Going Green

Today I decided to read Today's OEA, a publication for members of The Oregon Education Association. There are some GREAT articles in this! What I would like to share is TerraCycle. From their website: "TerraCycle's purpose is to eliminate the idea of waste. We do this by creating national recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste. Anyone can sign up for these programs, called the Brigades, and start sending us waste."


The idea is to sign up for a brigade, send in your used waste (print a free shipping label), and get 2 points for each item you send it. These points can be redeemed for money to be donated to your charity or school of choice. There are different types of brigades; elmer's glue, writing utensils, lunchable packages, yogurt cans, etc, etc. 


Looking at this site lead me to Elmer's Glue Crew. This site had lessons, templates, projects, and prizes that you can win with your classroom! I found a lesson about creating a classroom recycling center -awesome idea! 


Picture this: Going Green bulletin board; reasons to recycle, what can be recycled, where we recycle, etc. Students decorating used boxes to create recycle bins for different items we use in the class, or even at home they can bring in. (Things we could send in to TerraCycle) Students could make smaller boxes to put throughout the school, write letters to parents, and other classrooms to spread awareness. (Oh and this adds a couple classroom job opportunities!)
This sounds fun! Definitely something I will do when I have my own classroom, until then I have a TerraCycle box in the house! :)


Have you used TerraCycle? Do you recycle in  your classroom?