It’s National Recycling Week from the 6-12 of November 2023. When we think about waste management, we generally think of the 3 r’s, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle but in fact, there are quite a lot more lovely R’s words that are equally, if not more, important to the health of our planet and her living creatures.
If ‘Recycling Week has caught you on the hop, then here are a few super quick activities that you might like to try with your little sprouts.
WHAT ROTS?
Materials:
Biodegradable item – banana skins are excellent
Non-biodegradable item – i.e. a small broken plastic toy. Make sure it is something that will not blow away.
Explain the the children that one item is bio-degradable - over time it will rot/decompose and will turn into simple matter that keeps the planet healthy. The other item is non-biodegradeable. Non -biodegradeable items take a very, very, very long time to rot and are considered dangerous for the planet.
Explain that they are going to observe what happens when things get thrown away. Pop both items in the garden, close enough to the edge so the children are able to easily view, especially with magnifying glasses. 😊
The decomposition process for the banana will take longer than a week, but by taking regular photos (get the children to do this) you can record the process and keep the activity alive.
WHICH BIN?
This activity will help children identify the different types of waste. In an ideal world all out waste would be compostable. Our goal should be to have as little waste in the 'rubbish' that goes to landfillThere are a lot of cute printables out there for a recycling game involving placing the printed waste in the appropriate printed bins. I’m sure you’ve seen it. A far more fun and sustainable options (no nasty laminating required) is to create a more realistic version.
Materials:
3 containers to make 'bins' (buckets are great and easy to clean, cardboard boxes are also good)
Coloured paper or paint to identify the bins (where I am in Melbourne the colours are green for green waste and compostable waste, yellow for recycling and black for waste destined for landfill)
Recycling waste items - i.e. plastic bottles, paper, card, cans (no sharp edges)
Green waste – i.e. banana peel, carrot peelings, leaves, twigs, bread crusts, compostable papers and bags.
Rubbish – i.e. a broken toy, soft plastic wrap, chip packet, tetra pack (not all states), polystyrene.
Discuss the type of waste that goes in each bin and the colour it is associated with. The green waste gets returned to the earth. We can use recycled rubbish to make new things , but we have too much of it. Rubbish that goes to landfill can be harmful to the planet, it can also blow away and end up in habitats where it harms wildlife.
Encourage the children to have a go at deciding which waste item goes into which 'bin'. For very young children, you can tell them which colour bin an item goes in, and let them find the colour. i.e "this banana peel is compostable, it rots and helps make the soil healthy. It goes in the green waste bin.
This is a very adaptable activity. Beyond this exercise you could leave the ‘bins’ out for the week and see how the children use them independently.
DO I REALLY NEED THIS?
Stop waste before its even created! The most effective strategy in reducing waste is to say no to stuff that will become waste. The purpose of this activity is to encourage children to rethink their choices. This is more a discussion and better suited to older children
Materials (optional)
a photo of landfill if children are unaware where rubbish ends up
free toys from KinderSurprise, McDonalds etc
Use question prompts to encourage the children to discuss the merits of disposable toys.
Open the discussion by asking them about their experience of free toys. i.e McDonalds, Kinder Surprise, Woolies/Coles giveaways.
How did it make them feel when they got one of these toys?
How long did they play with the toy for?
Do they still have i?
What happens to the toys when they are finished playing with them?
If we wanted to throw less toys away, what could we do?
Would they be OK or sad about saying ‘no thank you’ to getting a toy?
Can they think of something sustainable instead of a toy that would excite them?
Our intent here is not to make little folk feel bad for wanting these things. There are no wrong answers - this is not a focused ‘teaching’ moment but rather a thinking and perhaps problem-solving exercise.
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