How to Zero-Waste a School
INTENTIONALLY (HASTE = WASTE)
Our tried and tested approach works.
Begin with a single classroom - START TODAY.
In an age of instant gratification (thanks Amazon), it’s logical to expect a zero-waste button to order a zero-waste kit filled with zero-waste products to solve the waste problem.
But skipping ahead by first purchasing new products is not only less effective, it’s less likely to endure.
Most importantly, it bypasses the opportunity for students to participate in common sense practices, and to develop problem solving skills that are absent in today’s culture of disposability.
We will die on this hill: the student experience is the whole point.
If we don’t set kids up with the truth about waste and the skills to grapple with it, no amount of buying new stuff is going to help.
Bear with us.
FIRST STEPS:
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Find a teacher at your school who gets it.
With their buy-in, this teacher’s classroom becomes the school’s Zero-Waste Pilot.
The Pilot Classroom establishes 3 essential building blocks so the changes endure:
1. Demonstrates proof of concept in this classroom before soliciting across the board buy-in from teachers/staff/parents.
Resistance is to be expected from teachers concerned they won’t like the changes, and worries from parents that their children will miss the excitement of back to school shopping - Will it be too expensive?? Will the products last?? What happens if ____???
This is the opportunity to incorporate common sense practices into the classroom WITH the students - building the case for waste reduction transparently - step by step.
It can’t be accomplished by jumping in and attempting to switch the whole school over to new products and systems all at once.
2. Allows fellow teachers to witness and learn from the students and teachers in the Pilot Classroom, before collaborating to roll out proven zero-waste practices across campus.
Note we use the word practices before addressing products.
Successfully addressing school waste is about practices and systems first, followed by the products that replace their wasteful counterparts.
3. Gives students a “safe space” to participate in and experiment with these new practices.
”Safe” because the whole classroom takes part in the transition together - not a handful of kids whose parents bought them “eco school supplies”.
Waste reduction practices become routine in the Pilot Classroom - making it far more effective than an eco-assembly about how the school is going green, or being provided with eco-supplies as though the products are the solution to disposability culture.
Think about the example that is set by throwing “away” still usable supplies in the classroom, in order to make room for new “zero-waste” supplies.
THE IRONY HURTS.
*Donating used classroom supplies to a “school in need” in order to justify buying all new zero-waste stuff for students of greater financial means -
What is the lesson?
If the intention is sincerely to help students and schools in need, there are more more respectful ways to accomplish this than by reinforcing the consumptive (disposability) model where a segment of the student population is conditioned to believe they need/deserve brand new stuff every year - rather than learning to use what they already have.
This is a prime opportunity to set an example that is of benefit to students of any age, while simultaneously reducing waste. -
The more students are included in this process, the better.
STUDENT STORE - SET IT UP TODAY
*items in “store” are available (no charge) to students as needed - take what you need, leave what you don’t.
1. Clear a closet or cubpoard.
2. Round up existing school supplies (markers, pencils, pens, paper - all of it).
Corral the supplies to an area where students have the space and tools (pencil sharpeners, soap/cleaning cloths, trash cans) to Sort/Sharpen/Clean/Discard.
3. Organize supplies by type for the Student Store cupboard.
No surprise that supplies are more appealing once cleaned and organized - their perceived value increases when they’re no longer treated like forgotten garbage.
4. Most households accumulate extra school supplies over the years (spillover from prior back to school shopping hauls).
Inform families that your classroom is accepting these (already purchased) supplies if they wish to send them in to be shared with their child’s classroom.
Fold it in - adding donated supplies to the Student Store. -
Link to Expanded Last Plastic Marker Segment for Classrooms
Abbreviated Recommendation:
Put out a box or bucket with a sign on the side that reads:
LAST PLASTIC MARKERS
In go the markers (plastic pens too) as they dry out.
This is a conversation starter for the following facts:
+ EVERY PLASTIC MARKER OR PEN EVER MADE WILL EXIST AS PLASTIC POLLUTION FOREVER.
Billions + billions of them.
Where are they?
Landfill, Land-Litter, Ocean Pollution, Toxic Ash (from incineration), with a microscopic nano fraction “upcycled” into other cheap plastic disposable items that will inevitably become more plastic pollution in their own time.+ PLASTIC MARKER “RECYCLING” PROGRAMS ARE NEITHER RECYCLING NOR SUSTAINABLE
Collected markers and pens are incinerated in what is called “waste to energy” programs.
These are deceptive wish-cycling programs designed to make people feel good about buying more plastic markers (GENIUS marketing).
The prospect of collecting and wishcycling even a modestly impactful quantity of the plastic markers and pens produced annually is 100% non-existent - these mass produced disposable plastic products are permanent pollution from the moment they’re made - and we have been tricked for decades into believing kids need them.
