How to Recycle School Supplies

School supplies are something that you usually buy every year.  At the beginning of each new grade, you want new pens and pencils, new notebooks and new folders.  After a semester or even a year of use, these supplies become worn out and need to be replaced.  Of course some supplies will need to be thrown away, but there are ways to recycle your old school supplies.

• Take all of your used paper and unwanted paper materials, including folders and notebooks without the metal wire, to a recycling center.  Many schools have containers for recycling.  Put your unwanted paper products in these bins to make sure that your school supplies are getting recycled.


• Donate your left over school supplies to Goodwill, Salvation Army or other charitable organization.  These groups will resell your donated school supplies so another child can use them in class.  Just because you used them for a year doesn’t mean that they can’t be used again.  Reusing is a great way to recycle your school supplies.


• Give your school supplies to your school personnel.  Many school districts have supply rooms with leftover, used and unused, school supplies.  Your school’s office would be happy to take your supplies and make sure that they are used by someone else.


• Contact an official recycling center to find out how you can donate your school supplies to be recycled.  You can find these centers by searching online or try the following websites:  World.org/reuse/school.supplies and FreeCycle.org.


• Purchase supplies that have already been recycled.  This is a great way to support recycling within the school supply system.  A favorite recycled school supply is Poo Poo Paper (made from the poo of real animals).  When you have used the recycled supplies, be sure to recycle them again.  School supplies can be recycled many times.