You care about the future for your kids and as a mother, you already know the benefits of recycling for the future planet they will live in. You already know recycling helps us waste less, conserves natural resources, saves energy, and best of all, helps protect the environment and maintain wildlife.
Thinking about recycling may already come as a daily habit to you since you already know how important recycling is to the future of our world, but do your kids know?
There is so much a child should learn about the world they live in and how to protect it. They may not be the most environmentally conscious, as children have been known to
just throw anything in any receptacle as long as it looks like a trash can. But you can help by teaching them how a few smart decisions can make all the difference for the environment. So how can you love the planet and recycle with your kids to reduce your carbon footprint in 2020?
1. Teach Your Kids the Benefits of Recycling
Before you start running around the house looking for things to recycle, take your kids out on a “field trip” to start the conversation and show them what happens when they do or don’t recycle. Take them to a landfill to show them how wasteful it is. Take a walk through the ABQ BioPark or Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood (which my kids love), or take a trip to Taos and schedule a tour at the Earthship Biotecture. Make it a fun day!
In 2019, I had my kids save aluminum and steel cans for 6 months and then I took them on a field trip to a local recycling center to see the potential of recycling and increasing funds in their piggybanks.
At the recycling center they were able to watch the cans get crushed and launched into the back of the recycling truck. At the end of that field trip, they received a receipt they put into a machine and got over $10 cash. Now that got them excited to recycle in 2020! An alternative to going out on a field trip around the city is to plan a field trip at home or even watch the episode of StoryBots: “Why Do You Have To Recycle?”
2. Look for Things To Reuse and Recycle Around the House
Once you’ve educated your kids on the benefits of recycling, take them around the house to look for items you can recycle with them. If you have any old mascara wands, consider collecting them for when Wands for Wildlife® is accepting donations.
Take any empty beauty containers you might have and print out a free TerraCycle® shipping label or see if there’s a local recycling center nearby.
Let your kids watch a YouTube video (5 Min Crafts is one of my fave channels) about recycling crafts and try some ideas with things around the house.
Recycle family toothbrushes and #5 plastics with programs like Gimme 5 from at Whole Foods where they accept #5 plastics to recycle into new toothbrushes, razors, and other products.
3. Proactively Recycle
Recycling with your kids does not have to be a once a week activity. Make sure your children know when they open a snack pack, they should put the waste in the recycling container. If they open a can of soda or water bottle, they need to properly dispose of it in recycling. These small changes can make a huge difference not only for the future of the world, but for their future as well. I would love to hear about some ways your and your kids already recycle to keep our city, state, and planet beautiful!
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So proud of my fam recycling!
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