Though summer is upon us and school is out, remember to keep up the good habits of being environmental stewards you’ve practiced during the school year.  During the summer, you can focus your recycling, composting, and reducing at home.

Waste Sorting Training

• Donate any old clothing, including single socks and shoes that have lost their mates. Or use old clothes as cleaning rags. For more information, check out our Threadcycle
• In need of summer clothes or swim wear? Give clothes a second life, go to your local Goodwill and see what gems you can find.
• Remind your family members to double-check the recycling bin for contamination. Give them a pop quiz to see if they know what belongs where. Here is a quick guide to recycling at home. Post it on your refrigerator, or on your garbage, recycling, and compost bins.
• See if your local schools are holding any green events this summer. Volunteer at a park or restoration site. Or take a tour of King County’s Brightwater Center.
• Want to do some arts and crafts? Use what you already have at home. Get creative and make a collage with old newspaper, a picture frame with Popsicle sticks, or create sensory jars with small objects you find around the house. Use fallen leaves and twigs from local trees to decorate a nature journal.
• Add a book about the environment to your summer reading list. Check out last year’s post on summer reading to get you started. This list includes book suggestions for early, middle-grade, and high school readers.
  

  Coffee Filter Student Art

During the summer, do at home the good habits you’ve established at school – reducing, reusing, recycling, and composting. These habits give items a second life, protect the environment from the effects of climate change, and prevent the overuse of natural resources.

Want recycling information in Spanish?  Take a look at Recicla más. ¡Es facilísimo! on the King County Solid Waste Division website and on Facebook.

The Go, Green Team Blog! wishes you a safe and fun summer.