Start the school year plastic free. With back-to-school season now underway, it can seem like plastic is everywhere—with plastic binders, pens, scissors, and other supplies, as well as plastic-wrapped snacks and single-use water bottles, overflowing on store shelves. This, despite the fact that plastics, microplastics, and the chemicals that plastics contain pose serious dangers to human health, especially to young people.
Yet, with a little planning, it’s actually relatively easy and affordable for parents and guardians to help students get started with healthy plastic-free school supplies for the year ahead. From the classroom to the lunchroom, and from supplies to curriculum, here are four great ways to incorporate solutions to plastic pollution into schools.
1. Choose Plastic-Free Classroom Supplies
Before going shopping for back-to-school supplies, keep in mind it’s both eco- and wallet-friendly to reuse what you already own to reduce the amount of stuff you need to purchase. Older siblings’ or family members’ school supplies can sometimes work as hand-me-downs. Three-ring binders, folders, rulers, scissors, and other similar supplies can be used for years if well cared for.
If you are in need of new school supplies, consider plastic-free options available from Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) Business Members EarthHero, Plaine Products, and Wisdom Supply Co. Refillable pens are good choices over single-use plastic pens, and wooden and metal rulers are good alternatives to plastic. Cover textbooks at home with butcher paper or used paper grocery bags rather than buying plastic or synthetic fabric covers. Avoiding plastic products like vinyl three-ring binders can reduce your student’s exposure to harmful microplastics and chemicals.
2. Choose Climate-Friendly Backpacks & Clothing
Reuse last year’s backpack if it’s in good condition, or repair if it’s worn. If it’s time for a new backpack, shop secondhand or look for backpacks made of natural materials such canvas or organic cotton.
When preparing your student’s wardrobe, consider hand-me-downs, or purchasing clothes secondhand—which can reduce the negative effects of textile production on the environment. Avoid clothing made of plastic: check labels for synthetic fibers such as acrylic, polyester, nylon, spandex, and do your best to steer clear. Seek out plant-based apparel, which will have natural fibers like cotton, hemp, linen, cork, and bamboo on the labels. Shoes are commonly made of plastic and synthetic materials, so when you can, look for shoes that are fully or mostly made of canvas, cotton, wool, and other natural materials.
3. Support Plastic- & Climate-Conscious Curriculum
Teaching students about plastic pollution and the climate crisis can help create change that lasts generations. Share these resources with your student’s teachers:
- 5 Gyres’ Trash Academy/La Academia de Basura is a virtual plastic pollution educational series that combines education, advocacy, and community science with the 5 Gyres NGSS-aligned curriculum into a multi-phased educational platform available in English and Spanish.
- Algalita’s Wayfinder Society has created an engaging online hub with tools and support for students taking action on plastic pollution, in addition to ways to take action.
- California Coastal Commission’s Resources for California Educators offers a variety of tools to help students understand and address plastic pollution—including programs and resources, streaming videos, an interagency education network, and events calendar.
- PPC’s Resources for Creating Plastic-Free Schools provides advice on how to use a list of these and other great tools to assist schools in their transformation.
4. Create Plastic-Free School Meals & Cafeterias
Plastics and single-use plastics often run rampant in school lunchrooms and during snacktime.
If your student brings meals to school: Look around your house for reusable items before purchasing new ones. Consider:
- Portable, sealable, stainless steel food containers are great replacements for typical single-use plastic zip-top bags, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil and plastic containers. Consider those made by Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) Business Members ECOLunchbox and Ahimsa.
- Reusable stainless steel utensils from home or from Ahimsa, or bamboo utensils like those sold by EarthHero, and stainless steel or glass straws from Aardvark Straws or Simply Straws, are great long-lasting alternatives to their harmful single-use plastic counterparts.
- Reusable water bottles made of stainless steel are a durable choice for students that are also healthy, long-lasting, economical, and easy to use and clean. Consider Klean Kanteen’s stainless steel bottles, which each have unique appearances to appeal to students of all ages, from toddlers to teens. Research shows that there is at least 50% more microplastic in (plastic) bottled water than tap water, and plastic bottles—like all plastics—contain chemicals that harm human health. And buying plastic bottles has high economic costs, while reusable water bottles filled with filtered water save money.
- Beeswax wraps, such as those made by PPC Business Member Superbee, can cover leftover food and be folded up into a handy pouch to hold snacks. To care for beeswax wrap, simply wash off with nontoxic soap and cold water and let dry before its next use. Replace beeswax wraps when they appear worn out (they are compostable).
- When it comes to lunchboxes, used lunch sacks are a good option, and they are widely available at most secondhand shops. Top choices include plastic-free options like old-school aluminum lunch boxes, or lunch bags made from natural materials—like this cotton and wool one from Life Without Plastic.
Reusable glass containers are another good alternative to plastic, and they can also be very affordable when repurposed—as can be done with jam or jelly jars. However, we do not recommend glass for young children, as it can pose a hazard when broken—that’s why more durable stainless steel is typically a better option.
When filling up your lunchboxes, shop using your own containers and bags to purchase unpackaged foods in bulk—like loose fruits, veggies, and nuts—at refill and package-free shops. If available to you, consider shopping for food at a farmers market for locally grown, unpackaged produce and goods. Or, buy a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share that will provide you with regular hauls of assorted produced and other farm-fresh foods on a weekly basis.
If your student gets snacks, lunch, or other meals at school:
Encourage your student’s school to take steps to eliminate plastics at mealtime. Check out resources from PPC Members Cafeteria Culture, an organization educating and empowering youth to eliminate plastic from their schools; Center for Environmental Health, who created a Ditching Disposables Toolkit designed to help schools and school districts transition from single-use foodware to reusable alternatives; and Plastic Free Campus, who created a step-by-step program for eliminating single-use plastics from schools. Surfers Against Sewage has also created two free accreditation programs, Plastic Free Schools and Plastic Free Communities, which are designed to lead your school or community through replacing single-use plastics with healthy, viable alternatives.
Take Action
Advocate for wider systems change to get plastic pollution out of schools. Tell the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ban plastic from school lunchrooms to protect children’s health.
