Tell Recycle Now how you encourage your DCs to recycle for a chance to win an iPad mini! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We are all aware of the importance of recycling, but it can be easy to forget when we’re all so busy browsing MN threads. Recycle Now has teamed up with Wastebuster to launch a campaign to encourage more families to recycle more items, more often. They would like to hear how you encourage your DCs to recycle and for you to take part in their Home Recycling Challenge.

Here’s what Recycle Now has to say: “To help kids recycle more at home, we’ve created the Home Recycling Challenge, which includes the chance to win great prizes. Here’s how you and your family can take part:

Step 1 – visit wastebuster.co.uk/homerecyclingchallenge and download the competition sheet/ recycling poster template

Step 2 – use the recycling locator with your kids to find out what can and can’t be recycled in your area and use this information to fill in the blanks and decorate on your poster

Step 3 – stick the poster up in your home and take a family selfie

Step 4 – upload your photo to the Recycling Hero Hall of Fame to be in with a shot of winning some great prizes!

Every family has a different routine, and we want to hear about how you teach your kids good recycling habits that they can take forward into later life. Did you know that you can recycle bleach bottles, shampoo bottles, kitchen cleaner bottles, baby food jars, aerosol deodorants, face cream pots and dishwasher tablet boxes?”

Have a look at their video here

So how do you get your DC to recycle at home? Maybe you make a game of it by seeing who can recycle the most? Perhaps you make it easier to sort by having stickered bins? Do you take it in turns or is it one person’s job? Or do you give your DC rewards for recycling?

Please share on this thread how you encourage your DCs to recycle below and you will be entered into the prize draw to where one winner will win an iPad mini.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T and Cs Apply

[NotCitrus]

We have two bins in the kitchen - black for rubbish, silver for recycling (with the poster showing what can and can't go in sellotaped to it). First task of preschoolers was to give them an item and ask them to put it in the bin, and they'd check which one to put it in.

Given 5 adults and 3 kids and one small bin for rubbish, it was vital to get everyone recycling as much as possible. Dd now 5 loves making things so I let her rummage in the recycling for yet more paper and card to turn into artistic creations (which soon get returned there...)

Trying to get kids to take all items down from upstairs to be recycled - they don't have bins in their rooms and most waste from them is paper etc. Ds is now tall enough to reach the counter so trying to get him to put food waste in the caddy.

I also take shoes,textiles and WEEE to put in recycling bins on the school run so kids can drop them in the appropraite bins, but the lightbulb and WEEE bin keep being removed. I do pick up batteries found on the ground so they can be recycled at the supermarket and praise the kids if they spot one.

The council does have a Golden Ticket scheme where if your ticket is found in their recycling centre, you get a prize. Haven't persuaded kids to practice writing their name and address on any yet though!

[Polyanthus]

Tbh the children are already onboard with it - they police us to some extent (though their environmental conscience doesn't extend to switching lights off...sigh). The one thing I have done though is to try to encourage re-use before recycle. So that means using the back of all th scrap paper from the printer - and indeed, setting up two sided printing in the first place. And junk mail gets used like this too - envelopes are for shopping lists etc. And they children have just set off a load of sweet pea and mangetout pea seeds in loo roll Inners (great for encouraging a good root run). They are growing seedlings for the school fair too, although these are in old yogurt pots - I don't think people would pay for seedlings in old loo rolls!

[foxessocks]

My dd knows all about it from an episode of peppa pig! She checks whether something goes in the bin or outside to our green bin. We go to the bottle bank regularly too as it's at the park and she always asks questions about what we are doing and why. She is 3.

[Signoritawhocansway]

My son who is three has always been taught to recycle, and really got enthused properly for it by flippin' Peppa Pig. We have a general waste bin and a recycling basket in the kitchen. He likes to help put it in the big wheelie bin outside. My husband is an ecologist and a hoarder, so we try and send whatever we can to recycle at the household waste centre. We also use reusable nappies on the baby, and washable wipes, and reusable breast pads and reuseable sanitary protection... we're commited, but it makes me cross our council are not. So many restrictions on what we can recycle at home. Our previous council took EVERYTHING!

[asuwere]

Recycling is just habit for my DC - they know everything has to be rinsed before going in the appropriate bag/bin. Its just normal and what they've grown up with - encouraging DH has been harder!

[NauticalDisaster]

In this day and age it is such a normal part of everyday life I haven't had to do anything special to get them to recycle. They see me do it and follow my lead... sometimes too much as my youngest out his new cup in the recycle bag the other day (he didn't want anyone else to use it).

[CopperPan]

We have recycling bags from Ikea next to our kitchen bin. The dc know they have to rinse out packaging and put it in the recycling. They help me take the recycling bag out on bin day while I usually take out the black bin bag.

[Salumeria]

We have moved local authority and we can't recycle nearly as much here as we used to in our old house - we used to have a food waste collection which was really handy, and we could put loads of things in the recycling bin. Our current council really don't make it easy to recycle - one particularly hopeless thing they do is collect the waste bin weekly, but the recycling bin only fortnightly - ours is always full!

