Green Learning: Plastics by the Numbers

Last April, preschoolers at Resurrection Episcopal Day School in Manhattan engaged in hands-on learning that combined numbers and environmental stewardship. Four-year-old Birk McCaffrey and his mother, Cara, brought in 20 clean, used plastic containers, one for each child in the class, and discussed what the numbers and arrows meant. "We told them that we always look for the numbers—it's a game," Cara says. "We talked about what the earth can chew up and digest, and how it's hard to digest plastic, so we try not to buy things made of it. If we do, we try to recycle, but some plastics are bad for the earth."

On a poster drawn by his mother, Birk had colored "good" plastics (numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5, outlined with green circles) and "bad" plastics (numbers 3, 6 and 7, outlined with red circles). Cara, a board member of The Green Guide Institute, also handed out The Green Guide's Plastic Picks wallet-size cards. As she and Birk explained what the numbers meant, the children busily examined the containers. "They were so excited to find the numbers and the triangle," Cara says. "At an age when they can't read, symbols are a beautiful way to talk to children and empower them to understand the world," she adds.

The McCaffrey family also has reduced their use of plastics. For example, because so many restaurants use #6 (styrene) and #7 (polycarbonate and others), the McCaffreys think twice before ordering takeout. They store foods in glass bowls, choose hemp or metal lunch boxes and metal thermos bottles and use wax or parchment paper to wrap sandwiches.

Concerned about the use of #6 in everything from styrofoam coffee cups to containers holding organic strawberries, Cara and Birk wrote a letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who lives in the neighborhood. "Might you consider urging New Yorkers to unite in becoming an exclusive better/good plastics city?" they asked. Without answering the question (yet), the Mayor wrote back to Birk, "I am pleased that you have started to think about taking care of your surroundings at such an early age . . . and your presentation to the students at Resurrection Episcopal Day School is a great way to encourage others to prevent waste."

When Birk's teachers, Evelyn Carlen and Donnette Carter, told their colleagues about the successful presentation, the McCaffreys were soon invited to speak to all the other classes in the school in the week leading up to Earth Day.

Later that spring, at the school's graduation party, the students closely examined the plastic tableware and, finding some #6 and #7 items, pronounced them bad. "It's really pretty simple. Our earth can't digest these things, and we can't either," says Cara, who has been helping to find sources of recycled paper cups and plates for school events.

Resources

To order biodegradable cutlery, plates and cups see:

www.greenearthofficesupply.com, 800-327-8449

www.recyclaholics.com, 612-521-LOOP

Click here to download The Green Guide's Smart Shopper's Plastic Picks Card (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).