Take Action!

The environment includes everything around us: where we live, work, go to school, and play! Because we rely so heavily upon it, we need to take good care of it. The following is a list of simple action steps that you can take to help make your environmental impact positive.

Reduce

• Join or start an environmental club in your school or community.
• Help plant a tree. 
• Volunteer to help clean-up a park or road nearby your home or school.
• Bring a litterless lunch to school. Take reusable food containers home to be washed and used again.
• Repair toys and other items that are broken instead of buying new ones.
• Bring your own reusable travel mug when buying tea, cocoa, or coffee.

Reuse

• Try reusing a glass jar for a vase or a tin can for a pencil holder. Be creative! What can you come up with? 
• Collect scrap paper in your home or school for reuse.
• Collect unwanted materials such as film canisters, fabric scraps, containers and lids, used paper, and more, and use them for art and craft projects.
• Does your school use Styrofoam lunch trays and other disposable materials? Did you know that all schools used to serve lunches on reusable trays with real silverware and glasses? Find out why your school no longer uses reusable dishware.
• Reuse wrapping paper and bows, and make your own greeting cards from old ones. 
• Donate items that you no longer want but are still good, or have a garage sale.
• Ask your parents to start composting, if they do not already.

Recycle

• Become the recycling coordinator in your home or school and help your family recycle. Set-up recycling bins to collect paper and containers and monitor receptacles to ensure the proper items are being placed in the correct bins.
• Buy recycled products. Read the packaging and look for the chasing arrows symbol to see if a product may contain recycled content.
• If your school is not already doing it, start a cartridge recycling program to reuse old ink jet cartridges. 

Rebuy

• Reduce the amount of packaging you buy. Call or send manufacturers a letter indicating that you do not want so much packaging. Remember, you pay for the packaging when you buy the material and then pay again to dispose of it.
• Reduce packaging by buying items in bulk.
• Use cleaning products with less harmful chemicals, and substitute vinegar and baking soda for harsher ingredients.
• Bring your own reusable cloth bag or box to the store when shopping.