Thank you Recycling Simplified by Republic Services for sponsoring this post. Learn more about recycling by visiting the Recycling Simplified website today!
This is a really important post for me because as a mother, I really want to raise my girls not only to do the right thing and understand why it is the right thing but to actually be educated on the facts of the why. Recycling is one of those things and helping them to know what to throw is where I knew I needed to start.
OK. Rant over. In all seriousness, though, I cannot believe I did not think thoroughly about the reason why we recycle instead of just throwing empty bottles and cans into a bag. I wish I had known more and that is why the Recycling Simplified Education Program is such an awesome new discovery for me! It offers lesson plans and supporting materials about recycling with step-by-step instruction. The truth is we are all so busy and we all mean well, but if we do not recycle correctly, it doesn’t even matter at all.
I decided to make it easy for my girls to remember how to recycle properly. The thing to remember is it’s as simple as 1-2-3!!
- I introduced the three main categories of materials (and if in doubt, throw it out!); paper and cardboard, metal or aluminum cans, and plastic bottles and jugs. Glass is recycled differently in different communities so know how that is done is something I will take on as my responsibility by contacting our local recycling company. In addition, knowing whether you are supposed to bag recycling needs to be checked by the local community program too.
- We have to Empty. Clean. Dry. ® Keep all recyclables free of food and liquid to avoid contaminating an entire truckload. (Seriously though, did you know that? I am still surprised by this!)
- Don’t bag it. Never put your recyclables in containers or bags unless your community program requires that!
Teaching my girls about recycling, and recycling properly, was simple and actually a lot of fun! Aria thought it was a game so that was a win for me! I took big plastic storage tubs and placed bright colorful signs on them. On each color, I wrote what type of recycling goes in each box. I know that Aria is still young, so I knew that telling which items go with which color would work really well. And it did! I did plastic (green), paper (yellow), and metal/aluminum (blue)! Taking the recycling that we put in separate garbage cans in our kitchen, we washed it all out with a hose and then began sorting it into the tubs so we could then dispose of it according to our community regulations. She did really well, and now I will be able to have her help me sort recycling each week as part of our regular routine! I also emphasized that ew, yuck, dirty recycling is not ok to sort.
The Recycling Simplified Education Program contains everything educators need to teach students about recycling with step-by-step lesson plans and supporting materials including activities, videos, student certificates and handouts for students to bring home. I love that this is available to start teaching the importance of recycling as well as how to do it correctly for all ages! Head over to website RecyclingSimplified.com for tips, videos, and resources that you can use to help reduce contamination rates!