Making Old New Again: Recycling School Supplies

Posted by Lisa Carey

Since it is back to school time, you may be pulling out all those school supplies, papers, and notebooks your child brought home from last year and be wondering exactly how much life is left in them.  You also may be wondering exactly how you can go green with these school supplies because the thought of throwing them all away is just too much to take.

To save you some heartbreak, the environment yet another ton of waste, and maybe even a little bit of money, try these environmentally friendly suggestions for recycling your school supplies.

Of course, the first thing you can do is go through last year’s school supplies and place them in a reuse stack for this year, as well as a new use or recycling stack.  Things like composition notebooks may still have many pages remaining in them, red ink pens may be full of ink, and pocket folders may still have another year’s use in them.  If your children want something with the latest and greatest fad or celebrity, get creative with posters, glue, and stickers to bring new life to your old school supplies.

Binders and Folders

At least one binder can be used from the previous year to start a yearly memory book for your child.  All you need is a three whole punch, some stickers, paints, glitter, or other embellishments to use the three ring binder to store favorite pictures, artwork, certificates, papers, assignments, and photos.  One large binder can last several years.  Who needs to spend money on expensive memory books?

Paints, Colored Pencils, and No. 2 Pencils

Donate your colored pencils and paints to the art class at your local school. They still have some life in them.  You can also keep them at home for those last minute projects and homework assignments. No. 2 Pencils can be donated to a Math teacher; after all that is one class that always needs some extra erasers–which are usually still good even after the pencil is down to the “nub.”

Papers and Artwork

There are several things you can do with leftover papers and artwork from last year.  Look through first and find a few choice projects, papers, and grades to place in your memory binder.  Papers that have notices from school can be placed in the printer to print coupons, color sheets, or even directions.  One of the most fun children’s artwork displays I have found is available at Sky Mall for $24.99 to $34.99. It is a dynamic picture frame that holds up to 50 “pages” of your child’s artwork. You simply lift the latch, move the glass frame, and insert the latest and greatest of your child’s creations.

Notebooks and Journals

Reuse those notebooks and journals by writing down recipes, making notes on ideas or projects around the house, create your own calendar, do project planning, or even take to a restaurant while dining out and give one to each child to write a story, play a game like hangman, or draw a picture in while waiting for dinner.

Backpacks

Backpacks have many helpful uses when you recycle and reuse.  Sometimes children have just outgrown a perfectly good backpack. In that case, take time to donate it to any one of your local “back to school drives”.  You can also cut out letters and remove designs from used backpacks.  Use them to decorate shirts or even old jeans. Consider stuffing the backpack (especially the tote packs), sewing it shut, and using it as a pillow in your child’s room.  Old backpacks can also be used to take books back and forth from the library or for sleepover parties.

Crayons

Pick up a crayon maker–sure, you may be spending a little money–but since they are available in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and patterns you can create gifts for Easter Baskets, Christmas Stockings, and even Valentine’s Day exchanges at school.  Melt broken or used crayons down either alone or together to create crayons to be used at home, play dates, or even given away in goody bags at a birthday party.

School boxes

School boxes are one of the most easily reused items that last the school year.  You can create a recipe box with your favorite recipes for your own use or to give away.  Store the crayons made from your crayon maker for your children to use at home.

Scissors and calculators

Sharpen those scissors and get another year’s use out of them or save them for home use for all those projects and assignments throughout the year.  Place new batteries in those calculators and use them again.

Clothing and Shoes

Find other parents with younger children who may be getting ready to go back to school clothing shopping.   Gently used clothing and shoes can be used again for a younger sibling, donated to a charity or Goodwill, swapped, sold, or exchanged with other families.

For next year, consider starting a swap shop for your school’s clothing and sports equipment. For every item donated, parents get a “coupon” good for one item to take.  Those who don’t have items to donate can purchase gently used clothing, uniforms, and equipment at prices far reduced from the new ones.  In my playgroup, we hold a swap shop twice a year where families can swap everything from wall clocks to toys, and clothing that get much more life out of our barely used items for home and school.

Join together with teachers and parents to start a school supply recycling program.  Each year, teachers spend hundreds of dollars on school supplies.  Instead of sending home the leftover school supplies, parents can donate them to the school for use by teachers next year. This saves teachers out of pocket expenses and saves our landfills from tons of school supplies.

The National Education Association offers tips and tools to help you get started with your school recycling program.

Need more ideas?  The World Environmental Organization offers these ideas for recycling used school supplies:

• Ask your child’s teacher if she or he has any need for them (Mr. L.)
• Reuse anything you can next year
• See Colored Pencils
• See Crayons
• See Paper–Graph
• See Gym Bags
• See Locks (Combination/Key)
• See Pencil Boxes
• See Rulers
• See Scissors

(Source: http://www.world.org/reuse/school.supplies)

These aren’t old school supplies, but if you have a child entering middle school through high school, you may need some helpful ideas for organizing and decorating your child’s locker. Buying those items with Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and other popular celebrities and Disney channel favorites can be expensive.  Use the shoe boxes that your child’s back to school shoes came in to create a storage box for desk or locker.  Wrap it with gift wrapping paper and it has a whole new look and use.

To make shelves for the locker, use some spray paint and a pantry shelf to add storage space and organization to your student’s locker.  Hanging shower organizers can help organize all those little things that your child thinks are absolutely essential such as lip gloss, mirrors, and a comb.  Try using pharmacy medicine containers to hold push pins and paper clips after removing labels.

There are hundreds of ways to make old new again. What’s your favorite recycled school supply tip?

Popularity: 13% [?]