GREEN SCHOOLS’COMMITTEE:

WASTE

General waste is everything that cannot be recycled such as pencil pairings and pens with ink.

All these waste materials get taken to landfills/dumps or incinerators to be burned.

Recycling is when materials are made into other things. Like tinfoil into cans etc.

When items are recycled they are taken to a recycling plant to be made into different things.

Compost is fruit and vegetables that are left for a long time to turn into a mucky substance.

It can be used to grow plants and crops. Otherwise this would be thrown into a

landfill.

Reusing is when something is used again and again.

For example, instead of buying new plastic bottles, use old ones. This saves money and waste.

Use reusable bags instead of plastic bags.

Reducing is mostly about being conscious that a lot of the products we buy might end up as waste unless we consider how to avoid this.

A way to avoid this is to buy products with less packaging.

Reducing is also about fixing things instead of buying new ones.

Food is a large percentage of the waste we produce.

1/3 of all food bought is thrown out. The main food wastes are potatoes,

bread, apples and meat and fish. 1/2 of all salads bought are thrown out. 1/3 of all bread bought is thrown out. 1/4 of all fruit bought is thrown out.

 How much money is this costing?  Well that depends on how much money you spend on food and whether you waste a lot or not. For some households it can cost well over €1000 each year but the average is closer to €700.

So, a good way to save money and food waste is to buy less.

A good way to do this is shop day-to-day.

If you follow the three R’s you can cut down on the waste your household creates.

We can all make a difference. The average waste produced by a four

person household is 1,120KG!!!!!!!!!! If you want to know more go to: http://www.stopfoodwaste.ie/index.php?i

d=59&menu

If you recycle properly you can reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill. A lot of our waste can be recycled.

We can all make a difference! Stay green and energy lean! Holy Trinity Green Schools’ Committee,

over and out.