How To Recycle Greeting Cards

So, you got a slew of greeting cards? Whether it was Christmas Cards, Birthday Cards , Anniversary Cards, Graduation Cards or Sympathy Cards.  Whatever the occasion, you must be wondering what you can do to recycle those beautiful cards and greetings.

Greeting cards and envelopes made of most paper materials can be put in the recycling bin. Cards with glitter, metallic accents or plastic should be placed in the trash. Photo paper greeting cards also cannot be recycled. Don’t worry about removing the stamp from the envelope, the recycling process takes care of that for you.

Here's a master list of Greeting Card recycle tips:

Many cards cannot go into the recycle bin because they contain other materials besides paper:

• Glitter
• Ribbons
• Plastics
• Foil
• Jewels
• Elastics
• Metallic Inks
• Photo Paper

So, What can you do to recycle them? Try some of these ideas:

• Remove the adornments
• Bring them to a swap
• Frame them
• Give them a new life with crafts
• Re-gift - Just make a new card!
• Bring to a swap
• Find a crafter or artist that uses them in their work
• Make something beautiful as a keepsake!

TIP: Many times the back of cards can be recycled even if the cover can't. Tear off the adornments, and recycle the rest.

PLANETPALS.com

Happy Holidays Inclusive Activities For The Classroom

 

Exclusively Inclusive!

Life skills for a better world all wrapped up in holiday activities! 

Whether you are a homeschooler or a classroom teacher, you will love these new activities for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and More. 

Planetpals NO PREP activities are not only clever and fun but unqiue! Kids learn life skills. One of a kind for Kindness, Inclusiveness, ways to a better world. Classroom, homeschool or home. 

Check out what's new! 

Here are three of our newest for the Holiday Season.

A lesson on a world of holidays

A Star of an activity

Tick Tock It's Time for Kindness

Stage Is Set For A Funtastic Recycle Reading Craft!

Dioramas: A Wonderful Way To Teach Recycling And Reuse. A Very Creative Learning Activity

Recycle a box and make a diorama to stage a scene from your next book report assignment. 

Whether you are a teacher or homeschool mom, this is a great project to help your kids get more out of their next book. Make it as a school assignment, homework or reading play. It encourages creativity and takes the reading to another level. Did I say it teaches Reuse and recycle, too?

Here, Chris illustrated a scene for his book report with a box, some paper rolls and pieces of paper and cloth.  He did a great job, don't you think!

Learn about many of our recycle craft ideas at Planetpals

Alternative Activities And Ideas For A Covid Halloween That Won't Spook You!

It's scary! It sure is a game-changer this year in every way, Halloween is no different. 

So, with that in mind, many of you are wondering how to handle Halloween this year.  Many grapple with whether to take your children out trick or treating or to holiday parties.  We hear that gatherings are a source of the Coronavirus virus spreading, and touching another source. It's obvious that many people do not want their kids putting their hands in bowls of candy and many home-owners don't want to hand candy out. How do you social distance and still have fun & keep the tradition? Make a new tradition! 

What SPOOKTacular things can you do for a Covid Halloween?  

Here are some alternative ideas for a safe and fun Halloween for your family, classmates and friends. Some of them so great, you may want to incorporate them every year! 

In each case you can have the kids help make Halloween themed treats, serve Halloween candies, dress up in Halloween costumes, give prizes, whatever you can dream up.

• Have a Family Halloween Party at home: Serve a special dinner or dessert Halloween themed. 
• Have a Halloween Movie Night: Choose a Halloween movie you all will enjoy!
• Have Halloween Dessert Party: Easy as pie! Ghostly treats, fun to eat!
• Have a Halloween Candy Scavenger Hunt: Hide candy around the house or yard.
• Have a Halloween Drawing Contest: Fun for the creative crew.  Display them all month!
• Have  a Halloween light show & decorating event.  Not just for Christmas anymore! Do a drive by or walk by with neighbors (social distancing of course).
• Have a Zoom Halloween Party:  This will work for family, friends or school classmates. Show off your costumes, decorations, artwork and treats!
• Have a Halloween Craft Night: Choose some creative crafts, be a Planetpal and RE-use them to decorate next year!
• Lots of Halloween Craft and Food Ideas in Planetpals Halloween Journal, too. Don't miss one Boo-tiful thing!

As you can see there are lots of alternatives.  Who knows they may be so much fun taht they can become a tradition for years to come. 

Happy Hal-OHOH-ween!

Clean and Green Ideas For Back to School

Here are a few ways you can help the planet this school year...Remember, every litter bit helps!

• Take your lunch in a reusable lunch box, or cloth bag instead of paper bags..
• Recycle any packaging in your lunch box.
• Pack a cloth napkin instead of paper one. You can reuse it! Just count all your school days...that's how many paper napkins you saved.
• Cover your books in recycled paper bags or wrap... decorate them yourself, they could look fun and you might start a trend!
• Use up last years school supplies before you buy new ones.
• Use the reverse side of scrap paper for your first drafts of writing, art and math projects.
• Keep a "craft box" of discards you think might be handy for class projects during the year...mark it "my craft box" so noone will mistake it for trash! Keep things like empty yogurt containers, elastics, string etc...that might interesting and useful for your art.
• Take the bus or Car pool with friends...have your mom's take turns...It's fun to go to school in groups and you save lots of gas!.
• Ask your teacher to put up Planetpals recycle kits posters to remind everyone at school about recycling.
• Click here for more recycle ideas for everyday

See our #backtoschool board on Pinterest for more back to school ideas! 

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and over 1,000 pages of educational content on Planetpals.com 

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