An Exceptional Insight Into Recycling

Manordale Public School, Nepean, Ontario, Recycles

This is a letter we received from Nickola Konecny, a grade 6 student at Manordale Public School.

October 19, 2003

For several years now there has been an active campaign at Manordale School to recycle. I clearly recollect many awareness campaigns, audits and posters marking the progress students and staff are making from one year to another. In many grades the environment, recycling, re-use, pollution and stretching budgets while using resources wisely, is worked into the curriculum. I would like to take the time to recognize efforts that are being made and perhaps indicate further opportunities or areas where we should be continuing to raise awareness and the bar in our school.

First and foremost it is important in what we use and bring to school to reduce packaging and to use recycled products. For breakfast, snacks and lunch it is important to purchase healthy foods in bulk and use re-useable containers to transport and save them. This ensures that we reduce garbage or the volume of material to be re-cycled at our school (and in our community). Each and every student should have as a guiding principle the objective to reduce the amount of garbage brought to school or created at a school. Fruits and vegetables are wonderful in that they offer the most environmentally friendly packaging. Composting is perhaps one of the growth areas we could try next at Manordale.

The benefit is that it is typically cheaper to purchase products with less packaging. Have a re-useable lunch bag rather than a paper or plastic bag. Use Tupperware or Ziploc plastic containers rather than plastic/paper bags or cardboard. Rather than cardboard or plastic/metal film drink pouches consider using a re-fill able plastic container. All these containers can be quickly washed and rinsed in the sink. Our breakfast at school program and lunch at school programs should be reviewed to ensure that in purchasing and serving phases we are taking all recycling opportunities into account.

School supplies are another area where we can help with recycling. When you purchase paper consider purchasing paper products made from recycled fibre. At my father’s work for example they make notepads using the header pages that separate printouts bound with plastic coils and then once the paper has been used they recycle the fibre. Consider using re-fillable mechanical pencils and pens. Are these re-fills stocked at school (leads, erasers, ink). This is environmentally friendly and in the longer term probably more cost effective. Keep track of rulers, staplers, scissors, erasers, binders and duo-tangs. These items can be re-used year after year. Many times government and private sector firms have old binders available that are wonderful for re-use. Think about partnering with some of these firms. Perhaps we should have a swap meet where people could bring in extra school related items and students could trade amongst themselves for items they need. Take for example the transition from crayons to coloured pencils - I’m sure the crayons could be used at school or elsewhere in the community. Would it be possible to purchase bulk white glue and then offer to re-fill glue bottles for students? This would reduce the cost and the number of plastic containers. Would it be possible to create our own notebooks using loose paper and plastic coils? If the school invested in the machine then perhaps teachers and students would have more cost effective methods of binding or using bound paper. What other opportunities exist in the area of school supplies?

The Federal government has a program called computers for schools. This program ensures that computers which fall behind in the business world but still have many years of useful life left are re-assigned to be used in the schools. Typically the government will use a computer system for 3-4 years but the system itself can probably be used for around 8 years. Is there the same opportunity for printers and networking equipment. Diskettes and ink cartridges whether for a laser or ink-jet printers can be recycled and refilled. Is our school doing this? Digital camera’s now offer the ability to capture and view images without necessarily printing them. Computers offer the ability to read and capture information in files without necessarily having to print the information to paper. This means that it is possible to use less paper or use paper more effectively. One must be careful with Technology because it is so easy to print so much material so quickly. Is our school leveraging the benefits of technology and moving towards a paperless office? Will it be possible to electronically communicate with parents and provide report cards and progress using secure methods? Already Banks and companies are using these to reduce paper, envelope and mailing costs - it turns out this is also more environmentally friendly.

At school we currently separate waste into 3 categories: Styrofoam/Plastic , construction paper non-recyclable paper and recyclable paper. Whether from breakfast, snacks, lunch, special events or through activities in the classroom we are all making a great amount of effort once something has been used to recycle these products. Should we ensure that there are more locations for the collection of these three key groups of recyclable products. Sometimes items are recycled for craft making activities.

I’m wondering if we have thought about raising awareness or trying to harvest in further areas. Have we tried to reduce the water used in our school in particular in our washrooms? Have we tried to reduce the amount of paper product used in our schools? My father says that when he was growing up many washrooms were equipped with cloth towels on rollers which would be removed, cleaned and then re-installed. He also said that this was similar to the washed diaper vs. disposable diaper debate. Do we just use Blowers rather than paper at all? Do our sinks have auto turn-off devices? Have we turned the temperature down on the hot water? Have we computerized the thermostat in the school to energy save after school hours but have the temperature correct during school? Have we put in energy efficient light bulbs (typically 25% the energy of standard bulbs and many more years life expectancy) and appliances (fridges/stoves/devices)? Have we computerized the lights/electrical system to also go into an energy saver mode? Do we have a rechargeable battery program in our school and for regular cells do we collect expensed batteries for recycling?

Have we encouraged parents to car pool to reduce bussing or the number of single cars arriving at the school and waiting after school? Have we asked parents not to leave their cars idling? Have we encouraged students and parents to donate books to our school library? Have we encouraged students and parents to donate old clothes to recyclers?

The key is the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. Reduce means questioning whether or not you need the item you are considering. Rather than purchasing consider renting or borrowing. Try to reduce by maximizing the life expectancy of things you have or minimizing mistakes through more planning. Reuse means before releasing something consider whether or not you could use it in some other useful way, extending it’s lifespan to you, a friend, a neighbour, the school or another organization in your community. Recycle means either selling the item, giving it to someone in need or putting it into a program that will break it back down into primary elements so that it can be re-constituted into something else but in a much more efficient manner. I am proud to be a student at Manordale Public school where we have and continue to make a difference.