50 Facts About Your Environment (for Kids!)

Most children know some facts about the environment: they know recycling is good, they know pollution is bad, and they know we need to take care of the Earth if we want to continue living on it. What they may not know is why recycling is good, how bad it could be if we didn't do it, and what other problems there are on the planet that could lead to actions as important as recycling. To give some context we have compiled a list of 50 facts and tips about green living and environmentalism for kids.  These are meant to give everyone a fresh perspective of our world and exactly what it means to be green!  Hopefully, with the help of our kids, we will be able to turn all of our bad environmental practices into good ones.

Recycling

The average North American uses 700 lbs. of paper a year.  This equals approximately 465 trees per person, just for paper!  Learn more.

Recycled paper only creates 25% of the pollution that new paper creates when making it into new products.  Learn more.

A glass bottle will take 40,000 years to decompose if it’s not recycled.  Learn more.

Recycling a single aluminium can will save enough electricity to power a TV for three hours.  Learn more.

The United States throws away enough iron and steel to supply all auto-makers continuously.  Learn more.

Enough aluminium cans are thrown away each year in the United States

Recycle your newspaper.  The Sunday edition of the New York Times takes 75,000 trees to print.  Learn more.

In 1993, the United States had more paper recycled than was thrown into a landfill, the first year this landmark ever occurred!  Learn more.

Recycling a single glass bottle will save enough energy to power a light bulb for four hours.  Learn more.

1987, California began a beverage container recycling program.  Today, they have recycled over 120 billion bottles and cans, enough to circle the Earth 375 times!  Learn more.

Plastic take 450 years just to begin decomposing.  It takes another 50 to 80 years to be completely decomposed.  This also means that every single piece of plastic even made has not even started to decompose.  Learn more.

It only takes 25 recycled plastic bottles to make a brand new fleece jacket.  Learn more.

Enough steel and tin cans are thrown out daily in the United States to make a pipe from Los Angeles to New York, twice.  If a tenth of these cans were recycled, it would equal 3.2 billion cans recycled each year.  Learn more.

Only 1% of plastic shopping bags are recycled.  Learn more.

Most plastic bags they go into landfills do not stay there.  They are caught by the wind and enter trees, oceans, and other parts of nature.  Learn more.

When a newspaper is recycled, it takes only seven days from to become a brand new newspaper!  Learn more.

All newspapers in the United Kingdom at 100% recycled paper.  Learn more.

Many clothing companies now use recycled materials in their clothes.  Check their labels to see if you’re buying clothes that were once something else!  Learn more.

Reusing

Just because you’re finished with a toy doesn’t mean that another kid won’t enjoy it.  Donating your old toys is a great way to save the environment and make another child happy.  Learn more.

In one person’s lifetime, using a cloth bag will save over 22,000 plastic bags! Learn more.

Just because you stopped wearing old clothes doesn’t mean that someone else can’t benefit from it.  Donate you old clothes that are still in good shape to a shelter or charity.  Learn more.

The zinc in old cellphones can be used to build ships.  Learn more.

Your old video game consoles have gold.  They can be recycled into new jewellery and other fine items.  Learn more.

Water

40% of drinking water comes from plastic bottles.  Learn more.

The Earth’s surface is 70% water, but many people go without access to fresh water every day.  Turning the faucet off when you’re brushing your teeth and taking quicker showers will use less water and leave more for others to use.  Learn more.

Saving

Turning your home’s thermostat down by a single degree can save your family 8% in heating costs.  Learn more.

Using energy efficient appliances can save enough money from less electricity usage that it can pay for the entire appliance!  Learn more.

Every three months, people in the United States throw away enough aluminium cans that they could rebuild all the airplanes in the country.  Learn more.

13 billion plastic bags are made every year, about 300 per adult.  Use cloth bags to help reduce the number of plastic bags made.  Learn more.

By recycling paper and cardboard, the United Kingdom is able to save 11 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from ever being created each year!  That equals the exhaust of 3.5 million cars!  Learn more.

For every tonnes of paper recycled, 17 trees are saved.  Learn more.

Paper bags are not really better than plastic bags.  Approximately 14 million tress are cut down each year for paper bags.  Remember to use your cloth bags!  Learn more.

The state of California spends $300 million just on cleaning garbage from their beaches.  Try to do your part and pick up after yourself!  Learn more.

Science and Nature

1.6 billion people do not have access to electricity.  Learn more.

