I Didn't Know That Was Recyclable! - Shower Poofs

Don't throw away your shower poof after you have finished using it.  Recycle it!  Shower poofs are made of #4 plastic.  This type of plastic can be recycled where ever plastic grocery bags are recycled.  All you have to do is cut off the rope/string before recycling it.

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Trash vs. Landfill

Ellwood Thompson's is a great organic grocery store here in Richmond. Located just off of Cary Street, they have a great variety of organic products and are very proud of their locally grown produce. I have found that many organic produce items are actually no more expensive than their non-organic counterparts.

One thing I recently noticed is that the trash containers in the store aren'e labeled as "TRASH".  They're labeled as "LANDFILL".  I think that most of us don't really think about or appreciate the tremendous amount of waste each and every one of us generates.  If we thought to ourselves, "This item I'm about to throw out is going to end up in a landfill." then maybe we would think about if the item can be recycled or if there's a similar product that we can buy that isn't as wasteful.  Something to think about!

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Prescription Drug Disposal

On September 25, 2010, DEA will coordinate a collaborative effort with state and local law enforcement agencies to remove potentially dangerous controlled substances from our nation’s medicine cabinets. Collection activities will take place from 10:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. at sites established throughout the country. The National Take-Back Day provides an opportunity for the public to surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications for destruction. These drugs are a potential source of supply for illegal use and an unacceptable risk to public health and safety.

This one-day effort is intended to bring national focus to the issue of increasing pharmaceutical controlled substance abuse.

•The program is anonymous.

•Prescription and over the counter solid dosage medications, i.e. tablets and capsules accepted.

•Intra-venous solutions, injectables, and needles will not be accepted.•Illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not a part of this initiative.

Find collection site(s) near you.

Please check back often as new collection sites will be added daily.

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Old School PSA with ALF

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Waste Free Lunches

There are lots of enterprising companies that offer products so parents can pack a waste-free lunch for their children. Not to be a party pooper, but I see no real need for these special products. My son eats a peanut butter sandwich, some canned fruit, and some chocolate chip cookies. We just use some plain jane food storage containers and put his milk in a thermos. We include a napkin that is made from recycled paper. My son has been great remembering to not throw out his containers.

I wish more parents would use reusable containers instead of using Ziplock bags. BTW - Ziplock bags can be recycled. They are accepted (sans zipper) at facilities that accept plastic grocery bags. I can’t think of anything that a kid would normally have in his/her lunch that couldn’t go in a reusable container. Using reusable containers not only allows you to eliminate the need for disposable bags, it saves money. For example, instead of buying individual servings of applesauce, you can buy a big jar of applesauce and pour it into a reusable container. One of my goals is to start a “Waste-free Wednesday” program at our school. The lunch staff would reward students who brought a waste-free lunch by taking their picture for publication on the club’s blog.

Some schools have a Boomerang Lunch Program.  They encourage students who bring their lunch to bring all of their uneaten food and their waste home with them for disposal.  This has numerous benefits.  Parents can see what their children are or aren't eating and can adjust the lunches appropriately.  Parents will also see how much waste every lunch generates and will hopefully take the initiative to use reusable containers instead of disposable packaging.  If enough student bring a waste-free lunch, the waste volume generated in the cafeteria can be reduced dramatically.  This reduction can potentially result in the school being able to reduce the dumpster size and/or its pickup frequency.  Did you know that it costs about $15 a day for trash pickup at Woolridge?  More waste-free lunches in tandem with a vigorous recycling program can allow the school to save several hundred dollars in waste hauling fees.  So do your part and pack a waste-free lunch for your child today!

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Mixed Media Contest - Photo Entries

Here are the photos submitted for our First Annual Mixed Media Contest

1st Place - Jack Y.

2nd Place - Max L.

3rd Place - Jill K.
Click HERE to see photos .

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Mixed Media Contest - Essay Entries

We had a great turn out for our First Annual Mixed Media Contest.  Here are the three essays that were received as part of our contest.

1st Place: Go Green - by Morgan S.

It is importin to always be working hard to save our Earth.  Our Earth needs out help to be healthy.  One way to help is to use less water.  By using less water you can save our Earth and us.  You can take shorter shours.  Also you can save electricity.  Another way is to turn off the lights when not using them.  You can also use old stuff like magazines for art projects.  You can use old pictures for a person to decorate with.  You can use less plastic.  You should do that because it takes about 500 years for plastic to break down in the dump.  You can donate clothes and other things instead of throwing them away.  Donate them!  There is so much to do, but if we work together we can save our Earth.

