Reducing Waste Through EdTech

The use of paper in schools is substantial and is one of the most frequently utilized resources in the educational system. Research conducted by Record Nations reveals that, on average, a school consumes approximately 2,000 sheets of paper per day, amounting to 10,000 sheets per week. "It's surprising to note that a single tree can produce 10,000 sheets, resulting in approximately 37 trees being utilized by a school each year. In the US alone, where there are approximately 100,000 schools serving K-12 students, this leads to 3.7 million trees being used annually.

In June 2020, Yale University students studied the impact of transitioning to a digital format on paper use and found that when everyone worked remotely, paper consumption decreased by 90% for the University. This reduction is likely to be applicable nationwide as well.

Many will say though that paper is a renewable resource and that is true, but only when it is being recycled properly. Much of school recycling gets contaminated by food waste or other materials that cannot be processed in a recycling center. Despite paper being renewable, much of it in schools is not being properly recycled, resulting in significant waste.

Despite this, many schools and educators have gradually reverted to traditional pencil-and-paper methods since returning to in-person learning. This may be because many instructors have been in the profession for a long time and are accustomed to traditional teaching approaches. However, the advantages of implementing a digital classroom are many. For example, submitting work would be digital, eliminating the possibility of missing assignments, and teachers would no longer have to grade and return crumpled-up papers to students. Using programs like Google Workspace allows collaboration and opportunities for mobile learning. Additionally, sharing projects with educators immediately allows for timely feedback through comments.

Switching to digital formats makes it so that more students can access the materials and complete assignments independently. Struggling readers can use programs that read material to them. They might also benefit from using speech-to-text with writing assignments (which also helps with word recognition). Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools will give students feedback on their work, using AI in a safe environment teaches them how to use it appropriately. Math programs like Prodigy and iReady allow teachers to track student growth and teach vital mathematical skills through play.

Prioritizing environmental sustainability can also benefit both students and teachers. Striving to use as little paper as what was used during remote learning might be a stretch for many. Even if schools switch to digital format 50% of the time that impact would still be significant. Advocating for a 75% decrease would yield even greater benefits. To put it in perspective a 50% decrease would be about 1.8 million trees, and a 75% decrease would be about 2.7 million trees. Not to mention the countless hours being saved by teachers all over on copier repair/maintenance.

Resources

Cho, R. (2020). Recycling in the U.S. is broken. how do we fix it?. State of the Planet. https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/

McHugh, R. (2020, January 14). How Much Paper Schools Use & How Much It Costs Them. Records Nations. April 12, 2024, https://www.recordnations.com/blog/how-much-paper-schools-use-how-much-costs/#:~:text=A%20typical%20school%20will%20use,sheets%20of%20paper%20per%20year.

The NCES Fast Facts Tool provides quick answers to many education questions (National Center for Education Statistics). National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. (2022). https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84

What COVID-19 taught us about paper and Printing Sustainability. It’s Your Yale. (2020, June 19). https://your.yale.edu/news/2020/06/what-covid-19-taught-us-about-paper-and-printing-sustainability#:~:text=Yale’s%20Office%20of%20Sustainability%20used,in%20costs%20associated%20with%20printing