As a parent, undoubtedly you often find yourself thinking about your children’s future ……
– What schools they will go to?
– The type of character they will have?
– Will they become a sports star or possibly even a doctor?
The questions we ask yourselves are endless, but while we are thinking about their future, how many of us actually think about the current state of global warming and the effect that this will have on our children’s future? How many of us are thinking about what we can do today that will better our children’s “tomorrow”?
If anything, what this shows us as parents is that we can no longer afford to bury our heads in the sand, and pretend that global warming is someone else’s responsibility – because the reality is that it’s not. Surely then, we have a responsibility to our children to change our attitudes towards recycling, and help shape theirs; to make environmental consciousness a huge part of their upbringing – teaching them why recycling is important at a level that they understand, and showing them that it can be lots of fun!
But where do you start? Interwaste have provided a few tips on how you can make recycling fun for your kids:
- Think twice before throwing away left over food
Ah – the dreaded battle that most parents can relate to – convincing your children to finish up their meals. If your child (like most) is defiant and refuses to have that last bit of dinner, instead of throwing it all away, show them which food items can be used as a fertilizer in your garden. By doing so, you are reducing the amount of food waste that your family generates, which means that less rubbish piles up at landfills and of course, your children learn not to waste food which can be used in other ways.
- Get them involved in using waste to change someone’s life
There are initiatives that you can get your children’s school signed up for that encourage recycling for a good cause. For example, the famous Tops & Tags project. This initiative encourages participants to collect bread tags and bottle tops that are then weighed and once the set target (450kg’s of bottle tops or 50kg’s of bread tags) is reached, the school/church/individual or community that has signed up as a participant is then provided with a wheelchair, which they are able to donate to a person or NPO. Getting your child’s school signed up is a fun way to teach them about preserving the environment, the value of teamwork and bringing a level of consciousness to community involvement, through aiding those who require assistance.
- Set up different waste bins in the house
Contact your municipality to find out what recycling programmes they have in place, and what days the recycling is collected. Once you have this information, set up a recycling station in the house by having different bins for the various types of waste that can be recycled. An example of this is cans, paper, glass or plastics. If your children are old enough, make them in charge of the household recycling by asking them to manage the sorting of the household waste: of course, you might need to throw in a bit of rewarding to keep them motivated (hint, hint)! Get them to make fun signs for each bin that tell people in the home which bin is intended for which items.
- Turn your waste into craft
If your children enjoy crafts, get them to identify waste items that they can repurpose and turn into their very own masterpieces. This can be anything from ice cream tubs, to coffee bottles or even tins. This will hopefully encourage them to use their imaginations and create works of art that can be displayed on your walls.
Remember that you are your child’s first teacher, so let’s begin by encouraging them to become an eco warrior, a warrior that can make a positive contribution towards environmental preservation for the future of the planet – their planet!
Article courtesy of Interwaste
