Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Tubes

Oddly enough, one of the most common green parenting questions that I am asked is centered on those pesky toilet paper and paper towel tubes that accumulate so quickly in the family recycle bin. Sure, you could do a craft with them (there are several craft ideas list below) but that idea may lose its luster after you've made your 18th eyeglass case or pencil holder. So here are some great green parenting tips for reducing, reusing, and recycling your old toilet paper and paper towel tubes.

Reduce

Want A Deeper Shade of Green? If you want to be really hardcore, you can reduce your family’s overall use of toilet paper tubes by eliminating the roll altogether. Enter, the family cloth. If you’re not familiar with this concept, here’s a quick primer. You take a couple of clean old rags (old t-shirts and towels are popular choices), cut them into “wipe” size pieces and place them in a basket next to the toilet. On the other side of the toilet, place a clean bucket to hold the used cloths until you are ready to toss them in the wash. It may sound a bit extreme, but it is similar in concept to cloth diapers. And in addition to being very green for the planet, it will save you some green on paper products each month.

Reuse

Give your toilet paper and paper towel tubes a second life by reusing them before or instead of recycling them. Here's how:

• Donate old toilet paper or paper towel tubes to your local school or library to use as craft projects.
  
• Use toilet paper tubes as packing material.
  
• Give them to your pet hamster or bird (or to a friend that has one) to play with.
  
• Store holiday lights by rolling them around paper towel tubes to prevent tangling.
  
• Attach 2 or 3 toilet paper and/or paper towel tubes together to make an art organizer that holds pens, paint brushes, markers, etc.
  
• Do a Craft: Here are some great craft ideas for reusing toilet paper and paper towel tubes:

Toilet Paper Tube Crafts

Gift Box
Puppets
Vase
Napkin Rings

Glasses Case

Menorah/Kinara/Advent Wreath

Recycle

Recycle toilet paper and paper towel tubes with your cardboard or paper products. Also, consider buying toilet tissue and paper towels made from recycled paper as these products are most likely to also contain tubes made from recycled paper. For example, Green Forest paper towel and bathroom tissue tubes are 100% recycled, with a 75% post-consumer recycled content.

Eco-Craft: An Eco-Friendly Menorah

Materials

8 Toilet Paper Roll Tubes
1 Paper Towel Roll Tube
1 long board or box
Recycled Aluminum Foil
Recycled Paper (I used scrap pieces of red, orange, and yellow recycled construction paper)
Non Toxic Paints (I used blue and white)
Non-Toxic Glue

This craft is eco-friendly because it recycles items that you probably already have before they hit the trash bin. So take a look around and see what you can scrounge together while assembling your materials. If you don't have non-toxic paints, you could use leftover wrapping paper, markers, or the back side of scratch paper instead. No tin foil in the recycle box? Use muffin cups, extra garland, or a silver marker instead. If you don't have enough toilet paper or paper towel roll tubes laying around, ask friends to give you theirs (yes, they will laugh). You should have plenty within a few days. You get the idea.

Putting It Together

Here's how I put this craft together, but feel free to get creative and change it up to suit your materials and your kids.

1. Using your non-toxic paints, paint each toilet paper roll tube and the long board blue. Paint the paper towel tube white. Let everything dry and decorate however you'd like.
2. Cut out nine squares (about 2-3 inches in size) from the aluminum foil.
3. Glue aluminum foil to the long board. Then glue each tube to the foil as shown in picture, making sure to place the paper towel roll in the middle of the board.
4. Cut out the flame shapes from your recycled paper.
5. Using tape, adhere the "flames" to the "candles." Light the middle candle (the paper towel roll) first, and then one additional toilet paper candle on each night of Hanukkah.

Energy Report Cards

I spend a lot of time "eco-nagging" my daughters. Whether it's "please turn off the light," or "DO NOT stand there with the refrigerator door open," I am constantly pestering them use less energy...a concept that I'll admit can be somewhat abstract to children. A great way to teach kids about energy consumption is to turn the tables and let them teach you. Help your child give your house an "Energy Report Card". Here's how...

Energy Report Cards

For Toddlers and Preschoolers: At this age, the idea is to keep it simple. Download the free Home Energy Audit Kit from EarthCare and help your child identify the items in the pictures (of common household scenes) that use energy. Color the pictures and introduce the basic concepts. "When we turn the light on, we use energy." Show your child how you turn off the light whenever you leave a room so that you don't waste energy.

For Elementary School-Aged Kids: Using the same kit mentioned above, take the concepts one step further. Look through the house together to identify the items that use energy (lights, TV, computer, cell phone charger, etc.) Now, see if you can find ways together to use a little less energy. Adjust the thermostat by a few degrees, unplug appliances that you don't use regularly, replace burned out light bulbs with compact fluorescents. Check out HogBusters an online game where kids can learn more about the energy savers and wasters throughout the house.

Next, make sure your kids know just where all of that energy is coming from. The diagram posted below gives a good general overview of how this energy gets to your house. You can explore this site further to learn about the different kinds of energy and how they are produced.


For Tweens and Teens: Teenagers should already know what items use energy, but they may not be aware of how much that energy costs in resources and dollars. Surf with your teen over to Saving Electricity 101and scroll down the page to the Electricity Calculator. There you can look up the energy cost in dollars of most common household items (everything from coffee machines to X-boxes.) The idea is not to make kids feel guilty about using energy, just aware that the energy they use does cost money. Talk about the resources (fossil fuels or renewables) that are needed to create energy. You can also check out Home Energy Savers for a web-based home energy auditing tool that calculates your homes energy costs based on the averages in your local area.

Now that your kids know all about saving energy, turn them loose on their schools. A school "Energy Report Card" makes a great science project and can help schools save a bundle of money on energy costs. Oh, and don't be surprised to hear a little "eco-nagging" as well. "Don't put so much hot water in that bath, Mom!"

Eco Treats For Eco Pets

Even the youngest children can help with this project...

Make a nutritious treat for the feathered friends in your neighborhood by coating a pinecone with peanut butter and then rolling it in oatmeal or sunflower seeds. Tie a 3 to 4 foot long string around the stem of the pinecone and hang it from a nearby branch. Place the feeder in easy view from one of your windows so your child can keep an eye on it.