To be honest, the DC don't need much encouragement to separate out waste, as it's just normal to them. We have a bin with several compartments and just put the waste in the correct bit. They are colour coded, and they have been using them correctly since they could first identify colours.

The DC were absolutely appalled when we moved and they had to start putting food waste in with the general rubbish, so I might have to get a compost bin for them.

[theresamustgo]

I get them to do it Simon,y by doing it myself. They help me with their Ann's recycling and they watch us to it at home, we recycle and up cycle clothes and we talk about it a lot. They are fully onboard.

[SunshineOutdoors]

My dc have always been interested when the recycling van comes to pick up our boxes, so that's a good starting point for talking about it.

They are keen to use empty plastic pots to store their toys - washing tab boxes are great for storing shopkins!

They will talk about about putting paper in the recycling rather than in the bin. At 3 and 5 it's already second nature to them.

Being asked to jump up and down on plastic and cardboard so it fits in the recycling box better always goes down well as a way to get them to recycle.

Don't know if this counts but they are very happy to give their toys to and buy toys from charity shops, which is a form of recycling all the plastic stuff that kids love. We rarely buy toys brand new, out of principle and also to save money.

We also talk a lot about not wasting things, encourage to draw on both sides of the paper etc.

We also recycle old clothes by using the fabric for something else. The children enjoy this as a favourite pattern or motif can be reused.

[theresamustgo]

Simply and Nan's ....sorry!

[CheeseEMouse]

The waste needs separating and we have a bin that does that and so the 3 yo checks which side of the bin the rubbish needs to go in before putting it in

[PorridgeAgainAbney]

It's just something that is a part of life. There's a bin for rubbish, one for "cycling" and one for the compost bin; we empty the compost bin into the garden together and he sees that 'mud' comes out the bottom so he's starting to understand how it works.

I'm a bit of a hoarder so there are always tons of things that we can use for art and craft projects without having to buy new.

[FuckingHateRats]

We are very diligent with recycling and our children are very involved in that- they check if their own packaging can be recycled and take turns to put out the communal mixed recycling box.

[Rigbyroo]

We have recycling monsters at home for glass, plastics and paper

[CMOTDibbler]

My ds is very aware of recycling, and likes to police the landfill bin. We encourage the reduce/reuse/recycle aspects by family trips to the recycling point (much fun to be had apparently), taking things to the charity shops, and upcycling old clothes into coats for rescue dogs among other things.

[MagicAlwaysLeadsToTrouble]

We like to have recycling races!

Both my daughters stand at the back door and I hand them something out of the kitchen recycling bin. They then race each other to chuck their item in the outside wheelie bin! (We have two recycling ones!)

They love it. Strange creatures!

[smallchair]

I work in an environmental discipline so recycling is important to me. I have the kids (3&5) well trained to squish cans (with a squisher contraption) and plastic bottles and put them in the recycling bin. Food waste is fed to dogs, chickens or brown bin depending on what it is.
I make sure the kids draw on both sides of paper, "masterpieces" are preserved in a folder and sketches/scribbles get put in the "cycling bin" when clearing up. I often bring home from work scrap paper that is only printed on one side, may as well get the use out of it!

[Anj123]

We lead by example and use the different recycling bins we have. My daughter knows that we recycle everything we can e.g. Paper, card, glass. I also try and repair things rather than throw them away. It's great to be able to use my sewing skills for example!

[KittyKat88]

I really encourage my DDs (ages 4 & 6) to understand why it is important to recycle and they know that veg/fruit waste goes in mummy's 'beehive' (my wooden compost bin) and that other food waste goes in the big green bin. That cans, bottles, tetra-packs and plastics go in the blue bin etc. I also try to teach them about choosing reuseable things (e.g. carrying water bottles rather than buying single use bottles when out and about, and also taking reuseable shopping bags wherever we go).

[KavvLar]

Dds have a poster with what can be recycled in our area and it helps them sort through the rubbish and put the right things in the recycling.

[danigrace]

We love ways to make it a fun game and learning what happens after items go in the recycling (& if not) was really interesting and encouraging and definitely spurs us all on! Great for the children's imagination and creativity, and the planet!
Off to download the poster, sounds fun

[sharond101]

My son learns about recycling at nursery and tells me off when i do it wrong! We use old materials for arts and crafts and often buy second hand clothes and toys. They see it as a way of life and know no different.

[PatriciaHolm]

We have a competition to see who can get the most bottles into the recycling box by throwing them from the utility room door ;-)

They regularly make stuff from the cardboard/plastic recycling bins and then recycle the made stuff the next week! DS always picks the craft homework first because he gets to rummage through the recycling.

[BeMorePanda]

My 9 and 5 yo have grown up with recycling so it come naturally to them.

The harder challenge is focusing on buying less, especially stuff with lots of packaging. We talk about tat etc.

They really enjoyed watching "the story of stuff". Also an Alvin and the chipmunks episode resonated with them 😀

I love that recycling is so mainstream now.