How to get children to recycle?
How to get children to recycle?
To start, let's have some context about recycling, or current lack of in the UK.
On average, every person in the UK throws away their body weight in waste every other month. That is six of you a year!
It’s estimated 80% of our general waste in the black wheelie bin could have been recycled
If everyone in the UK recycled 10% more paper, we could save 5 million trees a year!
Glass is 100% recyclable and can be reused over and over again, but sadly it is thought 5 out of every 6 glass bottles are thrown away.
And finally, some positivity, when a ton of paper is recycled, 17 trees are saved.
So, here are 6 suggestions on how to get your kids involved in recycling.
- Get outside.
Experts agree that spending time outdoors is one of the easiest and most effective way to encourage kids and adults alike to care about the environment. Simple walking around your neighbourhood, paying attention to litter is a good first step. We had taken this a step further and bough a cheap ‘litter picker’ to collect some of this rubbish around our village, after an hour walk down the local canal, we had collected a whole black bin bag! The kids got really into it and it gave us a real sense of community and pride.
- Make the link.
Show your kid how their reducing, reusing and recycling efforts have a positive impact on the things they loves in the natural world. For example, when they use scrap paper for drawing on, they create less waste and preserve trees in the forest.
- Start small.
Ask your child to reuse or recycle one item a day. You can create a list of items together.
- Demonstrate.
Children will follow the lead of their parents (and older siblings). If they see their parent demonstrating a certain behaviour, they will be more likely to repeat the same behaviour. Be sure you are recycling at every opportunity.
- Transform that trash.
Make recycling extra fun by getting crafty with rubbish. This is a sure-fire way to get your kids excited about repurposing items. For example, old socks or gloves? Toby is terrible for playing outside without shoes on and often wears holes in his socks. Try transforming them into finger puppet instead of throwing away!
- Share old toys
Encourage your children to go through their toys and clothes every 6 months and choose some things they no longer use to give to the local charity shops. Or, if you have family members, or even friends down the street all of these are a better option than throwing items out.
So, there are our suggestions on how to get your kids involved in recycling. Let us know on social media, or contact us if you have any other ideas.
