Felt-tip pens and ink eradicators have a lousy ecological balance – this is what the Bavarian State Association for Bird Protection (LBV) points out shortly before the start of the new school year. Many school materials are harmful to the environment and hazardous to health, said LBV expert Julia Prummer, according to a Tuesday announcement. “Ink killers tend to be short-lived, made out of plastic, and contain chemicals.” An environmentally friendly solution is an eraser with a blue side. Felt-tip pens are also not a sustainable product for school bags. Colored pencils with varnish and glaze could contain harmful heavy metals. When buying school supplies, you should look for the seal for wood from sustainable forest management – and for exercise books, you should look for the “Blue Angel” eco-label. No additional tree is felled for the production of recycled paper and the water consumption is not even half as high as with virgin fiber paper. For lunch, the association recommends local fruit and vegetables and as little packaging as possible: “We therefore recommend a lunch box that can be used several times instead of disposable packaging such as aluminum foil.” On Tuesday next week, classes will start again at the Bavarian schools after the summer holidays.
Felt-tip pens and ink erasers: eco-sinners in school bags – Bavaria
