Why This is Green

Schools don’t tread lightly on the environment. Consider the paper, computers, phones, printers, pens, pencils, cleaning products, and lighting involved. Imagine the resources and electricity needed to keep it all running.

While there are broad changes that can be implemented in any school to reduce this impact—minimizing electricity use, purchasing only the greenest electronics, instituting a recycling program—smaller changes are important, too. Buying eco-friendlier and recycled schools supplies helps, which both the school and individual students can easily do.

Most of us have a sense of why virgin paper has a heavy impact—the harvested trees, the manufacture, the bleaching and dying, and eventually the staggering amount of paper that never gets recycled at the end of its useful life—adding more waste to our already overstuffed landfills. But have you ever considered writing implements? By some estimates, more than 14 billion pencils are produced every year—many made from wood from ancient forests. Add to that the billions of pens, highlighters, crayons, and markers used in schools--and never recycled. That’s a lot of resources.

There are also health issues with many conventional school supplies. Many paints, glues, and markers release unsafe fumes. The chemicals found in some art supplies have been linked to everything from headaches and nausea to cancer.

Learn More

• EPA.gov: Benefits Of Paper Recycling
• Bookmark This Site: Forest Stewardship Counsil
• GreenAmericaToday.org: Are Art Supplies Toxic?
• The Center For A New American Dream: Back-to-College Reality Check--To Buy Or Not To Buy?
• Secret-Life.org: The Secret Life Of Paper