Back-to-School Supplies at Bigelow – getting green

The end of the year is around the corner and we are all thinking about summer, yeah! However, before we all go, the PTO would like to invite you to start thinking about school supplies – in a more sustainable way.

This year the PTO will NOT organize the back-to-school supply kit program. Instead, we invite you to try to reduce your school shopping list by reusing items that are still in good conditions. This can save money, will reduce waste and it can be a great opportunity to embrace our sustainable values, with our children. There’s a reason reduce & reuse come before recycle– not just because it sounds good, but it’s the order in which we should approach sustainability.

This is our suggestion. Working with your students when school is over:

  • Empty backpacks, pencil cases, binders, folders.
  • Clean everything (a swipe of rubbing alcohol can remove marker and make things look like new).
  • Organize pens, pencils, markers, scissors, calculators, etc.
  • Take out the used pages of notebooks and evaluate if the notebook can be reused in school or at home.
  • When the school supply list arrives, compare the list with what you have organized and cleaned. You might find out that there’s very little to buy!

Here are a few resources: