Getting Kids to Recycle!

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You should try to inspire them to do what they can to help save the planet, to ensure that it survives and thrives for future generations to come.

You can encourage children to recycle by showing them informational videos with fun recycling facts or get hands on in recycling craft sessions and day trips.

There is a range of resources available including educational fun videos to encourage children to recycle and consider their impact on the planet, like the one on cbeebies which you can find using the link below:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/joinin/how-to-get-kids-to-recycle

Leading by example, is the best way to encourage recycling for kids. It’s no secret that children learn and copy our behaviours, so ensure you correctly separate your items and place them in the proper bins. Take children through the recycling process while you do so, explaining the positive impact recycling correctly can have.

Kids learn best when they’re having fun! Turn the process into a game and provide rewards for correctly recycling. You could reward the child who separates their waste into recyclables and non-recyclables the fastest. They’ll soon associate recycling with enjoyment, and it will quickly become a habit.

It sounds simple, but highlighting the importance of recycling is one of the easiest ways to encourage recycling for kids. While the impact of recycling may be evident to us, children are yet to learn all the fascinating details about environmental conservation.

To help get your point across, use specific recycling facts for children to capture their attention.

Reusing recyclable items in craft projects is a great way to teach your kids about recycling. Turning your old cardboard tubes, newspaper, wine bottles, ring pulls etc, into a fun art project will showcase how recycling can give items a new lease of life. As you craft, encourage your kids to recognise the previous life of their objects and the many ways you can reuse them.

Don’t expect children to understand your various recycling systems. While the different coloured bins and separation methods may be second nature to you, children will require a helping hand to form habits.Make it easier for them to understand by clearly colour matching or labelling your bins, including a checklist on what items go into each.A step-by-step chart on how to rinse and separate common everyday items such as cereal boxes, yoghurt pots, and plastic bottles can also be beneficial. Your children will hopefully begin to understand their waste usage and sustainability.

Having a fruit and vegetable garden at home helps eliminate the plastic packaging of store-bought items, much of which can’t be recycled. Encouraging them to get involved in planting and maintaining your garden allows them to understand the significance of their change. It also allows you to explain food waste and the importance of plants for the planet. Teach children how to prepare snacks and meals using your garden’s produce, promoting their interest in cooking and the natural world.

Recycling facilities and household dumps may not seem like the most exciting locations, but for kids, they can make an unusual and fascinating day trip. Make gathering the items and visiting the facilities an adventure, and explain why things like batteries, mobile phones, appliances, and paints can’t go into your regular recycling bin.

Visiting a landfill will also profoundly affect your child’s understanding of recycling. It can be challenging to visualise the impact of our waste, but landfill sites allow us to do just that. They will see the rubbish and understand why recycling is one of the crucial ways we can minimise what gets sent to landfill.