-Five Simple Steps
Five Steps Overview STEP 1: Use Green Cleaning Products STEP 2: Introduce Green Equipment and Supplies STEP 3: Adopt Green Cleaning Procedures STEP 4: Use Green Paper and Plastic Products STEP 5: Share the Responsibility
-Implementation
Implementation Overview Sustainability Considerations Ongoing Infection Control Choosing Green Cleaning Products Choosing Green Equipment and Supplies Developing Green Cleaning Procedures Choosing Green Paper and Plastic Products Green Cleaning for Food Service Integrated Pest Management Training Issues and Opportunities Choosing a Distributor
-Long-Term Success
Success Overview Create a Green Team Develop a Green Cleaning Plan Adopt a Green Cleaning Policy Implement the Green Cleaning Plan Evaluate Progress Communicate About Green Cleaning Learn about new technologies
-Resources and Tools
Resources Overview Documents and Links Forms and Checklists Glossary of Terms Government Resources
-Partners
Partners Overview Healthy Schools Campaign Authors and Acknowledgements Corporate Green Team Sponsors Participating Organizations Copyright and Usage Information

Step 4: Use Green Paper and Plastic Products

Choosing green paper and plastic helps protect the environment, and our health strongly depends on a healthy environment. By requesting and using environmentally preferable paper and plastic products, you help create the demand which builds capacity to produce more green products in the paper and plastics industry.

Standards

Paper Products: This is an evolving area, and there are several standards that can be used to evaluate green paper products for schools. We recommend using one of the four following standards: EPA, Green Seal, Environmental Choice, Chlorine Free or U.S. Green Building Council’s recommendation for rapidly renewable paper products.

Plastic products: Plastic trash bags, also called trash can liners, are available with recovered recycled material. The amount of recovered materials used in the manufacturing process is affected by the color, size and thickness of the bag. There are currently no national certifying organizations for recycled plastic products. However the EPA Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines require that trash can liners be 10-100% post consumer content recycled. There are companies that provide verification of manufactures’ claims on recycled content that can ensure the validity of the claim. Go to Choosing Green Paper and Plastic Products for a detailed explanation of the various standards and factors to consider when making a choice. For a selection of green paper and plastic products, see Featured Green Products.

Cost Assessment

Recycled paper tends to cost more than paper manufactured from virgin tree fiber of comparable quality and price. However, by taking a few simple steps to reduce consumption (such as replacing multifold hand towels with large rolls and replacing single roll toilet paper dispensers with dispensers that hold multiple rolls), you can offset the higher initial cost by reducing consumption. Also, by using larger rolls of bathroom tissue, staff time is saved by reducing changing time.

Training Requirements

No formal training is needed to increase your school’s use of recycled paper products. However, there are some resources that can help educate staff and other school stakeholders about the importance of conservation and recycling. See Resources and Tools for more information.

Back to Step 3

 

 
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