September challenge
for BlogHers Act Canada:
write a post--haiku?--
about cutting waste
and packaging in my life
at back-to-school time.
First the green mantra:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Act in that order.
Reduce: buy less stuff
or stuff with less packaging.
Ask: Do I need this?
About school supplies:
Determine what you need first.
Buy unwrapped notepads.
Keep track of your pens.
Then you won't buy a new one
every other week.
Don't print everything;
learn to edit on the screen--
fewer paper drafts.
Reuse many times.
Start to bring a bag with you--
no more plastic bags.
Bring a coffee mug,
one that you already own.
Use that all day long.
When the coffee's gone,
refill with water from a
convenient fountain.
Most city water
is remarkably healthy.
Or you could carry
a water bottle,
a filtered source from your home,
extra assurance.
About school supplies:
a backpack lasts many years.
pick one that's sturdy
and a good color.
Reuse supplies from last year.
Glue, crayons, markers
may still be OK.
Don't replace them just because
the ads say you must.
For school assignments,
if the teacher says it's fine,
use the same paper
multiple times--just
make sure to label clearly
each new assignment.
My own indulgence:
fountain pens, refillable
with inks of all hues.
These pens and bottled
inks have lasted me more than
four years already.
Recycle the rest.
When you buy a bottled drink,
use the proper bin--
on the street if you're
in Toronto, at home if
in other places.
About school supplies:
Recycle all used papers
and the thin cardboard
from the packaging
of any supplies you bought
and batteries too.
Voila my haiku
on thoughts environmental
as I head to school.
8 comments:
I am so impressed.
Awesome.
Here's my pet peeve this week - the way the printer icon on the toolbar of my updated version of Word prints the whole document. In my (very) old version, the printer icon took you to a screen where you could specify which pages. I have printed off SO MANY whole documents this week when really I only wanted to alter a single page. Sigh. At least the kids can use the paper for colouring.
AWESOME. Really. Best eco-post EVER, in the history of the world.
I love it! Especially the last part--wonderful.
That works, B&P. It may not be reducing, but you are reusing--then you can recycle (if you can bear to part with your children's masterpieces).
I'm just checking out some of the posts from the MBT eco challenge. Bravo!
I won an award for a haiku when I was in grade three. It really didn't have the environmental punch that yours does, though. It had more to do with pine trees, I think. :)
I had a haiku published in some children's collection in 4th grade--about snowflakes. (I actually remember the poem, nearly 25 years later.)
All Sandra had to do was say "haiku" and I was all over it!
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