Precycling
PRECYCLING /WASTE REDUCTION/NO DISPOSABLE ITEMS mean
making less garbage. Precycling is the easiest and cheapest way to deal with the
garbage glut and help our environment. See how many of the following ideas
you can try:
1. Choose reusable alternatives to disposable products:
a. A sponge instead of a paper towel
b. A reusable razor blade instead of disposable shavers
c. A mug instead of disposable (plastic or paper) cups
d. Washable plates or china instead of paper plates
e. Cloth napkins instead of paper ones
f. Cloth diapers or diaper service instead of disposable diapers
g. Carry drinks in refillable thermos bottles, and carry your lunch in
washable, reusable containers. Instead of paper towels, use a cloth or
sponge to clean up.
2. Be an environmental shopper:
a. Don't buy things that are overpackaged. Ask yourself, "Is this packaging
really necessary?"
b. Avoid single serving packages
c. Use a soap bar instead of liquid soap dispensers
d. Buy toothpaste in large tubes instead of other, more wasteful containers.
3. Buy in bulk to reduce packaging waste that is thrown away:
a. Buy concentrates of products like detergents, cleaners, and juices
b. Buy large sizes of products
c. Buy fruits and snacks loose instead of in packages
4. Bring your own bags to the grocery store. When you're asked "paper or
plastic," say "No thanks, I have my own bag." If you buy only one or two
items, don't use a bag.
5. Use both sides of a sheet of paper when making copies or writing. Reuse
glass, plastic and metal containers to hold small items such as bulk purchases,
sewing supplies, crayons, hardware, etc. Cardboard boxes can also be used
again.
6. Invest in a battery charger and use rechargeable batteries, or better yet, avoid
using batteries whenever possible.
7. Share your magazines and newspapers with your friends. Bring recent
magazines to hospitals, nursing homes, doctors and dentist offices.
8. Donate reusable clothes, toys and other items to charity. Make old clothing
into new by painting or decorating or remodelling in some way. Make rags out
of unusable clothes.
10. Get your nickel back. Return used soda and beer containers to the store to
redeem your deposits. Yes, the big plastic bottles too.
11. Repair appliances and furniture instead of throwing them out. It's usually
less expensive.
12. Write to manufacturers about excessive packaging. They'll listen.
13. Compost grass, leaves and other yard waste in your backyard.
14. Tell your friends, family and neighbors not to use disposable items.
Here are ten things you can do to reduce waste at your school:
Use reusable bottles for your drinks instead of disposable bottles, cans or
cartons and use reusable airtight containers for snacks and packed lunches
instead of disposable packaging.
Always use both sides of a piece of paper, before you recycle it or throw it
away. Some schools have scrap trays to store paper that has only been written
on one side and use this paper for rough drafts. A good place for one of these
scrap trays is by the photocopier! By using both sides of paper you reduce the
amount of paper you waste.
Encourage your school secretaries to reuse envelopes by sticking a label over
the old address. This will save money as well as reduce the amount of
envelopes that would be thrown away.
Ask your teacher to think about this idea. Instead of giving out merit/reward
certificates, have pages in your journal/school diary where teachers can stamp
in a merit/reward. This could be done for detentions as well. This will stop you
losing your merit/reward certificates and will reduce the amount of waste
paper.
Make a worm compost bin. You can recycle all the staff's tea bags, your fruit
scraps and some of the left over school dinners in a worm bin. To learn how,
your teacher can sign up for a Vermicomposting class with the District.
Reuse old paper that can not be written on any more, to make papier mache
models or masks. You can also mix it with water and mash it up to make pulp
for 3D modelling or making your own recycled paper.
Buy lunch items with with less packaging on them. For example you could buy
an apple instead of a bag of fruit snacks. Or you could bring snacks in to school
from a large bag/packet at home instead of buying individually wrapped
snacks. This will reduce the amount of packaging waste that you throw away.