If you have visited the Sunship Study Station, you know all about Waste Watchers, the after-meal waste reduction exercise that helps to teach us about ways to reduce our waste. This year, we have been exploring a new way to teach the importance of reducing our waste. The pyramid is explained, section by section, after each meal at the Outdoor Classroom. We help to emphasize these points with our students with the Phrase that Pays, “take what you need and eat what you take.”

At the top of the pyramid, and the most important concept that we teach, is Reduce. By simply reducing the items in our lives, we can cut down on materials and the energy that it takes to make them. Throughout T.R.E.E programs, the students help us Reuse many items. We use cloth napkins, or “soft tools,” instead of paper napkins or tissues; we reuse items for crafts, such as mardi gras beads, scrap paper and cardboard. For example, baby food jars are cleaned and used to make votive candle holders that students take home with them.

With materials that cannot be reused there is Recycle! With recycling, the materials are broken down to a basic form and used in the production of new materials. This process still requires a lot of energy and materials, but it reduces the amount of waste that goes to the landfill. Additionally, it reduces that amount of raw material that we extract from the Earth.

Disposal is still the most common way in which we handle the waste that we produce, and many more disposable items are made each day. One fact that we repeat throughout each T.R.E.E. program is that the United States throws out enough garbage to fill up the Superdome twice – every day!

At T.R.E.E., we are always looking for new and creative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. If you have ideas that you use in your home, please share them with us or post them to our Facebook wall! If we all do our part, we will be able to enjoy our Earth’s limited resources for a long time.