23 Steps to a more zero waste classroom

Hooray! Here you are, ready to make some changes in your classroom to become more plastic free, zerowaste and earth friendly. The Earth thanks you!

I know that the greatest reluctance to going zerowaste is the idea that it takes lots of time and effort and may involve disrupting the status quo at school with admin staff and parents. The good news is that YOU decide how much you're willing to change and do, it isn't all or nothing. Some of the changes you make will end up saving you time! Don't believe me? See for yourself! As for admin staff and parents... You may be pleasantly surprised at how willing people are to help or make sustainable switches. If you face reluctance it only means you're paving the way for future teachers and changing mindsets. For me, the choice to go zerowaste is one of the most impactful things I will ever do as a teacher. Not only will I change the footprint of my classroom but I will inspire and educate future generations. This far outweighs any reluctance when it comes to time/effort or worrying about backlash from parents and admin. As important as Math, Reading, Writing and all the subjects we teach are, teaching our children to care for the planet teaches them empathy, responsibility and more about the world around them.

With that in mind let’s begin.

Pick and choose from the steps below. Try one or try them all! It’s better than not trying at all, am I right teachers? ;) 

Step one

Assess your waste/trash systems. Do you have recycling? Do you have compost? If not, is this something you can speak to parent volunteers or management about? My school does not have space or facilities for composting so I set up a food waste bin that goes home with a student once a week. My school has recycling so we use a bin for paper and plastics. Food creates a smell and produces methane when sent to landfill, so separating it from the general trash is a must. (Methane is a green house gas that contributes to global warming). Plan a lesson around teaching and modeling to your class how to use your different bins.

Step two

Switch out cleaning wipes and paper towel for cloths/ rags/ and cotton towels. You could invest in some cotton ones or get donations from students and parents. Take these home weekly or monthly to wash or recruit a parent volunteer. Make sure to hang the cloths on a line rather than tumble dry. This saves energy! 

Step three

Make your own cleaning spray (Orange peels or lemon with vinegar and essential oils like lavender makes a non-toxic and efficient cleaner!) or refill a cleaning spray bottle at bulk stores to prevent purchasing more bottles.

Step four

Set up a scrap paper box for kids to put mistakes into and use for any coloring or project work.

Step five 

Collect cereal boxes or old card from your students to store for any projects or classroom use. See step six :)

Step six

Ditch laminating and use card! For any displays or posters use old card to mount work onto. Also decide if you REALLY need that resource to last 500 years (that’s how long plastic sticks around for) Laminating creates SO much waste as it is 100% not recyclable.

Step seven

Use printing errors for worksheets. Set up a box in your printing room to collect all mistakes. Use them to print your worksheets on the back of or for Artwork. No-one will ever know!

Step eight 

Rethink worksheets. Is this an activity we could act out/ make a poster in our books for/ project on the board and fill out in our books?

Step nine

Go digital! Use ipads, chrome books, laptops or computers for lessons that involve research, reading articles, designing posters or games. Use your computer to plan and store your lesson plans and suggest that meeting minutes get emailed rather than handed to everyone.

Step ten

INSIST on reusable bottles for your students. Make your classroom into a single-use-plastic FREE zone!

Step eleven

Reuse what you can! I reuse newspapers for keeping tables clean in art classes. Reuse card from old posters to make new posters. Reuse bits and bobs from old displays for new displays. Teachers are allowed to be hoarders ;)

Step twelve

Use cotton squares/hankies instead of Kleenex tissues. Place these in a box for children to use once and throw in a bin that gets collected and washed weekly. If you can't wash these yourself, recruit a volunteer to help.

Step thirteen

Glue sticks. (I am working on a recipe to make glue stick refills. Until then...)

Teach your students how to use glue sparingly. Try liquid glue pots for each table as you can buy glue in bulk and decant it into pots. Give glue sponges a try. Or even make your own glue sticks.

Step fourteen 

You could order your stationery in bulk and distribute it to your students. Each student is responsible for their own pen and pencil. Pens and pencils have to be named and new ones asked for from the teacher. 

You can also choose to order more eco-friendly options. Often eco-friendly options or REFILLS are more expensive initially but cheaper in the long run because they last longer or are made of better materials (think metal sharpeners and rulers).

I am a huge fan of Ms Heidi of Zerowaste classroom. She has a great post ALL about supplies and stationery so be sure to check it out:

https://zerowasteclassroom.org/category/teachers/

REFILLABLE DRY ERASE MARKERS

Check out sites like these when ordering refillable dry erase markers or other stationery:

http://greenstat.co.uk/storefront/home

https://ecosmartworld.com/

https://www.auspen.com/

https://remarkable.co.uk/collections/pencils

Step fifteen 

Save on water! Yes, since we’re going zerowaste let’s think about this too. Model how to wash hands/wash up by using minimal water and place posters by your sink. No running taps or high pressure in this class.

Step sixteen 

Set up a “reusables” table. Have cups, cutlery and things your students can borrow instead of using disposables for. 

Step seventeen 

Have zero waste class parties or birthday celebrations. Make pop corn or bake your own treats like cookies or brownies. This avoids packaging from chips and candy wrappers.Use reusable plastic cups and plates and avoid unnecessary decor. Balloons are a big NO NO. Those things never break down and are so harmful to wild life. This last Christmas, we watched a movie, played pass the parcel (I wrapped up prizes in layers of newspaper) danced around to fun music and had brownies and pop corn. The kids had a blast!

Step eighteen

Be mindful of using electricity. Does the light switch need to be on? Are you using your smartboard/ computer/ projector at all times?

Step nineteen

You're not gonna like this one... But try and avoid places like target, walmart, IKEA or Tiger. Buying new gimmicky decor and classroom stuff is wasteful because they're made cheaply and have no use when themes or trends change. Try getting cute cushions or pencil holders from thrift stores or make your own! There are TONS of great ideas on pinterest and instagram for upcycling and you could even do it as a class activity.

This is a great post filled with ideas for upcycling:

https://www.weareteachers.com/23-upcycling-hacks-for-the-classroom/

Step twenty

Don't just use Earth day to talk about the environment. Plan Reading, Writing, Math and other lessons around environmental topics. Source books (preferably second hand), share ideas with your students, watch videos and encourage them to care. I talk about my own journey of going zero waste all the time with my class. They get excited to share things with me that they tried at home, and become more conscious of it in general.

Step twenty one

Encourage your students to bring reusable water bottles, their own lunchboxes, use beeswax wraps instead of cling wrap and have unpackaged fruit for their packed lunch or on school trips.

Step twenty two

Send a note to parents about gifts. Let them know you are trying to be zero waste and would prefer charity donations, second hand gifts or vouchers. This may seem like a presumptuous or awkward thing to do, but it gives parents direction and actually saves them money! No more trinket mugs, candles, bath salts and hoards of packaged items that you don't need or use. My note insisted that gifts were not necessary at all, but encouraged alternatives should parents like to gift. I only received positive feedback from parents about the note and come Christmas time, my class pooled together to donate a large sum of money to a charity close to my heart. Doing good and saving the Earth!

Step twenty three

What do you find produces the most waste in your classroom? All schools and needs are different. Brainstorm with your students and get their buy in for ways you can reduce waste.

Go forth eco warriors and let's change the world one step at a time!