The summer holidays have been a blast! But if your kids haven’t gone back to school yet, they will be soon. As you start getting your school supplies ready for the new term, why not think about the impact that they could also have on the environment?

We’ve pulled together five of our top tips to help make the return to school more eco-friendly.

Recycle old school clothes

There’s no doubt about it, children grow fast! Have your kids outgrown last year’s uniform, or perhaps they’re moving to secondary school and no longer need their primary school one anymore?

If their school clothes are in good enough condition, it may be worth handing them down to other children or donating them. It can get expensive for families to buy brand new clothes all the time, not to mention it’s much better for the environment as it saves them from being thrown away.

Walk or cycle to school

If you live close enough, walking or cycling to school instead of driving can help to reduce carbon emissions. As well as this, gentle exercise has been proven to increase mood and learning. How’s that for a positive start to the day?

Check your essentials

Rather than buying things like notepads and pencil cases brand new, have you checked to see whether you actually need any new ones? It’s easy to be persuaded to buy a new colourful pencil case for the school year. But if last year’s is still in good condition then it’s both a waste of money and a perfectly good pencil case.

If you do need to get essentials, you can pick these up at charity shops for a fraction of the price. You could also consider investing in a mini whiteboard for note taking in class. They can be reused over and over again and cost less than £5!

Pack more sustainable snacks

Most snacks like crisps, cereal bars and biscuits are individually wrapped in separate plastic packaging. This isn’t very sustainable or good for the environment, especially if the plastic can’t be recycled. Instead of buying these snacks which are individually wrapped for break time, why not pack reusable containers with other choices like fruit and nuts? They’re much healthier and you’ll be saving the planet too!

Recycle old notes

If you have any old notepads and papers from last year lying around which are no longer needed, make sure they go in the recycling bin rather than the normal bin. It’s also worth encouraging your kids to recycle more when they’re actually at school to stop unnecessary waste.

If they’re halfway through an old notebook, they could use it for their working out or scribbling notes down in class this year, so it doesn’t get thrown away. Another good idea would be to pass down old notebooks to friends or family in the year below them. They might find the notes useful, and it means your kid’s old notebook gets a new lease of life.

Although these are all small changes you can make for the new school year, every little helps when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint.

For more hints and tips around how you can do your bit for the environment, follow us on social media @ForHousing.