Sir, – My 12-year-old’s first-year schoolbooks have just arrived via An Post. The delivery driver struggled with the weight of the box. Inside the cardboard box were five air-filled plastic bags to protect plastic-coated books, in addition to heavy plastic covers for each book and eight elastic bands to keep everything together. The financial cost of the books was approximately €350, excluding stationery and a schoolbag. Inside each book was a code to allow the student to download a “free” e-book. My daughter already has a laptop which she could use for this purpose.
As we debate what each of us needs to do to save our burning planet, when are we going to stop this deplorable waste of resources? Ironically, many of the huge and heavy books have an environmental leaning.
I then weighed the books and my daughter. The books weigh 18.6kg, exactly half the weight of the child who will carry them on her back, though not all at once I hope.
The 12 to 15 age cohort is in the news this week as the Government seeks to protect the health of our children and those they interact with. If there is a rollout of a vaccine to sustain their growing backs, sign me up. – Yours, etc,
SAMANTHA LONG,
Dublin 12.