Every year, parents, teachers, and students purchase new school supplies, lose old supplies, and throw away tons of food and other school materials. This creates stunning amounts of landfill waste and results in unnecessary expenses. But schools can make a difference if we are more mindful and proactive about reducing our waste.
Reducing waste leads to benefits such as decreased costs and increased income (if your school can find a buyer for your recycled materials), energy savings as a result of reduced manufacturing, less material sent to the landfill, and students learning about environmental issues.
To get you started, the Environmental Protection Agency has a detailed guide on how to reduce waste in schools. The guide explains how schools, school districts, and school business officials can start or expand an existing waste reduction program. It covers, in detail, these basic points:
