Recycle Crafts--Milk Carton Windmill

Have you ever wondered where trash goes? How long it takes to decompose?
According to the National Parks Service Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota, Florida, it takes 3 months for a wax covered milk carton to decompose. (Source: http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/coastal/trash/documents/marine_debris.pdf) Can you believe that!? If Hulet students drink 1 carton of milk a day, that's over 200 milk cartons in the landfill. These milk cartons won't decompose until 3 months from now. In that time (roughly 60 days), over 12,000 more milk cartons will have entered the land fill!

So, how can we help the environment? One alternative is asking the school (specifically our supplier of milk, Shamrock Farms) to use recyclable plastic instead of waxy milk cartons. Another alternative is to recycle your cartons! Using this website (http://www.recyclecartons.com/), I've located a cardboard recycling place in Show Low. There used to be another recycle station in Winslow too. In Snowflake, we have a recyclables station next to the library! A final alternative for reusing that milk carton is by creating a new project from it! We used our milk cartons to create a fun and playful windmill. You could also gather 10-12 and create a milk windchime. We used the directions from this website (http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/artscraftsideaskids/milk-carton-spinning-windmills.html) and modified it for our own good.

Milk Carton Windmill--
Step 1: Drink all your milk! Empty the carton. Clean it with soapy water and let it dry.
Step 2: Decorate your milk carton! We used tissue paper, but you could paint it or cover it with construction paper.
Step 3: Staple the lid together. Poke a hole on either side and string it together.
Step 4: On each side of the container, cut 2 door-shaped pieces with a pair of scissors.
Step 5: Take outside and enjoy!

Here are some pictures of our final project!