TSHS Waste Free Wednesdays

TAHOMA -  NO WASTE WEDNESDAYS

The Sustainability Ambassadors at Tahoma High School, also known as the green team, will be launching Waste Free Wednesdays at the high school this Wednesday, February 6^th. Waste Free Wednesdays is where we encourage students and staff to be waste free (reuse, compost or recycle) for a whole day in order to reduce our school’s amount of waste. This activity can take place anywhere, such as the classroom, the lunchroom, and home! Our outreach efforts will first target the lunch room. Students and staff will be encouraged to bring a waste free lunch every Wednesday. Those who bring a lunch will be entered in to a raffle for a monthly drawing. Each month there will be one winner from each lunch, winners will receive prizes such as gift cards and products from local stores.  Our school participation will ultimately save the school money, time, and energy as well as save the environment by reducing the amount of waste sent to the landfill and resources made for our consumption.

Re-usable Lunchboxes

There are many easy ways to approach a waste free lunch. One way is to bring lunch in a re-usable container and a refreshing drink in a re-usable water bottle! This way, your lunch box and water bottle can be used multiple times without having to throw away anything. Re-usable lunch boxes and water bottles are available at any local grocery store, or for a unique option, re-usable bento lunch boxes are available on the Laptop Lunches website. Bringing your own lunch is the most sustainable option, however, we understand that some students like the convenience of a school lunch. We have been working with the lunch staff to offer more waste free menu options on Wednesdays and exploring more ways to make our lunch room waste free. Much of the students stores packaging is compostable, another step towards waste free!

Remembering to reduce the use of paper during school hours is also important. Staff and students may contribute to this by re-using papers on the back side or printing copies on both sides for assignments. Teachers may also save unused papers in their classroom for students. By encouraging these practices students and staff can reduce their amount of waste significantly.

The high school is not alone in this action, the whole school district is participating in Waste Free Wednesdays. Each green team at each school across the district is working to reduce waste, together we are reaching 16,000 people through our efforts. By selecting a day to remind students and staff to reduce their amount of waste, we are raising awareness of waste free practices. Through this, these practices will naturally become habits for our school and our whole district. Eventually our efforts will spread out into the community by partnering with local businesses to promote waste free practices. Waste Free Wednesday is taking waste free ideas to the next level, and improving our ecological footprint as a school district through collaborative efforts.  

Thanks to Sustainability Ambassadors Leader,  Kylin for this post!