2.5 billion people do not have access to proper sanitation.  Learn more.

Almost 1 billion people don’t have enough to eat.  Learn more.

The United States generates enough garbage each year that the garbage trucks used would stretch halfway to the moon.  Learn more.

Food scraps and other organic garbage creates methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times stronger than carbon dioxide.  Learn more.

The United Kingdom uses enough paper each year to deforest an area the size of the country of Wales!  Learn more.

What Can I Do

Remember to Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle.  There is a reason we say these in this order.  We always want to reuse things first.  If we can’t, then we try to reduce what we use.  Recycling is the final step where we give out old things to someone else to make new things.  Learn more.

Turn off the water when brushing your teeth.  The more people who turn off water faucets when not in use, the more water there is for emergencies.  Learn more.

Turn of lights when you leave a room.  If no one is in a room, there is no reason for a light to be on.  Learn more.

Play outside.  Video games and computers use a lot of energy and have you sitting all day.  Be active outdoors and use less energy, have more fun, and be more fit!  Learn more.

Print on both sides of the paper when using your computer’s printer.  You will only end up using half the paper you normally do!  Learn more.

A child will create 67 lbs. of garbage per year just from using a disposable lunch.  Make your own lunches from home using reusable containers.  Learn more.

For your school lunch, use a reusable lunch box and thermos.  Wash it at night and its ready to go for tomorrow!  Learn more.

Carpooling to school, extracurricular activities, and friends’ houses will lower greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.  Learn more.

Start being a green kid now.  The habits you create will last as you grow up into an adult.  Learn more.

Use a compost.  Over 30% of all garbage thrown away could go to better use in composting.  Learn more.

On average, people buy three new electronic devices each year.  Remember to recycle or sell your old devices instead of throwing them in the garbage.  Learn more.

Additional Sources: Scholastic, Arbor Day Kids, Stratham Library, Home Dental, Alcoa Recycling, Busch Systems, Africa, She Knows, Dewson School

How to Go Green at School

Steps for going green are adaptable and can be applied anywhere you can fit them. You can translate what you already know about going green at home and use it to go green at school! Simple actions such as: 

• turning off lights and electronics when they are not in use;
• buying energy efficient light bulbs and electronic systems;
• using environmentally friendly cleaning products; and
• turning down the heat are all important actions that can be done both at home and school. 

These smalls steps can have significant impacts, and on such a large scale as the school system they can be highly influential. There are more than 1 million computers being used in Canadian schools, and the average desktop computer is estimated to consume 420 kilowatts of power each year; the energy savings that result from turning them off can quickly add up!

In addition to our steps for going green at home, you can also apply any or all of these to your school:

For Students/ Parents

Bus, carpool, or walk

As mentioned in our previous blog post on going Back to School - The Green Way, try to do your best to reduce the amount you drive your individual kids to and from school to reduce your driving emissions. One popular way is to enroll your children in a school bus program. School buses reduce a great amount of emissions, especially if they're newer and up to date with the current emission-reducing standards. You can also choose to organize or join a carpool program and alternate with neighbours to drive a group of children at one time. If you live nearby, get your children to ride their bike or walk to school! A co-op walk team can help keep your kids safe by having groups walk together and alternating parent escorts if needed. 

Re-use school supplies or buy recycled or renewable ones

Take time to look at the supplies you already have and see what can be re-used. You do not always need to buy new pens and pencils when you still have some that are usable. You can easily re-use old binders by taking the contents out, and if only a few pages of an old notebook have been written on you can just discard them and re-use it. 

If the purchase of new supplies is necessary, many major retailers carry recycled and renewable school supplies such as biodegradable pencils, as well as recycled notebooks, paper, and binders. Paper Mate is offering biodegradable pencils that are offered at many major retailers, such as Staples. There is also Ecojot, which offer notebooks, journals, sketchbooks, and more made entirely from post-consumer waste. For more eco-friendly school supply brands check out what Practically Green has to offer here.

When looking for a new backpack, look for both an environmentally as well as child friendly backpack; one that’s made from recycled material and is padded to prevent back pain. You can check out The Ultimate Green Store or Ecocentric Bags to find some of the cool green backpacks being offered.

Making smart, economical decisions about school supplies can go a long way in saving your money and reducing production and waste emissions that result from purchasing new and non- recycled supplies.

