According to Science Magazine, between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. Fish constantly swallow bits of this plastic which harms them for the rest of their lives and hundreds of thousands of whales, turtles, dolphins, and seals die because of pounds of plastic that they ingest. While this is an issue that should be addressed through national and international policy, sometimes individual agents of change are needed to help make a difference.
I try to take all opportunities I can to reduce my personal use of single use plastics. My favorites are using reusable cups to drink my green juices or iced coffees. I carry a metal water bottle with me every where I go to make sure I am hydrated and not tempted to buy a single use plastic bottle. I also make my breakfast using a Talenti Gelato container as a tupperware, instead of throwing away the container.
Here are a few ways to help reduce your waste production throughout your school day:
Use a reusable water bottle or cup - Throughout the school, there are water fountains that allow for easy refilling throughout the day. And if you hate how tap water tastes, throw some fruit in your bottle to give your water some flavor. Walking around the hallways in the morning you will notice many students have drinks in single-use coffee cups, both plastic, and paper. This method is very wasteful and reusing a cup daily can help lessen your carbon footprint.
These stores offer discounts for bringing your own cup:
- Starbucks
- Dunkin' Donut
- Peet's Coffee
And some places won't offer discounts but will still gladly fill your reusable cup instead of their single use plastic options. Some campuses even offer discounts for bringing a resuable cup to coffee vendors on campus.
Bring your own silverware to lunch - During each lunch period, hundreds of students eat lunch and many use single-use plastic silverware. Bringing your own fork, spoon and butter knife that is bamboo or metal reduces your daily use of plastic. The Annvchi Office Cutlery Set with Case on Amazon comes with a fork, knife, spoon, chopsticks, a straight straw, a curved straw and a cleaning brush in a case for $10. Buy a silverware set online like this one on Amazon, or steal one from your kitchen and put it in an unused pencil case to keep it clean.
Check out the Annvchi set here - https://www.amazon.com/Annvchi-Eco-Friendly-Utensils-Set/dp/B07QNCMJP3/
Recycle your markers - Highlighters, sharpies, and regular markers can all be recycled by Crayola. When your markers fade, send them to Crayola ColorCycle. The company accepts all markers and recycles them to minimize markers in landfills and its free to ship the markers to be recycled, all you need are some old markers and a cardboard box.
Learn more here - https://www.crayola.com/colorcycle.aspx
Encourage your teachers - Ask teachers to print on both sides of their handouts or posting all assignments on Google classroom to reduce paper use. If your teacher still only prints single sided, use the blank backs for note taking. At the end of the school year remember to recycle your old notes or use them as kindling for summer bonfires.
Go thrifting - If you feel your wardrobe needs a refresh, avoid fast fashion. The entire fashion industry creates a lot of waste because of the massive amount of products produced each year. By going to thrift stores, clothing items will have more use in them and are less likely to end up in landfills. And this goes both ways. If you have clothes you were thinking about throwing out, donate them instead. Some thrift store chains like Savers offer coupons n exchange for donations.
Choosing to make small changes can have tremendous impact, by minimizing the use of single-use plastic, thrifting and recycling paper and markers you can have a huge impact on your school community and Mother Earth.
