How to Teach Your Kids to “Go Green”
We all know that recycling is good for our planet, but are we making sure our kids understand what recycling is and the impact it has on our Earth? If not, we should be! Simply Dumpsters has some ideas for teaching your children and getting them involved in the recycling process.
Some Recycling Facts
Let’s begin with a few interesting recycling facts to share during dinner.
- 75% of our trash can be recycled.
- An average person throws away four pounds of trash every day.
- The average family uses six trees worth of paper each year.
- Glass can be recycled and remanufactured an infinite number of times.
- If you took the plastic bottles that we throw away each year and lined them up, they would go around the Earth four times.
Visit The World Counts to see real-time numbers of recycled aluminum cans and more.
Use this information to get the “reduce, reuse, recycle” discussion started. Then visit the EPA website to visit Recycle City and sign your kids up to become members of the Planet Protectors Club!
Make It Fun
For young children, learning to sort can be fun. Make it into a game with rewards when they place a recyclable item in the correct bin, or have a competition of who can fill their recycle bin with the most items over the course of the week.
Mobile Apps & Games
From tablets to smartphones, our kids love their screen time. Use that time wisely with one of these fun apps. We looked through these apps, but did not try them all out. We recommend parents review each one to find the best fit for your child.
Available in the Apple App Store:
Available for Android in the Google Play Store:
Tap Into School Efforts
Find out if your child’s school is sponsoring any recycling initiatives, like bottle and can drives, and volunteer to help out as a family. Ask your child’s teacher if the school recycles and help make sure there is a bin for recycling paper in every classroom. Encourage your child to share their recycling knowledge with their class.
Keep Track of Hardware
As you take things apart to pack, put screws and other small hardware into labeled sandwich bags for safekeeping. Then when you go to assemble things at your new home, you’ll have all the pieces at your fingertips.
Be a Role Model
Ultimately, children follow in the footsteps of adults. If they see you taking the time to sort recyclables from trash, they will want to do it too. When your little one points out that you threw a plastic bottle in the trash instead of the recycling bin, you’ll know they’ve caught on!