Plastics Crisis – School Supplies
/It’s still full summer…but the beginning of school is not that far away. Although I don’t have any K-12 aged children – there is a Missouri Master Naturalist core training I am in the final stages of planning that will be happening in September and October. School/office supplies are something to think about.
I have a lot of office supplies that have accumulated over the years so most of the time I simply draw on what I have rather than buying anything. Printer paper is my most frequent purchase – and that doesn’t happen all that often; I did notice that the last ream I bought had a ‘sustainable forest initiative’ label but was wrapped in plastic!
Most of the pens I have are from organizations or hotels…lots of plastic there. My plan is to stop picking up pens at events until I have drawn down my supply! There are a few that might take common refills – a way to reduce the amount of new plastic but not eliminate it.
I am already packing waste free lunches and carrying a reusable water bottle…but I need to make sure the students in the core training think about doing it if they are not as far along in their plastic reduction journey.
Added note: I recently purchased printer paper. It was the only kind that was wrapped in paper rather than plastic…and it was the least expensive per sheet…and its packaging said it was sustainably made from sawmill waste chips using wind energy and hydropower!
