We hear about environmental damage every day – one of the many causes being the accumulation of waste. Waste disposal has become an issue that state authorities haven’t been able to tackle. Large landfills on the outskirts of cities have pushed residents away due to the fear of contracting deadly diseases from the stagnant heaps of waste. We produce so much waste in a single day that there is no space or sufficient microorganisms to break it down as fast as we want them to. Also, materials like plastic are not biodegradable and, thus, pose as an extra problem.
The least we can do to prevent these problems is building a lifestyle that encourages reusing store-bought items and recycling them too. When we practice these methods, our children will also follow and thereby do considerable good to the environment.
I believe that if you wish for your child to follow a certain routine or do good, you should lead by example. Here are some of the ways by which I encourage my kids to recycle at home:
1. Make recycling bins to keep around the house
I have three separate bins in the kitchen – dry waste, wet waste, and sanitary waste. Around the house, I also have separate bins for paper waste, electronic waste, and plastic waste. I’ve kept aside a large paper bag to put all the paper and cardboard waste in. All the plastic waste that can be reused such as bottles and containers go into an old paint bucket that my kids recently painted over. The only electronic waste we have at the moment are batteries so I’ve assigned an old piggy bank in which the kids put their waste.
Separating waste is an important process of recycling so make sure your children know what each bin is meant for.
2. Teach children to ask “What is this made of?”
Children aren’t going to be experts at separating all the waste. They will take a while to understand what material each item is made of and what goes where. They usually associate things belonging to the same group so if they find a waste plastic container, they will learn to put it into the bin that has a few old plastic bottles. I had printed out small pictures of plastic items and taped them to the bucket for my children to better understand what goes where. Also, each time they ask me which bin to put a certain item into, I ask them “What is this made of?”. My 12-year-old son, Tarun, is slowly getting the hang of it and almost makes no mistake in separating waste.
3. Ask kids to use both sides of the paper
I encourage my kids to always use both sides of the paper. Even when I write down something, I take a used piece of paper from the paper bin – instead of a fresh notepad, unless it’s something important. At the end of the academic year, if my children have any notebooks that were not fully used, I encourage them to use that as a rough notebook until they run out of pages to write on. My husband occasionally hands over a few printouts that have been printed only one side. I clip these papers together and give it to my daughter to colour on.
4. Recycle everything that can be recycled!
The best way to get your kids habituated to the concept of reuse and recycle is to practice recycling to the fullest. Children may not always notice how you’ve recycled materials so always make it a point to show them what you’ve done. I use old broken mugs and egg crates to grow tiny plants, paint buckets as bins, newspapers as gift wrappers, and so on. I also give away clothes that my kids no longer fit into.
5. Plan a trip to a recycling unit
Take your children to a recycling unit so that they can see how the waste from your home can be recycled into something else you can carry back home. I take my children to a friend’s paper recycling unit when they’ve collected enough waste paper that can be recycled. I also give them rewards every time they do so to keep them motivated to recycle.
Let your children know that as responsible citizens, we should reuse and recycle. Keep up the practice yourself so that your kids are motivated to do the same.
Do you reuse and recycle things at home? Do share your ideas in the comments.
One Response