Menus

• Meat free Days - Try to add more non-meat proteins such as beans, tofu and quinoa to your Nursery menus. Have some meat-free days – it’s surprisingly easy to think of great alternative and balanced menus that children will enjoy.  

 

• At www.theplanetmark.com they explain what constitutes a sustainable menu - one that is high in energy and low on high-impact foods. 

 

Face-wiping

• Use flannels for face/hand-wiping instead of wipes and keep them in labelled bags, one for each child. You can wash them, and the children will know where to find them.

​

In the Kitchen

• Clingfilm is not recyclable, although the cardboard box it comes in is, and so it often advertises as if it might be recycled. However, if you read the label closely you will find that it is not.

 

• Try Beeswax wrappers, old Tupperware with lids, or just cover bowls and casseroles with plates or clean tea cloths.

 

Waste not Want Less 

• Try inventing new uses for items you may have previously disposed of.  Reinvent them instead, perhaps be creative with loose play and design technology.  Remember: upcycling is more efficient than recycling.  

 

• Recycle banks - Finally, when an item really has had all the ‘wear’ it can take, explore 
  www.terracycle.com which offers an amazing way to recycle the non-recyclable. Set up as a recycling hub even for plastic toothbrushes and razors, as you collect they donate to charity.

 

• Try using no bin bags at all and simply put old newspapers in the bottom of a bin which you can rinse when necessary.

 

 Soap

• Paper Wrappers - Did you know soap bars can be bought only wrapped in paper?

 

• Soap Bars - At Nursery we called our Councils and Environmental Health and they said:

​

YES we can use soap bars in our children’s toilets;

YES we can use soap bars in our kitchens when we prepare food.

​

Biodegradable Cleaning Products 

​

• A recent highly innovative product is Biovation which passes all COSSH and BS EN because it uses natural helpful bacteria that rapidly eat the potentially harmful waste is available on Consortium.  Or visit their website at www.try-biovation.co.uk

 

• Other biodegradable cleaning products are:  Ecover - Their products are made from 100% natural ingredients, and they make large bag-in-a-box refills which cut down on recycling too! You can find them in many supermarkets, and in most health food shops, who may also use the refilling system so you can take your bottles back. Also, if you go to www.biggreensmile.com, you can purchase the big refills directly.

​

• Eco Friendly washing powders and tablets are great washers and can be better and more natural for your skin too!

 

Towels and Flannels 

​

• In all toilets: for drying hands, try using flannels which can be put into a laundry basket after use.

 

• At Nursery after lunch: clean hands and faces with flannels, keeping a separate flannel bag or tray for each child.

​

​​

At Nursery it is good to keep the plastic you already may have – 

for example, plates, beakers and cutlery – if the alternative is binning it!  Maybe reuse it as paint pots and mixer plates.

​

However, Hygge and Eco fashion trends are back to using china and glass again, as well as bamboo, all of which is great news. Children get much more sense of the fragility of materials if they get to use them. 

​​

Read More About How You Can Help: