How often do you hear your little one singing re-use, reduce and recycle. Children are taught to be friendly to the environment at school. As parents, we have the opportunity to help raise a generation of eco-warriors by emphasising this message at home and practising what you preach. The future of recycling lies in the hands of our youth. It’s up to us to empower our children by educating them about the positive effect that recycling will have on our environment, and how they can make a difference.
Educate your family about going green
- When buying packaged products, think about how you can reuse or recycle the packaging. Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled again and again without losing its purity or strength.
- Plan your trips to glass banks so it fits into your weekly schedule. Take the kids along and show them how and where to put their bottles.
- Explain to your kids what is recyclable and what’s not. Glass containers like those used for food and drinks can be recycled.
- Other types of glass like window glass, ovenware, Pyrex, crystal and light bulbs are manufactured through a different process and cannot be recycled through South Africa’s glass manufacturers.
- Reuse old containers. They are great for storing paint, crayons, buttons and arts and crafts tools such as paint brushes, rulers and more.
Make recycling fun for kids
- Invent games that involve recycling. When sorting recyclables with your kids, let them throw the non-recyclable items like the plastic bottles into a bin from a short distance to see if they can get a ‘basket’.
- Do recyclable crafts with your kids. You can use printer paper, cardboard boxes, glass and plastic bottles, cans, old clothing, newspaper and wood scraps for your projects. You can make masks from the cardboard, aeroplanes from the paper and animals from the cans and plastic bottles.
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