Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

Everywhere I have been here in Brazil, I've been struck with how careful they are with their resources.  Even in the smallest schools, there are recycling bins.  It's everywhere.  From the earliest age, children are taught to separate trash so it becomes a natural part of life.  Reuse is something one just *does*.

And shouldn't it be?  Why is it so hard in so many places to get access to even basic recycling services back home?  Should money be an issue when we think about the consequences?  It's so refreshing here to see a different approach and to see everyone at every age involved.

Even in the classroom, teachers promote reuse in several ways.  They recycle materials like old magazines and household goods for student craft projects.  The results are lovely.  That, of course, shouldn't come as a surprise.  Give a kid something colorful, stand back, and watch them produce fantastic results, right?  I also saw them recycle old 2L soda bottles to make tiny trash bins in primary school rooms that could sit right in the middle of the clustered desks for the inevitable curls that develop when colored pencils need to be sharpened, the odd tissue, etc.  They also adapted these old bottles to make a tissue holder for a roll of toilet tissue making a never-ending kleenex dispenser that I am going to try when I get home for my own classroom.

It doesn't stop there.  In the Hippy Market of Brasilia, we saw gorgeous stuff such as purses made from pop tabs and bright thread which were very eye-catching and fashionable, patio sets made from old eighteen-wheeler tires that, if I could just figure out how to get home, I would HAVE, and laser-cut vinyl albums recycled into interesting wall art.  This is the short list, too....

It's refreshing to see "ecofriendliness" as something cultural, not as an afterthought.  Too often where I am, although I know it is different in different parts of our large nation, I think it goes by the wayside.  There is a lot to learn here from the strategies and simple applications I have seen.