Who remembers the days of loading up on plastic binders, plastic pens, markers, dividers, you name it, before the school year started? I sure do. And looking back, I wish there were great, plastic free and sustainable versions of the supplies that helped me put my best foot forward for the new school year.
Whether you’re transitioning back to the classroom, the cubicle, or staying in your home office, here are some ways to ace sustainability this Fall with your supplies.
Paper
Everyone uses paper, but just because it’s popular doesn’t make it cool!
Paper is often the largest component of school and office waste streams. On average, mixed paper products make up 40% of all school waste and a staggering 90% of office waste.
From things like printing errors, junk mail, print outs, and post-it notes, the average US office worker generates 2 pounds worth of paper waste in a single day and uses roughly 10,000 sheets of paper in a year. To meet the demand for paper, it also means that roughly 900 million trees are
cut down annually for pulp.
The worst part? Studies have also shown that 30% of print jobs are never actually picked up from the printer, and 45% of print outs end up in the trash by the end of the day. Yes, you read that right—the trash.
Sustainable Solutions
Reduce, recycle, or compost mixed paper products.
Ask yourself: Do I really need to use a post-it for this? Does this actually have to be printed out? Can I print this double sided instead? Can I send this in an email rather than printing it out? Does everyone reeeeally need a copy of this? By simply reducing the quantity of paper products used, students and office workers can significantly reduce their environmental impact.
For any paper that is used, recycle what you can. Mixed paper products are readily recycled by most (if not all) municipal recycling programs—aka it has a high chance of actually being recycled if it’s tossed in the recycling bin. And the good news is, paper and cardboard can be recycled again and again up to 7 times! A great reason to recycle paper is that it uses about 70% less of the energy that it takes to make paper from virgin wood. Recycling 1 ton of paper can also help save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of electricity, and 7,000 gallons of water. If your classroom or office does not have a recycling bin, advocate for them to be added! Check out this School Recycling Guide to learn how to get your school involved in paper recycling.
And for any mixed paper products that cannot be recycled (think: anything that has been soiled with water or grease), compost it! Just make sure that it doesn’t have any toxic ink on it from things like Sharpies.
Tip: When shopping for paper supplies, also look for post consumer recycled options!
Plastic Pens
Plastic pens are everywhere. It seems like whenever there’s a free pen being given out at an event, hotel, or restaurant, we just have to take it. And now many of us are probably guilty of having a drawer cluttered with pens?
The issue with disposable pens is that once the ink is all used up, we toss the pen away. And we’re tossing away a lot of them. In the US alone, 1.6 billion disposable pens are thrown away each year.
Sustainable Solutions
There are a few sustainable solutions for the plastic pen problem:
1. There’s no sense in throwing away perfectly good items, so it’s best to use up the plastic pens that you already have. Once you’re finished with them, ensure that they’re responsibly disposed of. Mixed plastics are often difficult to recycle, but TerraCycle is always a great option for used office supplies.
3. If you need a pen (I get it, sometimes you have important documents that need to be written in pen), opt for a fountain pen with refillable ink cartridges, like these from Kaweco.
Plastic Bottles and Coffee Cups
Plastic bottles on average account for 15 percent of school waste streams. Aside from water bottles being totally wasteful, they’re bad for human health too! A recent study by investigative journalism platform, Orb media, revealed that on average a liter of water from plastic bottles contains 314.6 microplastic particles. Yuck.
If you’re a coffee drinker (guilty as charged!) keep in mind that the average office employee uses 500 disposable coffee cups in a year (all of which are sent to landfill).
Sustainable Solutions
Say no to disposables, and opt for reusables.
Bring a reusable water bottle with you to school or to the office to help you avoid having to buy plastic bottled water. You’ll save waste and money this way!
Lunch Waste
Most school cafeteria lunches and takeout spots have this in common: lots and lots of unnecessary packaging waste. Plastic cutlery, styrofoam plates, plastic clamshells, thin plastic wrappers, packaged drinks, excessive napkins, sauce packets—the list goes on.
Sustainable Solutions
By packing your own lunch in reusable containers and bringing your own utensils and a cloth napkin, you can save a lot of waste.
And instead of buying plastic packaged snacks like chips, cookies, and other junk food which only lead to sugar crashes and brain fog, opt for buying healthier snacks in bulk like dried fruit, nuts, granola, and banana chips and bringing them in reusable snack containers. (Psst. The stasher bags from Package Free are great for storing snacks, and also organizing writing utensils, personal care items, and miscellaneous office supplies).
Take it a step further by saving any organic waste that you make at school or work (think: banana peels and apple cores) and put them in a sealable container (a mason jar works great!) to compost once you’re home. And if anyone gives you a strange look for doing this, let it be an opportunity to educate them on the benefits of composting! Not sure how to compost? Check out this video to see how you can compost from anywhere!
Did you know – our offices at Package Free have always been Zero Waste? To learn more about how we operate, check out this article in the Wall Street Journal!
How do you stay sustainable at school or in the office? Let me know in the comments below!
