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Since I’ve been working with Goddard Child Development Centers I’ve become very aware of the ways that a good daycare center can be greener. Goddard (who is co-sponsoring The Top 10 Eco-Toys Contest with Eco Childs Play) has worked hard to green their day care centers. Many of my colleagues in the Green Moms Carnival are looking at ways to green the centers that their children attend. And our editor, Jennifer Lance published some guidelines back in January.
But it’s Back-To-School Time so it’s time to take another look. My list focuses on easy things that you and most daycare centers can do to make life just a little greener.
1) Green Cleaning Supplies – this is easier and getting cheaper all the time as more and more manufacturers understand consumers want them Indoor pollutants are often more toxic than those in the outdoor air.
2) Wastefree Lunch and Snacks – a big topic with the school-age crowd too, if you pack your child’s food, use one of the many waste free lunch systems available now online primarily, but I recently found one in a local store.
3) Recycling – this is a bare minimum. If your day care center doesn’t have a recycling program in place, it’s not teaching a new generation to be green. Help them set one up!
4) Green Toys and Furniture – Often in child care centers the emphasis is on plastic toys. Not all plastic is bad, but all toys should at least be BPA and phthalates free and lead tested. The Smart Mama, Jennifer Taggert’s New Book has some great ideas on what to avoid.
5) Renewable Energy – If your child care center uses some form of clean energy – great! If not implementing an Renewable energy Credit (REC) program is easy and important for protecting the environment.
That’s my list. What’s on the top of your?
Photo Credit: loyaldefender2004 at Flickr Under Creative Commons License
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great piece. I think that for kids, the most important things are:
1) green, non-toxic cleaning supplies (including the entire building where the center is housed) and
2) organic and/or local healthy non-fried, non-fatty produce-rich meals.
Some people are even doing cloth diapers at child care. Check out the Green Moms Carnival in Sept – Jennifer of Z Recommends wrote a great post about how she brought cloth diapering to her child care center!
I think this was posted earlier this year, but it’s a great place to start!
http://www.oeconline.org/our-work/kidshealth/ehcc/index_html