decisions with sustainability in mind is important because you create conditions that support our present needs while ensuring the needs of future generations are met. When we act sustainably in our day to day lives we pass down a healthy world to our children and to their children. Incorporating the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is a great way to introduce the larger concept of sustainability!
Let’s learn how the 3 R’s relate to the school year and how you can improve your sustainable practices at home and school!
Reduce and Reuse
To Reduce you need to be conscious of what you are using so that you can choose to use less. This is Rethinking too! One simple choice is to replace single use items with these reusables:
- Reusable water bottle
- Washable food containers
- Reusable Lunch Box instead of paper or plastic bags
For example, you can buy the big box of goldfish snack crackers instead of the small bags, and then use a washable container to pack each serving into a lunch box! This reduces the amount of single-use packaging and then you can recycle the cardboard container. Voila – no trash!
Reusing saves resources and saves money too! Reuse the school supplies that are leftover from last year instead of buying all new ones. Secondhand stores usually have bags, school supplies, reusable containers, clothes and more for low prices. You can use our Beyond the Blue Bin database to find places where people donate useful items like computers, clothes, home essentials and schools supplies. Buying items second hand is a fantastic sustainability swap!
Recycle
Throughout the school year notebooks get filled up, old homework piles up and lunch items like plastic containers or cardboard boxes get too damaged to use. Remember to Stick With The Six: Recycle Paper, Cardboard, Plastic Bottles & Containers, Glass Bottles & Jars, Metal Food & Beverage Cans, and Food and Beverage Cartons in your Blue Bin. You can even download our handy Recycling 101 so you don’t forget!
Common Recyclable School items:
- Spiral Notebooks (Remove metal binding)
- Paper Homework
- Old Tests
- Glass and Plastic Yogurt Containers
- Glass and Aluminum Soda Containers
- Paper Arts and Crafts
- Hardcover books (remove cover and place in trash)
- Carboard Snack & Cereal Boxes (remove any plastic bag inside of them)
Sustainability Tips for at Home
If you don’t already Recycle at home it is easy to start! It is best to have your recycling bin beside the trash bin, this way you can better sort your items between trash and recycling. STL City Recycles offers FREE In-Home Recycling Bins for city residents at our office! Hang a Recycling 101 near your trash and recycling so everyone knows what goes where. Many people don’t realize how much stuff they throw away each day that can be recycled!
Don’t Wish-Cycle! What is Wish-Cycling? Wish-Cycling is when you place an item in the Blue Bin and wish it will be recycled. This causes a lot of contamination!! Don’t be a Wish-Cycler.
If your student doesn’t need an item anymore, consider donating it instead of dumping it!
Common School Items to Donate:
- Unused Notebooks
- Unused Pencils and Pens
- Backpacks and Lunchboxes
- Books
- Extracurricular items (Sport equipment / Art equipment / Music equipment)
Sustainability Tips for at School
First, ask your student: “Does your school have a recycling program?” Then follow the guide below!
They said No: Darn! Let’s change that! Click here to find out how your school can work with us to start a program.
They said Yes: Great! Remember where those recycling bins are and use them when you have recyclables to dispose of. Things like soda cans, paper and plastic containers go in the recycling bin! Things like chip bags, candy wrappers, Styrofoam and plastic utensils go in the trash bin.
They said I Don’t Know: Either you or your student can ask their teacher if the school has a recycling program. This could be a sign that they need to add more signage and curriculum about recycling to their school!
Questions?
If you are a Teacher or School Administrator feel free to invite us to speak about recycling to your students!
If you are a Parent or Guardian and want a FREE In-Home Recycling Bin please stop by our office at 4646 Shenandoah Ave. 63110 to receive one and more information.
If you are a Student and want to learn more about recycling, please encourage your Parent, Guardian or Teacher to reach out to us!
If you have questions or comments please reach out to us either by calling 314-772-4646 or emailing Recycle@StLouis-mo.gov