Pack a waste free lunch

The average child is said to produce 67 pounds of trash at lunch per year! Through packing a waste-free lunch at home, energy emissions, meal costs, and the waste produced are all reduced. Pack lunches for your child using reusable utensils, containers, napkins, sandwich bags, water bottles and lunch boxes to avoid trash generation. Watch this short video by the Recycling Council of Ontario to learn how to shop for a waste free lunch 

Reuse wrapping paper, paper bags, or newspaper for book covers

Many schools require kids to cover their books and it is a good idea to do it to prevent the wear and tear of them. Instead of buying a manufactured cover, or using new paper to cover them, you can reuse paper bags, newspapers, old wrapping paper, or even outdated maps. Using old paper products will save trees and water, as well as reduce air and water pollution. If you need some help making one, Crafting a Green World has a good tutorial on how to fashion your book covers from paper bags (it can also be applied for newspapers, wrapping paper, and maps too).

Educators/ Administrators

Grow a school garden

By building a school garden you can create opportunities to teach students about ecology, sustainable agriculture, and nutrition. Growing food and native plants also helps kids connect with the source of their food, and problems such as grocery transport emissions, and food waste issues. Plant herbs, fruits, and vegetables that are easy to grow, pick, and cook. You can use them in students’ lunches, cooking classes, or even in your school’s cafeteria! You can use this School Garden Checklist for tips on how to create a garden for your students. If you cannot grow an outdoor garden you can still bring plants and their educational opportunities into your classroom by using indoor plant containers.

Compost

By composting you can help the environment by naturally recycling a large amount of your school’s waste into nutrient-rich soil. You can use the soil produced from it for your school’s flowers, trees, shrubs or even vegetable garden. Composting reduces landfill greenhouse gas emissions and toxins, as well as reduces the amount of space required for landfills. Composting presents a good opportunity to educate on the connections between food, waste and humankind’s impact on the planet. Additionally, it educates on the impact that many small but important biological interactions in nature have; they ultimately make our lives possible through recycling essential life-giving nutrients. If composting outside cannot be done at your school, consider getting a worm bin for your class. For more information and a guide to easy composting visit our Composting for a Greener Future page.

Recycle while raising funds for your school

Recycling reduces the size and affect of landfills, helps conserve natural resources, decreases pollution, saves energy, and can earn money for your school! How does it work? Your school can collect items such as beverage containers or electronics and give them to programs like Encorp’s Return It program (for schools in BC) whom then pay your school money and responsibly recycle the items. Think Recycle is another school recycling program which accepts electronics such as laptops, toner cartridges, inkjet cartridges, and digital cameras. Also, remember to put in place easily accessible recycling bins for other paper and plastic wastes.

Use recycled paper products and use both sides of paper

Make a policy for your classroom or school that urges students and teachers to use recycled paper as well as print, write, or draw on both sides of the paper. You can even set the school’s printers to duplex mode to ensure double sided printing. Whenever possible, be sure to use recycled paper towel, toilet paper, envelopes, and tissues. As a result you will lighten your environmental footprint by saving trees, water, energy, and landfill space!

If your school is able to go the extra mile, you can also dramatically reduce your class’s paper footprint by using digital textbooks instead of printed ones! Touted as the way of the future, going digital helps reduce the burden on paper and can even improve learning and teaching.

Make your school a "no-idling zone"

To avoid unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions you can create a policy that urges parents, bus drivers, and anyone else who visits your school to turn their vehicles off while waiting. According to Friends of the Earth, Canadians idle away $1.3 million in greenhouse-gas-producing fuel each year! Turning idling vehicles off immediately can go a long way in reducing this amount.

Teach students about the environment and sustainability

Teachers play a significant role in encouraging environmental thinkers for society; in a few short years your students will be helping to decide the fate of the planet. Teach kids simple things such as the principles of zero-waste, the carbon footprint calculations of their commute to school, the basic science behind climate change, and the benefits of making decisions for the planet as well as themselves. Steps like growing your own food, supporting local businesses, buying second hand, and minimizing waste can make a big difference when practised for a lifetime. Teaching children about the planet early can help inspire kids to think and learn more about the world around them and humankind’s significant impacts on it. The basic skills and knowledge students learn today can grow into planet-saving capabilities they could put into use tomorrow!

You can check out these easy ways to get kids thinking about the environment early, use these Renewable Energy Documentaries and films by The Story of Stuff project to environmentally engage students, and visit the rest of our blog for more information on many other green topics to reference in the classroom.

