GREENING OUR SCHOOLS: THE THREE R’S AND BEYOND
Making our schools environmentally friendly offers an excellent opportunity to teach about science,
philosophy, ecology, and civic responsibility. It also can start lifelong habits of “living lightly on the Earth”,
which is important to us now and for all future generations. “Greening” our schools involves applying the
three R’s—Reduce, Reuse and Recycle— in our everyday activities in the school environment.
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Reduce always comes first, because reducing what we use is the most effective way to consume
fewer natural resources, less energy and less landfill space; plus it saves money too!
Reuse comes second, because reusing items decreases new purchases and production of new
waste materials. Reuse of items can provide schools with supplies they might not otherwise be able
to afford to buy.
Recycle comes third, but not last. Recycling converts used items back into raw materials, then makes
new products with them. This conserves valuable natural resources, saves energy and reduces the
need to put as much waste into our landfills. Recycling programs can also generate significant funds
to be used for special school projects or equipment purchases.
Source Reduction in Schools
 Reduce the impact of cars on the environment (gasoline, oil, tires etc.) by taking the school bus,
carpooling, or riding your bicycle. You will help reduce air pollution and save natural resources.
 Invest in alternative fuel school buses that run on natural gas or electricity. This can significantly
reduce the amount of air pollution and traffic generated by transporting kids to school everyday.
 Buy supplies and food with minimal packaging to save natural resources and landfill space.
 Set up solar panels to supplement school electricity. This can save on fossil fuels and teach kids
about the science of solar energy, electricity, batteries and photovoltaic power cells.
 Employ energy efficiency in design of school facilities and the appliances used in your school, to save
money and conserves energy resources.
Conservation through Reuse in our Schools
 Create playground equipment by reusing materials, such as old rubber tires for swings and safety
mats, and encourage creativity while making the most of scarce resources.
 Read books, magazines and newspapers through the school library, instead of buying new ones, and
save thousands of trees.
 Encourage students to bring their lunches in reusable lunch boxes, instead of paper or plastic
wrappings, reducing waste and saving both money and resources.
 Contact local businesses about donating used equipment, such as computers and fax machines,
which can provide valuable resources and keep these items out of our landfills.
Ways to Recycle in Schools
 Recycle drives conserve resources and generate money for special projects. Every ton of paper
recycled saves 17 trees from being cut down to make new paper.
 Collect and recycle cans and bottles from the cafeteria to save materials and energy. It can also
generate money for school computers or other equipment. Collection bins can be provided in school
parking lots for community members to use, as well as school administrators, teachers, and students.
 Build and use a compost bin for grass, leaves, yard trimmings, and some cafeteria food waste to save
landfill space and teach kids about the science of bacteria, fungi and decomposition. The finished
compost can then be used to enrich school ground lawns and gardens without using chemical
fertilizers. Red worms do an even speedier job of garbage clean up (See kid’s activities).
 Provide periodic collection of hazardous substances through the school, in cooperation with your local
waste management agency. This can be a significant service to your community and will keep toxic
materials out of our landfills.
Using the 3 R’s in schools can help the environment and make connections with the community.
Created by Gwen Griffith, D.V.M., M.S., 2/99; Alliance of Veterinarians for the Environment, http://www.aveweb.org
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle at School
Let Worms “Show” You How To Make Compost for Your School’s Gardens1
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Name three ways that each of these items can be reused, instead of throwing the item away.
[You can reuse the whole thing or only a part of it.]
- Cardboard box
- Plastic milk carton
- Glass jar
- Wooden board
- Plastic bag
- Newspaper
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Find at least seven different ways to reduce or reuse paper in your home or school.
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Visit the Recycle City website2 with your class and conduct a scavenger hunt for a list of reused or
recycled items used throughout the city. For example:
Find:
 Something made from recycled tires
 A way to use vinegar
 A use for old bricks
 Something made from old milk containers
 An electric car
 How to reuse old coffee grounds
Your list of course, can be customized to emphasize reuse, recycling, or any other topic that you are
exploring in class. Split up the class into several teams and go through the site, looking for the items
on the list. This will provide each team with some incentive to browse around the site looking for
items, and will spark team discussions on where the items might be found. Afterwards, have a
discussion with the class as a whole. Encourage students not only to talk about what they did find, but
also about anything that they went looking for and didn't find. After the discussion, write to the EPA
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) with any suggestions; write to this email address
[glenn.william@epamail.epa.gov] or to Mr. Glenn Williams at the EPA in Washington, DC..
How to Handle Trash and Garbage at School
TRASH—Set up recycling/reusable bins near the cafeteria for the following “dry” items—
 Aluminum soda cans
 Plastic soda bottles and milk or juice containers
 White paper
 Colored paper
 Newspaper
 Brown bottles/jars
 Clear bottles/jars
 Green bottles/jars
 Dead batteries from flashlights, electronic stuff etc.
Have one class in charge of making sure the trash goes to the recycling company every week.
Have a discussion on how to best do this….Bring it to the recycling center or have it picked up at school?
GARBAGE—Get your teacher to help you set up a worm recycling bin 3 for “wet” garbage—
 Food scraps
 Leftovers from the cafeteria serving area
 Leftovers from your lunch
 Any milk or juice or soda leftover
Have one class be responsible for taking the garbage to the composting set-up once a day!!
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Worm-A-Way, Flowerfield Enterprises, 10332 Shaver Road, Kalamazoo, MI, 49002; phone: 616/327-0108
http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/
Kalman, Bobbie & Janine Schaub, Squirmy Wormy Composters, Crabtree Publishing Company, New York, NY, 32 pp;
Appelhof, Mary, Worms Eat My Garbage, Flower Press, 10332 Shaver Road, Kalamazoo, MI, 49002, 100 pp.