Fabkins Celebrates Earth Day


	Waste Free Week	Classroom Learning	Earth Day, Any Day
....		Waste-free Week
...A daily guide for a week's worth of activities that teach kids the importance of reducing waste
How to Prepare Form a school “green team” to organize the activities, or if you already have one, coordinate activities among those parent volunteers. Put announcements in your school newsletter in the weeks leading up to “Waste-free Week” and notify teachers of the “Waste-free Week” plans so they can encourage students to participate. Create posters promoting the activities and hang them around campus. Day 1: Waste Weigh-in – It has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school. Find out how much waste your school generates, then how to reduce it. What To Do Assign student volunteers to weigh all the school trash after lunchtime (packed lunch trash only), and save the total. Consider doing different weight categories, such as the all-school weight, weight by class and weight by grade level. Day 2: Waste-free Options – Distribute information via the school newsletter to educate families and students on waste-free alternatives to lunch packing, and encourage families to pack waste-free right away. What To Do Download “7 Simple Tips to Packing a Waste-Free Lunch” and include it in the school newsletter and/or distribute it to students to bring home to parents. Include information, like this Cost Savings overview, that shows how packing a waste-free lunch can save families money over time. Day 3: Waste-free Products Sale– Fabkins and Kids Konserve have joined together to offer schools a complete set of waste-free lunch products, including recycled cotton lunch sacks, stainless steel food containers, stainless steel beverage bottles, food kozies, and cloth napkins. What To Do Email info@fabkins.com with the date you’d like to hold your waste-free lunch products sale. You’ll be sent back sample products, order forms, and all the information you need to hold the sale at your school during “Waste-free Week.” Day 4: Waste-free Check-in – Set up a table at lunchtime where students come to have their lunch boxes checked and those that are 100% waste-free receive a prize (school sticker, buttons, etc.) What To Do Promote the “Waste-free Check-in” in the school newsletter as part of “Waste-free Week” and have teachers remind students to pack a waste-free lunch on this day. Have parent volunteers set up a table, with signage, and check kids’ lunchboxes. Have small prizes on-hand to pass out to students that show a 100% waste-free lunch. Day 5: Weigh-in Comparison – Go through the same process as on Day 1 to weigh all the school trash after lunchtime (packed lunch trash only). Compare the total to the Day 1 total and promote the results! What To Do Assign student volunteers to weigh all the school trash after lunchtime (packed lunch trash only). Compare the total to the Day 1 totals and publish the results in your school newsletter. Consider special prizes for the class and/or grade that reduced their waste the most. Green Toolkit