MARCH BLOG – MINDY’S ZERO WASTE DAY

MINDY’S ZERO WASTE DAY.

One Monday Mindy’s teacher asked her class, “do you know what today is children?”.

 All her friends made lots of guesses 

“Is it Easter?” one said, 

“I know it’s children’s day!” said another. 

Teacher shook his head and said “No, today is March 30th it’s Zero waste day!”

“What’s Zero waste day?” asked the class. 

“Zero waste day is a special day dedicated to reducing waste and protecting our planet. It’s a day to remind everyone and celebrate the efforts they have been making in reducing waste throughout the year. This is because a lot of the things we throw away end up in a landfill, and many items like plastic candy wrappers, takeaway tins and old clothes take hundreds of years to break down, polluting the land and air with toxic chemicals.” Said the teacher. 

Then how can we throw away less things? asked Tim Mindy’s best friend.

 Do you remember the 3 R’s? asked the teacher.

“I do, I do!” Mindy said, the 3 R’s are Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. It means to reuse things like soda bottles as vases, reduce the amount of plastics and things we buy that we don’t need and to recycle materials like plastic, metal and glass!”

“Correct Mindy, on zero waste day and throughout the year the 3 R’s are important to remember as you try and reduce the amount of waste that goes to the landfill.” 

“ We can all take small steps to protect our planet, here are some other things you can do,” the teacher said as he ended the class.

• Pack your lunch in a reusable container instead of plastic wrap.
• When you get take out, tell them you don’t want the plastic spoons and forks.
• Instead of buying new color pencils for art class, reuse your old ones or borrow from your siblings. 
• You can reuse old plastic bottles and jars as planters.
• When you are throwing away trash, separate your recyclable items and take them for recycling,  

In the evening when Mindy’s parents picked her up from school, she was excited to tell them all the things she learnt. “Mum, Dad I want to start taking the bus to school, we learnt that buses carry more people and produce less pollution!”. 

When they went to Naivas to shop, Mindy’s mum asked her what snacks she wanted and Mindy said “Mum, can I get crisps? But not the ones in the plastic packet, let’s use our own tins and get the ones they weigh and sell, we can reuse the container next time.”

 As they shopped for vegetables, Mindy told her mum not to use the plastic nets but to use the brown bags instead.

 Finally they had to buy new paints for Mindy’s art classes. “Mum no need, I’ll just use my Big Bros. He doesn’t use them anymore. I don’t need to get new ones and throw away the half used old ones, that’s just wasteful!” she said. 

That evening as she helped clear the kitchen she asked her older brother where their recycling bin was, she wanted to throw the plastic and metal cans in the recycling.

As the year by  Mindy kept on making efforts to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Next year she wants to tell her friends all the things she did to reduce her wastage on Zero waste day, who knows maybe her teacher would even ask her to teach everyone how to reduce their waste.