+ CONVERSATIONS:
If every student in a classroom is asked to purchase a pack of 12 markers for school - How many markers is that per year for your:
Classroom
Grade
School
District
State
Country
(using ball park numbers/Fermi math)
- Is there an art project, poster, or drawing that justifies irreversible plastic pollution?
- What did your grandparents or great-grandparents use before plastic markers were invented?
- What are plastic-free alternatives to plastic markers?
TODAY’S SCHOOL SUPPLIES ARE LITERALLY GARBAGE
By not changing course now, we’ll continue to rack up the charges - and then stick our kids with the bill.
It’s unconscionable.
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS:
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General’s Cedar Pointe #2
Incense Cedar
Made in America by one of the last pencil factories in the United States.
This is our all time go-to pencil, backed by years of 5-star reviews from students and teachers for the way they write, the lack of lead-breakage, and for the way they smell (like natural wood because they aren’t coated in plastic paint).
Another subtle difference with this pencil is the degree of “rounded hex”. The barrel is hex shaped (reduces rolling off desks), but the sharp angles are perfectly rounded to maximize grip comfort.
It makes a difference.
Recommendations for the Pilot Classroom:
MASKING TAPE METHOD
Wrap a piece of masking tape marked with the student’s name or # around the top of the pencil (students can be assigned a number for the school year - and they can be responsible for the items marked with that number - (their pencils, cubby, binder, scissors, ruler…).
This system works best with dedicated spaces for numbered items to be stored in sequence (so it’s apparent when items are missing/not put back).
Keeping track of assigned belongings in the classroom pays dividends in the reduction of materials needed.By contrast - when there are cups filled with pencils all around the classroom for students to use as needed - pencils are depleted quickly, or you end up with an abundance of partially used pencils.
We’ve seen the Masking Tape Method drastically reduce the need for new pencils.
LEARN ABOUT PENCILS WITH STUDENTS
+ Where are pencils (the ones you use now) made?
+ What kind of trees are used to make your pencil?
+ Where are those trees from?
+ How many pencils are made from a single tree?
+ What is the paint on pencils? (it’s plastic - sharpening painted pencils creates permanent microplastic pollution that can never be cleaned up, and the paint is simply decorative - totally pointless).
Some popular brands use trees cut down in the U.S. that are then shipped to China for processing and packaging, before being shipped back to the U.S.
+ How can companies afford to sell pencils (that have been shipped all over the world) so inexpensively? Volume - In spite of the environmental impact, these companies need to sell as many pencils as possible to “maximize efficiencies”, and as a result have zero motivation to encourage students to conserve, and every motivation to encourage waste.
Use up the pencils you already have Teach students to contain painted pencil shavings in a plastic trash bag before being thrown “away” (contains microplastics and prevents their entering air/waterways).
When you actually need more pencils, choose sustainably forested, unpainted pencils, made in the United States. -
Forest Choice Unlacquered Incense Cedar Colored Pencils
FSC Certified
Made in Thailand
Our go-to quality brand for many years.
Our partners at Bulrushed have the only inventory of this product (made exclusively for Wisdom) that is unlacquered/unpainted: -
Single layer, compact pencil tin with a hinged lid.
Wisdom Tins are currently sold out - not slated for restock
Jet Pens Tin Case
Blick Metal Tin
this one’s an ideal size - guessing from the Caran D’ache branding on the front, that they produced too many and are now selling them empty - A small label with the student’s name could easily be affixed over the branding on the front.
There are a variety of tins available on Amazon - be sure to check the one you select is long enough for the length of your pencil.
A slim tin allows a student to carry the essentials from class to class.
2 Pencils
1 Sharpener
1 Highlighter
1 Eraser
1 PenA rubber band keeps contents of the tin secure when carrying around in a bag or backpack.
Fitting the tin with a piece of wool or felt keeps contents from rattling around, protecting the tips of pencils/highlighters, and keeping it all quiet (which is why we called them Hushers).
When we stocked Wisdom pencil tins, we chose 100% wool because down the line (after many years of use), the wool would be compostable as a 100% natural material.
For a vegan option, we recommend experimenting with hemp or cotton batting - we never got that far in product development, but think the link above is a good option.
We steer clear of man-made materials (acrylic, poly-anything, rayon, even bamboo - and our least favorite: materials made from recycled plastics) - These fabrics shed zillions of plastic microfibers (greatest contributor to plastic pollution in the world’s oceans), and also these little fibers are entering our bodies/bloodstreams/and
passing through the blood-brain barrier. How dangerous is it? Don’t know yet, but we’re not for it.
Why a tin over a plastic box:
Durability - a tin handily weathers multiple school years (have been carrying mine for the last 7+ years).
When it’s battered and beat beyond its usefulness, it can be recycled.Alternatively, every plastic pencil box ever made is pollution on this planet for the rest of time. Plastic Pencil Boxes are not recyclable (and even if they were falsely promoted as recyclable - they couldn’t be because plastic recycling is a broken, misleading farce).
Why not a pencil pouch?