Remember to stay tuned to our Twitter account for daily green updates as well as our special #TeacherTuesday tweets for eco-friendly education!

Some other helpful environmental teaching resources are:

• The GREEN School program
• World Wildlife Fund
• Resources for Rethinking
• The Guardian Teacher Network
• National Geographic
• Discovery Education

Sources: TreeHugger, EPA, Practically Green, World Vision, National Fire Protection Association, About.com, New Mexico State University, Isle of Wight Council, Planet Pals, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, New Energy Connections, Inhabitat, Goumbook, The Family Groove

Back To School - the green way!

It’s that time of the year again - a brand new start of the school year for students and their parents!­ Take this opportunity to introduce some new practices into your daily life that can be more environmentally friendly. You may even be able to save costs by switching to more effective and green alternatives for the start of the new school year!

Green Transportation

Reducing your carbon footprint and making healthy choices

To really make a difference and reduce your impact on the environment, beginning this fall, do your best to reduce the amount you drive your kids to and from school. One popular way is to enroll your children into a bus program. School buses reduce a great amount of emissions, especially if it’s a newer bus that is up to date with the current emission-reducing standards. There’s also the possibility of carpool – either one of your neighbours can start carpooling kids from your neighbourhood or you can start your own carpool. 

If your school does not offer a bus program, or if you just live nearby, get your children to ride their bike or walk to school! A co-op walk team can help keep your kids safe by having groups walk together and alternating parent escorts if needed. 

Eco Supplies

Taking inventory and reusing what you can

Before deciding to go out and buy brand new school supplies for your children, take some time to look at what you’re currently have and see if anything can be reused. Why buy new pens and pencils when the old ones are still usable?  No need to buy a new notebook just because a few pages have been used in one from last year, or buying a new pencil case because the old one is out of style. Making smart, economical decisions can go a long way in saving your money and reducing production and waste emissions that comes from purchasing new supplies.

If your children get hungry or thirsty, its better that they reach for a reusable water bottle and plastic container instead of a disposable plastic water bottle and plastic ziplock bag. Either plastic or aluminum, reusable water bottles make for a much better alternative. Visit Good Housekeeping to read the list of some of the best water bottles around. Also, make sure that any water bottle purchased for reuse is BPA-free (Bisphenol A). There are also alternatives to plastic containers, such as SnackTAXI, who offer reusable food sacks. One “snack-sack” can reduce the use of about 1000 plastic bags over its lifetime.

Buying new eco-friendly school supplies

When you have looked over what you have and you’ve decided that you still need some more school supplies, try to lean towards the greener alternative. Many major retailers are carrying recycled and renewable school supplies such as recycled notebooks, paper and binders, and biodegradable pencils. Paper Mate is offering biodegradable pencils that are offered at many major retailers, such as Staples. There is also Ecojot, who offer notebooks, journals, sketchbooks, and more made entirely from post-consumer waste. When looking for a new backpack, look for an environmentally as well as child friendly backpack, one that’s made from recycled material and is padded to prevent back pain. You can check out The Ultimate Green Store or Ecocentric Bags for an idea on some cool backpacks being offered.

Most of the money spent on supplies will be towards new clothes that children are always in need of. If your kids don’t mind, wearing hand-me-down clothing from friends and family or thrift stores can be one of the ways to save money and reduce your emissions. If your children are style-conscious, there are many popular brands like Adidas, Levi’s and H&M that offer clothes made from more eco-friendly material.

The most important thing to consider is that your children must understand and be educated on the importance of the environment and that even the little things can go a long way in sustaining our planet.

Little Steps

Go with what you know

Going green doesn't always have to mean big changes, sticking to some basic principals can make a big difference in little ways! REDUCE, REUSE, & RECYCLE every way you can. 

For more suggestions on going green with kids visit some of our other articles:

Easy ways to get your kids thinking about the environment early

28 Ways To Build A Green Lifestyle

Green Resources: Digital Textbooks

Or check out the following links for more resources:

Meadford Independent, “Green Tips for Back to School”

Tree Hugger, “How to Go Green: Back to School”
Huffington Post, “Green your Back-to-School Routine”

SnackTAXI

Ecouterre, “Levi’s, H&M, Adidas Debut Apparel Made With Eco-Friendly “Better Cotton””

Paper Mate, “Biodegrable Products”

Good Housekeeping, “Reusable water bottle reviews”

The Ultimate Green Store

Ecocentric Bags

Ecojot