More than 15,000 students are enrolled in the 20 schools in the Stamford public school system.

Reducing the trash produced by those 15,000 pupils and the energy used in the 20 schools will go a long way toward improving our natural environment. All it takes is for each one of us to act in environmentally responsible ways as we go through the school day.

Below are a few things you can start doing today. Click the links at left for more information on how you can be sustainable at school.

• Reduce lunch waste. Bring your food and drink in reusable containers, and don't pack excess food that you will throw away. Avoid pre-packaged items.
  
  
• Recycling is a no-brainer. Thanks to single-stream recycling, you can recycle practically anything in Stamford. About the only items that should go into the trash are containers or paper plates with food or grease stuck on them.
  
  
• Use both sides of a sheet of paper. If you do this consistently, it will cut the school's paper usage by half.
  
  
• Print only what you must. Do you really need to print that email or report?
  
  
• Set up an exchange sale where you trade books and other items with your classmates. This reduces the garbage stream.
  
  
• Turn off the lights when you're the last one leaving a room.
  
  
• Conduct a waste audit. How much trash does your class or school produce in a day? Ask your custodian how much electricity and water the school consumes daily. Weigh the paper tossed vs. recycled. Find out from the cafeteria how many pounds of food are discarded every day. Ask your teacher if you can do this as a class project.

For more tips on being environmentally responsible at school, see this web page from New York City's Department of Sanitation.