Holiday Waste-Wise Ideas
Don’t "Throw It All Away" This Holiday Season
The Holiday Season brings an influx of paper to homes in the form of holiday advertising and shopping catalogues, not to mention envelopes and wrapping paper. Holiday entertaining can also generate lots of aluminum cans. Remind parents and fellow teachers to give a gift to the planet and your school by bringing those recyclables to your schools paper and aluminum can bins.
Challenge students to be in charge of the holiday recycling by making sure as gifts are unwrapped, bows and ribbons are saved for reuse and wrapping paper goes into a bag to take to school. Have a contest to see who brings in the most cans or bags of paper.
For a ready-to-print "reminder" flier to send home to your parents (Microsoft Word documents):
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Paper Retriever
• Paper Retriever and Recycle Challenge Programs
Gifts = Thought + Kindness
Not Necessarily Stuff From Stores!
Instead of purchasing a trinket or pencil for your students, give a gift that they will appreciate and that also 
serves as a model that the most thoughtful gifts don’t have to come from a store -- a gift certificate redeemable for a free homework pass, extra library or computer time. Click below for a ready-to-print gift certificate template.
Gift certificates can also make great parent gifts for older students. Have the student fill in what the certificate is redeemable for- a clean room, a hand-washed car, a whine free trip to the symphony etc.
Reduce and Reuse Parent Gift Ideas
Gifts that illustrate the 3R’s teach a waste reduction lesson in addition to delighting parents with a homemade treasure. Ideas include:
• Glue construction paper or tissue to a jelly jar for a vase. Fill with flowers made from egg cartons.
• Make a holiday candleholder from a bleach bottle.
• Make placemats from holiday paper and cards.
• Borrow the RSP Recycle Paper Loan Kit and Make Recycled Paper Ornaments.
Click here to download instructions for these gift ideas.
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