Teaching your children the importance of recycling today means a healthier planet for tomorrow. However, getting your kids to put the trash in the trash can can sometimes be an overwhelming feat, so how will you get them to recycle? If you’re a parent of many young ones, you know the struggles with getting water bottles, soda cans, and chip wrappers from their hands and into the trash.
Children tend to throw things down when they’re done, and they don’t give them a second thought. Therefore, it’s essential to establish guidelines for your home early on, including recycling.
1. Donate Clothes and Toys
The goal is to teach your kids to recycle and reuse, and there’s no better way than to donate your old stuff. Children grow like weeds, and they will have tons of clothes and shoes that some other child can use. Donate these items to a local thrift store or charitable organization, as it will mean the world to some other little one.
Toys are another thing that kids tend to outgrow quickly. Thankfully, you can show them how to keep clutter minimized and help someone else simultaneously.
2. Incorporate Reusable Shopping Bags
Most parents bring their kids along to the supermarket. Rather than using all the plastic bags that clutter your home? Did you know places like Europe don’t even use plastic bags, as it’s mandated that everyone shops with the reusable ones?
3. Let Them Have Fun With Composting
Most kids love to get their hands dirty, so what better way to teach them to recycle than through composting? Having a family compost bin is an excellent way to teach them the importance of not wasting any food, as you can put it all to good use. You can use composted material for your garden and create lush plants.
They can add grass clippings, leaves, and other organic material to the mix. Make it a family project so they don’t become overwhelmed.
4. Create a Bin for Paper and Cardboard
Children always want to do art projects and have papers to doodle on. So, creating a bin for junk mail, delivery boxes, and other rubbish can turn into a center for creativity. Think of all the exciting projects you can do when you gather enough materials. It would help if you thought outside the box when it comes to getting kids involved, and there’s scarcely a child that doesn’t like art, so this is perfect. Cardboard recycling is the perfect way to get children started in the recycling process because cardboard will be easy for them to identify.
5. Form a Recycling Club
Lastly, children always want to do things when it seems cool, so if you form a club that gets other kids involved, you have a better chance of making it a lifestyle. You can put ads on your local marketplace and find other families that want to get in on the action, and soon you can try as a community rather than a household.
The best way to teach your children how to recycle is to learn by example. When they see their parents involved in saving the planet, they will know that it’s a good thing to do. Together, you can learn new and inventive ways to make the planet a little bit greener.
