green idea help

threelittlepigs

was wondering if anyone can help my daughter has to do something for school which is developing a green idea that will save or make money both of our brains have switched off and we have drawn a blank and cant think of anything whatsoever ...thank you

newtonflotman

Don't know what area you live in but see if your council run something similar to this for schools.[URL="http://www.schools.norfolk.gov.uk/Teaching-and-learning/Environmental-and-outdoor-learnong/Energy-Busters-Primary/index.htm"

1.Daughters school put in place classroom monitoring to ensure lights/computers etc switched off during break times.

2.Re-use waste paper throughout the school.

3.Found a Facility to recycle polythene (Polyprint Mailing Films, Rackheath).

4.Collect and recycle rainwater for use on school garden.

5.Check energy usage out of hours and reduce where possible.

6.Encourage walk/cycle to school INCLUDING STAFF !

7.Recycle as much waste within the school as possible. Use your Schools Cluster Group if required. You can get money for recycling metals and waste wood loads of people will take. Printer ink cartridges can also be recycled along with batteries.

8. Monitor the temperature of classrooms and Hot water. Is the class over 20 degrees in winter so you end up with the heating on and the windows/doors open?

9. Put a policy in place of emailing/texting information rather than photo-copying for parents- unless specific parents require photocopies from school for certain reasons.


Hope these are of some use. Ask your childs school to research Energy Busters in their area. Daughter school got new boiler and new energy efficient lighting on sensors put in. The deal means part of your energy savings have to pay off a percentage of the cost of instalation.

Good Luck

Ben84

Many schools have a reasonable amount of land around them. Planting fruit trees would reduce the costs of buying fruit each year and the environmental impact of growing and transporting it commercially.

Offering to host a recycling bank for the local council could also be a good option for collecting any items not recycled door to door in your area. The benefit is that it's somewhere many people visit often, so increasing access and without increasing travel for many users make it an appealing option. Not sure if the council could offer any income to the school in return however - but it could be worth talking to them.

Errata

Recycle school uniform clothing within the school, much is grown out of but far from worm out.

Cabbagewhite

Depending on your daughter's age and school policy, I would suggest saving any metal to take to the scrap yard. Unlikely to be a great amount if a primary school, as they usually have a 'no fizzy drink' policy.

There is terracycle http://www.terracycle.co.uk/en-UK which collects various packaging and the school can earn money for what they collect. This can be quite good as the packaging they want is not often collected by kerbside recycling, so once people know it is being collected, they will save it and send it in.

There is also http://www.bag2school.com/u/k/home which several local schools have used, not my children's school though. Although if it was me organising it, I would do a jumble sale first, then use them (or your local rag man) to dispose of the leftovers.