Yesterday Third and Fourth Class had a talk on the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling by Sinead from Clean Ireland. 

This was a great talk and the children showed how knowledgeable they already were on the subject.  This was exciting as it shows that the Green School Committee and Wardens are doing a great job reminding classes of the importance of proper waste management, that the children are learning these valuable lessons in their class and also that they children are engaging in these practices at home. 

Each child got a piece of waste and had to decide which bin to put it in – general waste, recycling, food or glass.  We were very successful, even with the tricky soft plastic, which we know cannot be recycled.  The only mistake we made was with the coffee cup.  Many of the children were surprised that coffee cups cannot be recycled.  We spoke of how effective it is for adults to purchase a reusable coffee cup to help cut down on non-recyclable waste. 

We spoke of the practice of waste free lunches that LSP supports.  Here is a copy of the poster the Green School Committee made last year.  There is also a photo of some excellent waste free lunches that children brought to school. We really support the practice of each child having a reusable water bottle rather than bringing plastic bottles to school. 

And finally, while we all know the 3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse and  Recycle, we like to support a fourth R, the one that should come first in the list.  Refuse.  If we can get into the habit of refusing to take unneeded packaging, that will really help our quest to become as environmentally friendly as possible.