2nd Place:  Untitled - by Brian W

Recycling really helps the Earth.  To help the Earth stay clean you can recycle cans, bottles, cardboard and, paper.  If you see [the recycling symbol] with a number in side you can recyle this object.  If you are recycling a bottle, don't recycle the cap.  If you don't have a recycle bin you can use a paper bag.  So now y know how to recycle.  Try not to do it just at home.  Do it everywhere.  I love my Earth and you should too.  Let's recycle every day.

3rd Place:  How I help the Earth - by Kyle C

Drink from a reusable bottle... that is how I help reduce, reuse, and recycle.  I also conserve electricity by turning out the lights when I leave a room.  I conserve out valuable water resources when I take a shower.  It is important to keep the Earth clean for generations to come.

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Green Club Basket at Silent Auction

The Woolridge Elementary School Green Club has put together a basket of numerous "green" items for the silent auction beind held on May 15, 2010 during the school's Spring Carnival.  Proceeds from the silent auction benfit the Woolridge PTA who, it turn, use the funds to support our school.  The following items have been generously donated by local businesses and individuals.

• Programmable thermostat (including installation) from Hix Heating and Air Conditioning
• (2) fresh produce boxes delivered to your home from Dominion Harvest
• Planet Earth: The Complete Series DVD (5-disc set) from Best Buy
• (2) Recycled Juice Bag Tote Bags
• (3) Recycled Juice Bag Pencil Cases
• (2) Recycled Juice Bag Portfolios
• Recycled Juice Bag Lunch Box
• Circuit Board Desk Clock
• Circuit Board Photo Frame
• Recycled soda bottle laynards
• Recycled newspaper pencil pack of 24
• Woolridge reusable grocery bag
• (2) Snack Taxi Sandwich and Snack bags
• Worm Poop Plant Food
• Pack of CFL Light Bulbs
• MilkMuny recycled wallet

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Reducing Paper Towel Consumption

Woolridge Elementary School orders 30 cases of paper towels per month, and each case costs $16.66.  That equates to nearly $5,000 a year spent on paper towels.  That's 1,200,000 paper towels that are thrown in the trash each year!

I felt it was important to reduce the number of paper towels used at our school for a number of reasons.  First of all, it's important to conserve our trees, which are an important natural resource.  It takes a lot of energy to create paper towels, and creates a lot of pollution too.  Paper towels are a problem on the other end too as they end up in our landfills.  But another reason to reduce our paper towel consumption is to save money.  These stickers have been proven to reduce paper towel consumption by 15%.  Some schools have reported a 30% reduction in consumption.  In the case of Woolridge, a 15% reduction amounts to an annual savings of about $750!  Multiple that out across the 60+ schools in our school district, and you're talking about tens of thousands of dollars - all because of simple little sticker that reminds people that "these come from trees". 

During Earth Week, Woolridge students placed "These Come From Trees" stickers on the paper towel dispensers located in the various classrooms and bathrooms in the school.  They were generously provided to us free of charge by Pete Kazanjy.  He's a product manager/designer living in the Silicon Valley, and this is a fun side project that he hopes can do some good.  Click HERE to read about how the idea of "These Come From Trees" stickers was born.

So be on the lookout for these stickers the next time you're visiting Woolridge Elementary School.  Remember to take only what you really need.  I bet you'll find that you only really need one or two paper towels to dry your hands instead of a a big giant handful.  You'll be saving the trees as well as saving our school district some money.

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Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

The Woolridge Elementary School Green Club recently collected hair and nylons as part of their 1st Annual Recycling Bonanza.  Out timing for collecting these items is fortunate given the current crisis in the Gulf of Mexico.  The hair and nylons we collected will be sent to a great orgnization called Matter of Trust.

A huge nationwide response is currently taking place to help get hair boom to the gulf coast beaches in need. Matter of Trust has 12 locations spread out through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida that are receiving hair. There are hundreds of volunteers having Boom B Q parties where they're making the boom.

Thousands are signing up to their database program Excess Access (free and fast) to be assigned where to send hair, fur, waste wool clippings and used nylons (washed, runs ok) for making the booms. Please see their Youtube for information on Hair Mats and Hair Booms!

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