Students investigate how much waste your school generates and where it goes, as well as recycling and composting efforts.
Below is a collection of resources that support PLT’s GreenSchools Waste & Recycling Investigation.
To get the investigation, download a free digital version, or purchase a print copy.
Discover ways to green your home - and save money - with these questions and tips. This Green Your Home checklist will help children and their families decide together what they might do to improve their environment at home.
Every month we carefully select new tools and resources that enhance PLT’s lessons. These include educational apps, videos, posters, interactive websites, careers information, and teacher-generated materials. Browse a chronological listing below:
BillerudKorsnäs, a renewable packaging material organization that specializes in creating sustainable packaging solutions, created this interactive resource titled Challenge your eco-footprint. It helps people understand the differences between types of waste and recyclable materials and how long they remain in the environment. Displayed in the resource is a digital representation of how long it takes for waste items to decompose. Use this resource to help raise awareness of the importance of recycling and help your students assess environmental impact.
Imagine If is a podcast on climate resilience. Developed by the National Association for Environmental Education and National Geographic, Imagine If interviews change-makers affecting positive change on the world. Imagine If features high school students designing solutions to environmental issues in their communities. Listen with your students and inspire them to become change-makers in their community!
Composting is easy, especially if you are already working with your students on a school garden. A Guide to Setting up a Simple Backyard Compost System explains where to place it, what you can and can’t put in it, and the necessary steps you need to take to be successful to create “black gold.”
Be Zero inspires, educates, and activates others to reduce their plastic and trash footprint for a sustainable future. Join the challenge with your students too! For example, one article on their blog called How to Pack a Zero Waste Kids Lunch highlights how one parent used a bento style stainless steel container called PlanetBox to easily pack their kids lunch and avoid using packaged foods.
Did you know that indoor air can be up to 100 times more polluted than outside air due to the accumulation of volatile organic compound (VOC) levels caused by chemical cleaning agents? Have students investigate the impact of common cleaning products on their environment, learn about “green cleaning,” and how to create their very own non-toxic cleaning products to use at home or in the classroom. The EP Cleaners’ Eco-Friendly Guide to Cleaning provides student with everything they need to start “green cleaning.”
Learn how to be waste-free! EPA developed these Waste-Free Lunch activities to help students learn how to reduce, reuse, and recycle items in their school lunches. Included are tips for packing a waste-free lunch and a healthy lunch menu worksheet.
Have you thought about trying crowdfunding to help get a GreenSchools project off the ground? Or reaching out to your community to find advocates and volunteers? The ioby (in our back yards) crowd-resourcing platform can connect you with funding and support. Whether it’s updating your school garden, adding a cafeteria composting program, or teaching students about renewables, crowdfunding can be an effective tool for getting more parents and neighbors invested in your green school work. Anyone with a great idea for their community can collect tax-deductible donations, find volunteers, and access one-on-one customized fundraising coaching on ioby.org. This national nonprofit crowdfunding platform is designed for projects that make schools and neighborhoods more sustainable, healthy, connected and livable.
Looking for ways to bring sustainability projects to your school? Use the Sustainability in Schools Game with your middle and high school students to explore the cost-benefits. The game includes 45 cards covering a range of sustainability projects that could be implemented in your own school, along with video instructions and critical thinking questions to get your students thinking.
Produced by the EPA, this Think Green Infographic is a great way to get your students thinking through simple, thought-provoking questions – Do You Really Need It?, How “Green” Is It?, Can You Reuse It?, and Can You Buy It Used? The graphic provides tips and action steps middle and high schoolers can take to reduce their impact on the environment and promote conservation.
The lifecycle of garbage is illustrated through photos and simple captions from the Lawrence County Solid Waste Management District (IN).
This U.S. EPA website provides in-depth information on solid waste generation, recycling, and disposal in the United States.
This website provides information on developing and implementing a waste-free lunch program at schools. It includes tips, success stories, and resources.
Keep America Beautiful is a nonprofit that provides waste education materials, events, and programs.
This award-winning environmental assessment program is designed to help local governments address issues of climate change, sustainability, and environmental health.
This video from the U.S. Forest Service’s ClimateChangeLIVE program, aimed at young people, describes how composting can be a part of the solution to climate change.
A “Green Jobs” curriculum and activity guide funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Job Corps Office, and the Conservation Education Program.
The U.S. Forest Service’s whimsical character, Woodsy Owl, tells students to “Lend a Hand – Care for the Land!” and provides suggestions for participating in conservation efforts. Check out Woodsy Owl on Facebook and Twitter as well.
The U.S. EPA website provides specific information on the use and the proper disposal of fluorescent light bulbs. Fluorescent light bulbs must be properly disposed of because they contain very small amounts of mercury. This website also includes information on comparing and choosing light bulbs.
The Invasive Paper Project travels throughout Detroit to offer papermaking demos and workshops with invasive plants (like Phragmites, Honeysuckle, Garlic Mustard) that have been removed from city parks, lots, and green spaces in many different communities. This project creates community awareness about invasive plant species and their effects on local ecosystems, while also providing an opportunity to think about invasive plant life differently. While eradication is important, projects like this one allow participants to experiment with new uses and products from otherwise unwanted raw materials. Consider turning your next papermaking activity into a service-learning project by using invasive species pulp instead of paper scraps!
EPA’s Recycle City’s interactive website showcases an interactive map, scavenger hunt, and game that all explore ways homes and businesses can recycle, reuse, or reduce waste. Use this website to spark interesting discussions around waste and recycling in places and spaces where students can have direct impacts.
Get learners excited about sustainability with Earth Science Week activities you can try with your classroom, complete with recommended grade levels and relevant science standards!
From eco-conscious school supplies to creative projects using recycled materials, inspire students to think critically about their environmental footprint.
Thirty-two percent of the plastics produced each year flow into our oceans. Here are a few ways you can encourage your students to reflect on how much plastic they use and how they can reduce their plastic consumption to protect the environment.
Imagine this. Students, teachers, and administrators working together to achieve a common goal – improving the environmental quality and sustainability of school campuses. Now imagine …
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