Back to School Sustainability
With school starting for many elementary through university-aged students, the problem of supplies and food waste is a major topic to discuss. Learn about the effects of school supplies waste as well as food waste and what you can do to combat pollution!
Back to School Sustainablilty
August and September are two busy months for all students as they get back into the routine of waking up early to go to school and staying up late to finish homework. With the start of school, parents also have the important job of providing their kids with the correct supplies so that their children can be successful in class. In addition, parents also need to either pack their kid’s lunch with food from the supermarket or give their kid money to buy lunch at the cafeteria.
Because of this, with each school year, tons of waste from both school supplies in the classroom and school lunches in the cafeteria is produced. As a society, we need to find ways to limit this extreme waste of supplies and food in a school setting.
School Supplies Waste
Each year, about $38.8 billion worth of back-to-school supplies are newly purchased. On average, households with children ranging from elementary school through high school plan to spend an estimated amount of about $874.68 on new clothing, shoes, electronics, and school supplies, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics’ annual survey. 77% of all school supplies bought during one school year are wasted. These alarming statistics show a serious problem in the amount of school supplies being wasted.
Not only are these school supplies being wasted and not reused by someone else, but they are also contributing to the problem of climate change. Many of the school supplies we use in school are plastic and non-biodegradable. As a result, these plastics end up in landfills, which have negative harmful effects on both humans and the animals living around them. As the waste from the plastic in school supplies decompose in a landfill, it releases harmful toxins that pollute the ground and water. Humans and other living organisms have to drink this polluted water which then in turn results in negative health effects. In addition, landfills also release a toxic gas, methane, into the atmosphere which adds to the problem of global warming.
School Lunch Waste
Schools and students create 530,000 tons of food waste in the cafeteria each year. Much of this food is wasted because students are forced to grab fruits and milk they do not necessarily want to eat, but are included in their meal price.
On the school lunch line, schools make students grab a piece of fruit and milk. Many of the students do not like the fruit being given to them, and just throw it away instead of it being given to someone who really wants or needs it. Students should be given the option to take what they know they are going to eat instead of being forced to take something they know they will not eat. Kids are often picky eaters, and schools should consider this when it comes to school lunches.
What Can You Do?
Instead of purchasing brand-new school supplies every school year, you can allow your kids to try and use their old supplies before buying more. This can help teach children the importance of finishing what you have before getting more.
In addition, there are countless organizations that will accept new or slightly used supplies and give these supplies to families with students who do not have the money to purchase their own supplies. As they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Something that may not seem valuable to a family that has enough of something may seem like the whole world for families in need. Donating leftover supplies is important in maintaining the amount of environmental waste from school supplies.
To add on, in a school lunch setting, it is important to encourage students to bring home any packed lunch that may not have been eaten. Instead of having your child throw away any remaining lunch, there is probably someone at home who would be willing to eat the leftovers, or it can be placed in a compost bin. This also shows parents what children eat and do not eat, and can help in future preparations of meals.
Many schools in the United States have realized that there is a problem when it comes to wasted food in the cafeteria and are turning to different methods to try and solve these problems. For example, some schools are donating leftover sandwiches to recovery organizations and to people in need. Donating is a great way of reducing the amount of food not being eaten by students.
Recap
With school starting for many elementary through university-aged students, the problem of supplies and food waste is a major topic to discuss. Each year, 77% of all school supplies bought during one school year are wasted. Many of these school supplies are plastic and non-biodegradable and as a result, these plastics end up in landfills which have harmful effects on both humans and the animals living around them. The ground and water can become polluted impacting all living organisms. In addition, landfills only add to the problem of climate change. In addition, schools and students emit 530,000 tons of food waste in the cafeteria each year. Kids tend to know what they will or will not eat, so schools should stop forcing students to take foods they know they will not consume. Parents should have a conversation with their kids about food waste to try and avoid future waste.