REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE By: Barry

The 3 R’s Reduce ~ Reduce means to cut down on the amount of waste being thrown out Reuse ~ Reuse means to use things over and over again and find new uses for objects e.g. use a water bottle over and over for school! Recycle ~ Recycle means to re-use the item and create something else with it.

The average person throws away 726 kilograms of waste each year! The average family throw away the amount equal to half a fully grown elephant each year. Doesn’t sound that bad? That’s equal to 1 . 5 TONS of rubbish each year… How Much?

Types of waste There are 2 types of waste, biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Biodegradable means it’s able to rot naturally and non-biodegradable can’t rot naturally. Examples of biodegradable waste include garden and kitchen waste like potato skins and banana skins. Newspaper is also biodegradable! Click the picture to learn more about biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste!

How to STOP! Buy things loose. When you’re buying vegetables or fruit buy them without the packaging, as this produces less waste. Make a compost pile and have a brown bin at home For more info on how to stop waste visit Kids' Stuff About Waste Reduction and Recycling 

Plastic Bags 1% of plastic bags are recycled. A few years ago a study showed that 8 million pounds of plastic bags are thrown away each year. If you don’t recycle them, animals can eat them and get stuck in their throat and they will suffocate.

Cans Last year 4 billion steel cans were recycled in the UK. Don't forget that all steel is 100% recyclable and can be recycled many times without losing any quality.

Paper 1 ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees! Reuse paper around the home as scrap paper or packing material. Envelopes can also be reused. Another good way to reduce paper is to read the news online – this will stop the massive amount of trees being cut down for newspapers alone!

In our school we do lots of things to reduce, reuse and recycle. What our school does! In our school we do lots of things to reduce, reuse and recycle. We recycle old glass lenses, stamps and mobile phones, on top of every thing else like paper, cardboard and plastic bottles. We have a compost bin, a breathing area, a green house and every class has its own blue bin. We have a garden for birds, rodents, insects and more! We even have a newly refurbished our P6 vegetable garden!!! Our school runs 3 bus services, cutting down on the amount of CO2 we create! We also use our textbooks over and over and over again, helping to save trees! We have an eco-schools club run by Ann Hegarty and we have 2 green flags!

Will these pictures make you want to recycle more ???

Rubbish being CRAMMED into a landfill site.

Waste being dumped…

A recycling centre?!?!

What to put in your blue bin. Paper Cardboard – e.g easter egg boxes Christmas, birthday and special occasions cards. Milk cartons Plastic bottles Glass bottles Newspaper << For more click here 

What NOT to put in your blue bin. Hot ashes Organic waste Animal waste Plastic These are able to go into your brown bin along with small amounts of newspaper.

In the wise words of Walt Disney,