Saving paper in school is a good way to help save the environment. Schools are an excellent place to take steps to help save our natural resources. Here are some ideas for the green student.
Step 1
Use Computers whenever possible. If you can, e-mail your paper on the geography of Botswana rather than print it out. If you have a laptop, take notes with it, rather than with a notebook.
Step 2
Use Paper Notebooks Wisely.
- Buy and use recycled paper whenever possible. If you have paper you don't need anymore, take it to a recycling center.
- Use both sides of notebook paper. Avoid leaving white space as much as you can.
- Don't do silly things with paper, like passing notes, making planes, eating it to show off in front of your classmates, throwing it in your classmates' heads and so on. Not only is it wasting paper, such behavior can get you in trouble with school staff.
- Re-Use used computer paper: take the paper in the recycling bin next to the printer, align the paper so all the blank sides are one direction, 3-hole punch it, and you just re-used a lot of paper that would be wasted. (You can also offer it to teachers for scratch paper).
Step 3
Write small, (but legible) so the paper will rest longer.
Step 4
Get Students Involved. Student environmental clubs are very popular, and can help make the school community more ecology-savvy.
- Calculate how much paper is thrown out and recycled every day. (The janitor can help you find this out).
- Educate students on ways to conserve and reuse paper: posters, "Tip of the Day" in the daily bulletin, whatever works.
- Recycle clean but used paper into scratch paper for teachers (all you need is time and some paper cutters).
Step 5
Get Teachers and Staff Involved. Adults at school are interested in saving paper, too. Work with them in finding ways to save paper wherever possible.
- Find out how to reduce paper waste in the cafeteria.
- Lobby for hand dryers instead of paper towels.
- Help the art teachers sort paper to re-use.
Step 6
Get Businesses to Donate Paper. Workplaces often have reams of paper goods that are not used, such as outdated letterhead paper, envelopes of the wrong size, and outdated signs. Ask local businesses, the workplaces of parents, and the like, to donate these paper goods to your school to be reused. (And in many cases, it's tax-deductable!)
Step 7
Use Page Flipping Catalogs. Every year, millions of tons of trees are cut down to make the industry's billions of catalogs. It is high time we switch to page flipping catalogs by using services like eCatalog Creator.
Tips
- Don't write on random pieces of paper to remember things. (They are too easily lost anyway). Write them down in your assignment book or use a "sticky note" program on your laptop. Or text-message a note on your mobile device. Or use a visual cue--like putting your watch on the "wrong" hand.
- Don't use the stapled notebooks like the ones at school. After you've filled out more than half of the notebook, you can't rip out an empty sheet without ripping out a written one too. Consider using a 3-ring binder instead, or a spiral notebook.
- If you need to buy recycled notebook paper--and sometimes blank re-used paper won't do--buy paper with the highest precentage of recyled material.
