Eco Little Cakes
We all know how important it is to look after the environment and care for our planet.
That’s why at Little Cakes we are always finding new ways to teach the children about caring for their environment.
We’ve stopped using
disposable wet wipes to wipe
faces and hands after snack
and lunchtime. We have replaced them with reusable/washable
flannels.
We use ‘Ocean Saver’ as our cleaning products. These are eco-friendly, non-toxic, sachet refills that dissolve in water (we keep our old spray bottles and use these to dissolve the sachets in).
We no longer use paper towels in the bathrooms. We use reusable/washable hand towels (which are changed frequently throughout the day).
Every year we plant vegetable, flower and herb seeds for the children to observe the importance of plants and soil.
The staff use washable/compostable wiping sponges in the kitchen.
We gladly take book
donations from parents.
Every week we nominate a child to be the ‘Recycling Monitor’ to be extra vigilant in the classroom looking out for items that haven’t been recycled but could be!
The children use reusable/washable cloths made out of bamboo to wipe down the food tables after snack/lunch time.
All paper and cardboard is recycled where possible.
We also all take extra care to reuse items (like paper, cardboard, material) as necessary
If you have any other suggestions we could implement in the nursery we would be very happy to hear them!
What can you do to be more eco-friendly?
Inexpensive things you can do to be more eco-friendly:
Only do a food shop once you’ve used up all of your fresh food. This helps to eliminate food waste. There are plenty of recipes to use up less fresh fruits and vegetables. Remember to be mindful of ‘best before’ dates (not to be confused with ‘use by’). As plenty of fruits and vegetables can still be eaten after the best before date, it just won’t be at its best but will still be fine to use in soups, casseroles, stir fried, roasting and baking
You probably already know that the world has a huge plastic problem. Plastic is a hugely versatile substance but it has been completely overused and we are finding it increasing difficult to dispose of it all. There are more plastic recycling facilities opening up, where instead of producing ‘virgin’ plastic, we can reuse plastic already in the system. Many large companies are using only recycled plastic to packaged their products.
Reuse and repurpose where possible. Before throwing something away, first have a think on how the item could be reused or if someone else could use it.
Only buy what you need! Shopping has never been easier, you can shop whilst sitting on your sofa with a click of a button on your mobile phone. Before you buy, just have this thought in your head, ‘Do I really need this?’ Overconsumption is a massive worldwide problem - do you really need the same top in 4 different colours??
And if the item can’t be reused, then it will need to be disposed of appropriately - hopefully by recycling. Check out this link for further information https://www.recyclenow.com/. Most councils do provide bins/sacks for garden waste, food caddie bins for kitchen waste, recycling bins/bags for general recycling (check your local council website for a list of what they will take for recycling) and bins/sacks for general non-recyclable waste. Most charity shops will take items that are clean, still wearable/still work and are fit for purpose.
Useful websites:
https://www.sustainablethreerivers.org/
https://greatbiggreenweek.com/
https://www.zerowasteweek.co.uk/
https://thebigplasticcount.com/
Physical Shops:
How to reduce your plastic waste:
Shop in ‘refill’ stores, where you bring your containers to fill food products, bath/shower products, & household cleaning products (see links below for local refill stores).
Use cleaning refill sachets for your household cleaning products.
Try to buy more food items in tins, glass jars, & cardboard boxes, rather than plastic trays/pouches.
Don’t use single-use plastic bags to put your fresh fruits and vegetables in. Use paper bags, cotton food bags, or just put them loose in your bag.
Avoid buying food wrapped in plastic where you can i.e. broccoli, peppers, courgettes, etc
Always bring your own reusable shopping bag
Try out soaps rather than liquid shower gel/shampoo/conditioner that are in plastic bottles.
Try out tooth tablets, rather than toothpaste in a plastic tube.