Although 50% of waste is recyclable, just 34% is actually recycled. This means that there is a 16% deficit that needs to be made up. If you are worried that your household is falling short, then you should look for ways to make life easier and get both parents and kids in on this incredibly important eco-friendly activity. Recycling doesn’t have to be a chore. In fact, you can make it a fun part of daily life, so that it becomes as natural as doing the dishes or brushing your teeth. With the children on board and everyone pulling their weight, it will be easy to recycle everything that you can.
Add A Profit Incentive
Recycling can actually make you money. Gardner Metal explains that metal can be re-purposed, allowing for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and decreases the necessity of mining new materials. Because of this, value is often lost when people send their scrap metal to the landfill. This is why companies are increasingly paying small amounts in exchange for recyclable goods. It might not seem like much to you, but for your little ones, it can be a decent bit of extra pocket money. Give each child their own bin, which can be taken to the recycling centre at the end of each month. You can either give them any money you receive for the rubbish or add your own system of rewards, say 50p per item. Once money is involved, every child is likely to make the effort to recycle properly.
Use Multiple Bins
Sorting through a big rubbish bin full of items takes time and can be quite unpleasant. Make it easier from the beginning by getting more than one, with each bin used for separate items. This saves time for the parents, but can also be fun for the kids. For instance, you could offer a system of rewards for placing the correct piece of rubbish in the correct place. Alternatively, you could make it into a race. Will the plastic, glass or metal bin fill up the quickest? Whichever child guesses correctly can choose what the family will have for dinner. Have fun with it to get your children into recycling.
Add The Recycling Centre To Your Regular Driving Routes
Another thing you can do is to make the recycling centre a part of daily life. The more a child interacts with recycling, the more familiar it will become to them. This builds good habits as they get older. If possible, adjust your regular routes, such as to school or the supermarket, so that the recycling centre is on the way, and have your children help you with disposing of rubbish correctly.
Recycling might sound like a dull topic, but this mentality is exactly what makes it so hard for families to recycle everything as they should. Use profit incentives and multiple bins to turn recycling into a game that the whole family can enjoy. This will help everyone to automatically build better habits.
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