For small-scale composting, freeze food waste items before disposal. Why? ...It's a simple way to store food waste until you're ready to compost it.
Use G.O.O.S. paper (Good-On-One-Side)Why? Re-using paper helps reduce waste. A big thank you to the Tobin Montessori's Rm. 210 classes and teacher Mr. Neil DiMaio for this wonderful idea, which is practiced daily by all of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders in the class!
Bring cloth bags when shopping. Why? Because your effort cuts back on plastic/paper use.
Cancel unwanted mail subscriptions/junk mail. Why? Because this action saves paper.
Compost your food. Why? Because putting food waste in the trash creates methane, a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Donate old classroom items to a local charity. Why? Because your donation will be re-used instead of thrown away.
Recycle plastic bags. Why? ...Because throwing them away contributes to the waste stream, and about 89 billion plastic bags, sacks, and wraps are used each year in the U.S. *Good news: did you know that in 2007 there was a 27% increase from 2005 in the number of plastic bags recycled? Plastic bags can be recycled at your local supermarket chain, and in some dry cleaning stores.
Re-use interoffice envelopes. Why? ...Because using an interoffice envelope 1 time wastes paper, but re-using it many times over extends the lifecycle of the envelope, and saves paper, energy, and money.
Recycle everything in one place. SingleStream recycling means you can "put it all in one container." A few items that can be singlestream recycled include: aluminum cans and foil, glass bottles and jars, milk cartons and juice boxes, cardboard boxes, empty pizza boxes, newspapers, paper, magazines...and more.