They don’t adequately protect pencil leads or tips of colored pencils -
They turn grubby quickly and don’t clean up easily -
Whether polyester (plastic) or natural canvas, they are ultimately destined for landfill as mixed materials waste (zippers + fabric).
Nothing composts in a landfill.
Can’t count the number of times we’ve heard from parents + teachers that students don’t take care of their supplies.
Agreed - but don’t blame the kids.
We blame ABUNDANCE, the rampant use of PLASTIC, and designs that result in MIXED MATERIALS WASTE.
We have hosted a number of Locker Clean Outs (last day of school) in order to understand what is thrown “away”.
In short, it’s everything that was on the last back-to-school shopping list.
Notably; pencil boxes + pouches full of new and used pencils, erasers, colored pencils, pens, markers, sharpeners.
At the end of the year it is easier to pitch the whole pencil box/pouch than it is to sort through the contents.
When kids carry an abundance of these supplies, it’s difficult to comprehend that any of it has value.
Got them on sale at Target - can just do it again once everyone’s excited to go back to school shopping next fall - the waste cycle continues. -
Use up the existing plastic markers in your classroom (see “LAST PLASTIC MARKERS BOX” in First Steps section above)
For making posters - we promote the old school approach of Poster Paint and paint brushes.
NATURAL POSTER PAINT IN ZERO WASTE PACKAGING
STABILO 3-IN-1
These markers are pretty great -
They write on dry erase boards and wipe off with a damp cloth.
Draw on paper or cardboard -
Turn drawings into watercolors with use of water + a paintbrush.
____________
We don’t buy into the concept of refillable plastic markers as a solution for schools because they still create an unacceptable amount of plastic pollution considering all of the ink bottles, parts, and the reality that they won’t be properly maintained over time, meaning the whole lot of it will end up as landfill. -
Why Wisdom 3-Ring Binders are Kits rather than pre-assembled:
Every 3-ring binder a student (or adult) has experienced prior to the Wisdom Binder is destined for landfill as mixed materials waste.
Only by assembling the pieces by hand, is it impressed upon the user that the product is endlessly repairable, and 100% recyclable.
When a binder cover is worn out (it can be turned inside out to extend the use of a single cover) - a student can go to the Student Store cupboard for a fresh cover - removing + recycling the old cover before putting on a fresh new cover.Why vinyl (aka the poison plastic) was ever used in toys/school supplies is equal parts mystery and abomination.
Every vinyl binder ever made will exist as toxic pollution on the planet forever.
Binder Kits Only available through our partners at BULRUSHED:
ZERO-WASTE BINDER KITS -
MUJI US NOTEBOOKS
These work well and are reasonably priced.LANDFILL:
Spiral Bound
Book Bound
Notebooks with Plastic/Laminated CoversThe pages within the majority of notebooks found in the trash on the last day of school are unused - resulting in tons unused paper ending up in landfills.
We strongly recommend lower page count notebooks, and only notebooks that are curbside recyclable (not spiral bound). -
JAM Pocket Folders (matte)
These are fine - not as durable or as valuable to recyclers as the old Wisdom Folders, but they’ll do.
Most importantly - NO PLASTIC
No paper a kid is storing in a folder is worth creating plastic folder pollution that will exist on the planet for the rest of time.
NO LAMINATED COVERS
Again, stick with materials that are recyclable and have value to your local waste/recycling haulers - the point is to not generate more waste/landfill. -
Flour + Water
Yes, seriously.
You can get fancy with online recipes that involve a saucepan and include add’l ingredients like vinegar/baking soda -OR
Keep a tray in the classroom with:
Jar of Flour
Bottle of Water
Simple cups/jars for mixing
Paint brushes
Small cotton cloths for wiping up
If all a student learned in school in a single day was that they could mix flour and water to make a simple on-demand zero-waste paste that is 100% natural and biodegradable - it would be a school day very well spent.
NOTHING, absolutely positively nothing a student has or will ever make in school justifies the billions of plastic glue sticks and bottles that will exist as permanent plastic pollution on the planet for the rest of time.It’s just kids sticking pieces of paper to other pieces of paper for crying out loud.
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Use tape sparingly - it’s landfill and should be treated as such.
the exception:
GUMMED PAPER TAPE - NON REINFORCED
Bit of a learning curve here, but we’re extremely pro when it comes to kids learning life skills that don’t pollute the planet.
This life skill has come in handy for us far more than having our state capitals memorized.
Non Reinforced Gummed Paper Tape is kraft paper with a thin layer of water-activated adhesive on the back - like old timey stamps that had to be licked before putting on an envelope.
You don’t lick this tape to activate, there’s a dispenser for that:
GUMMED PAPER TAPE DISPENSERThe reason for Non Reinforced is that the Reinforcing in Reinforced Paper Tape is fiberglass (plastic) thread - Totally unnecessary.
Every box we ever packed/shipped from Wisdom Supply was packed using NON-Reinforced paper tape, and it held up perfectly.