As we continue to commemorate and celebrate our children this child’s month, we have considered some unique ways to get children involved in recycling at home:
ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBILITY
Parents, encourage your children to be responsible by putting them in charge of the family’s recycling. Let them be creative in establishing the collection points in the home and scheduling the drop off days. It will be fun and gives them a sense of duty.
Make recycling routine in the home. For instance, you could consolidate almost empty bottles with new ones after grocery shopping and set the now empty ones into the bin. Select a drop off point closest to you and schedule a day each week or fortnight, when your empty bottles are taken there. Make sure the children tag along.
MAKE IT A WAY FOR THEM TO EARN AN ALLOWANCE
Get your children involved in recycling at home by incentivizing the responsibility. If you benefit from the DRS (deposit return scheme), how about assigning them a percentage, or giving them an allowance for their recycling efforts? This could also tie into tip #1, where they are given an allowance for the responsibility of taking charge of the recycling in the home.
Parents could also consider implementing their own DRS at home. Help the children to see recycling as a means of earning by paying them for each bottle recycled to put towards something they want.
GIVE THEM INFORMATION
Explain the process of recycling so they understand the end goal. Children understand details a lot more than adults tend to realize and by answering questions they may have, such as, “what happens to the plastics when we recycle?” or “why is it important to recycle?” etc. we’re fueling their motivation.
Children take environmental issues very seriously, and this makes them the future of how we want Jamaica to be. Get them recycling today, and it will be their way of life forever.
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