Did you know that laminating paper is actually not as environmentally friendly as you may think? You may believe that by laminating paper, and reducing the amount of paper that gets put in the bin, that this is helping the environment, but this is not entirely true!
Whilst laminating a piece of paperwork will protect it to some extent from crumpling or tearing and allows it to be re-used, it’s actually harmful to the environment as the lamination process uses harsh chemicals and heat to fuse the sheet of paper between two sheets of plastic. Yes, it can save on the use of paper, but paper is both fully recyclable and biodegradable, while plastic is not.
The Green Living Detective is a website that provides 'top green tips' on how to live a more sustainable lifestyle and information on what 'Eco-friendly' methods are actually helping the environment.
Using advice from The Green Living Detective, we are making concerted efforts at Hill House to reduce our use of printing and laminating and this has been very evident in the classroom where the reliance on re-using resources involved quite a bit of both.
Our Lower School Lead, Sonia Leandro Martinez has introduced the use of ‘digital workboxes’, with students using their interactive Talk pad in lessons. This now replaces the usual physical organisation system in the classrooms that previously relied on printed and laminated materials.
Sonia had the below to say about the lower school's efforts to help the environment, one step at a time:
“This has made a positive impact on the environment as we have reduced our use of physical resources quite a lot and increased the use of the Talk pad.
Also, during Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education time, we have learnt about ways of keeping our planet Earth healthy. Students have taken part in numerous activities, including sorting materials into the right groups for recycling.”
To find out more about Hill House' One Planet Living Initiative click HERE.
To visit the Green Living Detective website click HERE.