I am very dissappointed that schools are lagging so far behind when it comes to "Going Green".  I would argue that schools are some of the biggest environmental offenders (excluding the corporate world of course, schools do not pollute oceans and rivers and emit toxic funes into the skies).

The biggest offenses that school commit on a daily basis are completely fixable and can even save schools money along the way!

There are two main ways that school can immediately become "greener".  1. Paper reduction  2.  Trashless Lunches

We have implemented two programs at my school to address these issues.

THE PAPER REDUCTION PROGRAM

We used to print out 850 weekly newsletters, one for each child.  The first step was making sure that we never print more than one paper for each family.  By simply placing a red dot on a little siblings cubby we make sure we are not sending home multiple flyers for each family.  This just saves a little amount of paper but it is a good first step.

The next step we took was to start sending home most school information electronically.  I am not sure about the percentage of families that are on the internet at home but I think it is very high and only going up.  Even those families that do not have internet access at home might have it at work or they can always set up an email address and check it at a local public library.

It turns out that there was a wonderful added benefit to this procedure.  It ensured that all information was reaching the entire family, namely divorced families.  When you send home hard copy information it only reaches the household that the child went home to that day and is rarely shared with the other household.  Sending home all information electronically ensures that both families are recieving the exact same information.

Sending home information electronically also helps the parents actually recieve the information.  By the time many children get home they have a backpack full of papers and homework and may have already been to after-school care, playdates, after school activities so who is to say that most of this information is not getting lost along the way?  Let's take the child (5-17 years old) out of the equation and send the information directly to the parents electronically.

THE TRASHLESS LUNCH PROGRAM

We have also implemented a "Trashless Lunch" program at our school.  This entails the kids bringing nothing to school that produces trash.  Please watch these videos for detailed explanations about how the program works. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5-aTgbAYW4

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mqs2XolqoDc

A "trashless lunch" is a lunch that produces no trash.  Beverages are in a thermos or reusable bottle (not a juice box or bottled water!).  All other food is stored in plastic containers (tupperware, no baggies!).  The children also use reusable utensils instead of disposable ones. 

We have also created a mascot named "T.C." (trash can) who the kids absolutely adore.

Our school has enjoyed a 40% drop in the amount of trash that we produce but I will not be happy until our school is 100% trash-free!  I just don't see the need for a child to produce one scrap of trash during lunch (I don't count orange peels and apple stems, those are biodegradable).

This "Trashless Lunch" Program also has an unintended benefit.  When children are not producing any trash they are bringing home what they cannot/choose not to eat which then alerts the parents as to what is and what is not being eaten by their child at school.  My parents packed me a ham sandwhich just about everyday of my elementary school career and just about everyday of  my elementarty school career I threw that sandwhich in the trash!

Packing trashless lunches also helps with portion control.  You quickly find out how many goldfish your child likes to eat each day instead of just packing a bag of goldfish and assuming it's the correct amount.

We have also created an environmentally friendly check list for the kids to fill out and turn in.  When they complete all that is required on the form they are rewarded with "Environmedals".  These "Environmedals" look like Olympic medals and are huge hits on campus.