Are you wondering what next you can do to occupy students? Why not get your school involved with teaching children to take on an active role in reducing waste and contribute to a greener future? For kids, recycling can easily fall in the list of most hated things to do. Therefore, it’s important to encourage and teach them to recycle.

We know that it can be hard to think of ways to make recycling fun, so we’ve done all the work for you.

1. Be Creative – Let students design their own bin

Kids like to be kept busy. They like to make stuff. Using arts and crafts to design their own bin, box or container is a great way to be hands on. Or encourage students to work together and make a classroom bin together, this way, kids can associate recycling with fun.

2. Make it a competition then issue rewards

It’s easy to reward children now that recycling pays with Return-It. Create a points system. Label your bins and containers with the child’s name and then depending on how well they have sorted their waste or filled it up, give them points accordingly. At the end of the week or fortnight, you can decide how to reward them based off the points system. A competition is always a good incentive to get involved and they will be learning something valuable without even realising it! This not only teaches them about recycling, but it also encourages team work amongst class-mates which is a great skill to have. Another great activity is to create challenges between classes of who can collect the highest number of eligible containers. A bit of rivalry is always a good incentive and some extra fun.

3. A school excursion to a treatment facility

Kids and even many adults think that the garbage cycle ends when you put the bin out on the kerb on a Tuesday afternoon. It doesn’t. Encourage your school to take kids to a container return point that they can learn how waste gets recycled. This way, they can see the bigger picture and potentially understand the importance of sorting out everything correctly. At Return-It QLD, we love having kids at our sites, so bring them in and lead by example. It is a great opportunity for a school excursion.

4. Using arts and crafts to encourage upcycling

Upcycled crafts is a fun way to teach kids a whole new level of sustainability. Using old cardboard boxes to make forts and other crafty items for example, is a great way to upcycle and have fun with the kids. If you need help coming up with creative ideas for this, Pinterest is a fantastic resource to use and has an abundance of ideas for you and the kids. If there are classroom arts projects, encourage kids to upcycle and get creative!

5. Get involved with local recycling events

What better way to teach children how to recycle than to involve them in local recycling events and instil in them a love for the community and environment. A great way to do this is by getting involved with Containers for Change which launched on 1 November, 2018. Containers for Change encourages the community to drop their eligible containers to local Depots or Express sites in return for 10 cents. This is a great way to start kids on their own recycling journey, and to reward them. Kids love doing things for money, why not start a piggy bank and teach them how to save whilst you are at it!

Head on down to www.containersforchange.com.au to register for a change ID and drop in to your nearest Depot or Express site and Return-It.