A new school year is here! It's essential to get a great start. It's even better to get to a green start! 

As parents, we need to set an example for our kids. We need to teach them good habits so they can grow up to be active and productive members of society. One of the many lessons we need to teach them about is caring for the environment and sustainability. 

Talking about school recycling and recycling programs, in general, is a great place to start having this ongoing conversation about being eco-friendly. Below, we’ll outline some ways for you and your family to approach recycling solutions for school materials.

1. Educate your kids about the importance of recycling

Learning about recycling programs can start at home and then these lessons can be applied while kids are at school. Talk with your kids about what can be recycled and how to put things in the right bin. Even simple things like getting them to help put things in recycling bins and take the bins out to the street each week can get them engaged and interested in how recycling works.

school kids holding recycling bin

2. Ask about the school recycling program

information about it through email, handouts, or newsletters. 

Talk with your kids about the school recycling program and encourage them to participate. Perhaps there is an opportunity for your child to join an environmental club or take part in green initiatives throughout the year.  

If your child's school doesn’t currently have a recycling program in place and you are interested in spearheading recycling solutions check out our 5 Step Checklist To Start A Successful School Recycling Program.

3. Pack a litterless lunch

Litterless lunch programs are increasing in popularity in many schools. These programs encourage the use of reusable containers and bottles for lunches. Rather than taking juice boxes and individually wrapped snacks to school, you can take lunch without any litter and nothing to recycle at school. This will help reduce the amount of waste your school produces.

lunch packed in a reusable container

4. Reuse school supplies from previous years

School materials can be reused if they are in good condition. Before you head out to your local school supply store and stock up on new sets of markers, pencil crayons, and notebooks, check your current supply. You likely have many of the items you need. Buying less and using what you already have is also a way to support school recycling programs. 
When you do purchase school materials, choose items that are easy to recycle. When you are finished with your markers, crayons and other materials, know-how and where to recycle them. There are a lot of recycling programs in your community that help with recycling solutions for school materials. Check out our recent blog 7 Eco-Friendly School Supplies That Are Easy to Recycle to learn more.

5. Think before you use school items

 Part of recycling is ensuring you use school materials as much as possible before you put them in the blue box. Here are some tips & recycling solutions to get the most out of school materials:

  • Think before you print 
  • Use both sides of the paper
  • Reuse everything that you can – old magazines, scraps of paper, boxes
  • Put the caps back on markers and use them until they are finished

And, as always, when it's time to recycle, make sure you put materials in the appropriate commercial recycling bin. Improve your commercial recycling efforts with these 5 Solutions For Schools to Improve Recycling Rates.

Looking for more recycling solutions tips and tricks? Check out these other blogs from CleanRiver Recycling:

CleanRiver Recycling provides a variety of innovative, flexible, and customizable recycling solutions with over 1,440 colour, opening shapes and label options. To determine the right solution to meet your needs, use the CleanRiver product selector.

If you have additional questions that weren’t answered in this blog post, please call us at 1-866-490-2585 or email solutions@cleanriver.com.