It's almost back-to-school time!

Only a few more weeks and kids will be out of camp and into the classroom. What are you doing to prepare your kids to go back to school? There are many eco-friendly choices you can make, so take note!

• Lunch - Instead of picking up a package of brown paper bags, buy your child a reusable lunch box. To go inside that lunch box, pick up an ice pack to keep food cold; inexpensive plastic cuttlery (try a discount store) that can be washed and reused; some small plastic containers to store food; a plastic sandwich container; and a thermos or reusable water bottle.
• What does this reduce? - By using plastic containers, you do not have to use foil, wax paper or plastic bags. The heavier weight, reusable plastic cutlery eliminates the need to buy boxes and boxes of one-use plastic cutlery that ends up in trashcans. With a reusable lunch bag, you can pack a lunch that will stay cold and can spare a few trees.
  
• Food - Foods like applesauce, yogurt, Goldfish crackers, pretzels and pudding are common in children's lunches. Buy the large jar of applesauce or large container of yogurt. Make the pudding yourself from a box of powdered pudding mix and milk you already have at home. Choose the bulk size box of crackers or pretzels instead of the small bags. Pick up the large bottles of juice and use that reusable water bottle or thermos everyday.
  
• What does this reduce? - When you buy a larger container, you're eliminating the waste of those single-use plastic containers which often can't be recycled. In Abington, only #1 and #2 plastics are recycled. Many pudding, applesauce and yogurt containers are #5 plastic. The large yogurt containers can be used for storage at home once empty. One large box of crackers or pretzels eliminates the waste of many small bags, and one large bottle of juice reduces the juice box/pouch and straw waste that is created every single day.
  
• Supplies - Choose recycled options when possible - looseleaf paper, notebooks and binders. Pick up a package of mechanical pencils and refillable lead, or regular pencils that are made from reycled wood. If your child still has school supplies left over from last year, use them! A new school year doesn't mean you have to purchase a new box of crayons. If it's time for a new backpack, purchase one from a company that offers a lifetime warranty. That way, when the bottom starts to wear out, a zipper breaks or the straps start to detach, all you have to do is mail it back to the company and wait for your repaired bag to be returned to you. Kids also like to pick out products with their favorite TV or movie characters, but the love of that character only lasts so long. Instead, direct your child toward something that has a fun, colored pattern on it that will appeal to him or her for more than one season or school year.
  
• What does this reduce? - Where do all those old school supplies eventually end up? Sometimes the trashcan, sometimes in a massive collection in your home. Teach your child the importance of using something until it is gone - only then is it necessary to replace it with something new. When a backpack wears out, it probably ends up in the trash. But if you purchase a brand such as L.L. Bean or Eastpack, you've just bought that bag for life and almost all of the regular wear-and-tear problems will be fixed for free - all you pay is the postage to send it back to the company! Not only will you be reducing waste by not purchasing excess supplies, you'll also be saving money, which makes everyone happy. Set aside the money that would have been used to purchase a new backpack or lunchbox and use it toward a fun day with the family.
  

Teaching your child the value of reducing waste, reusing what you already have and recycling what you can will last forever. Habits begin early - good or bad. If you teach your child the good habits, there will be less room for the bad.