What do kids learn about recycling?

[lgullett]

The other day I was walking down the street and noticed a recycling bin with 'newspaper and magazine' marked on it, located at the far edge of the elementary school parking lot. At a church in a nearby neighborhood is this bin plus another one for glass, plastic, cardboard, and paper.

I wonder if anyone at the school motivates the kids to bring any recyclables to the bin. They could make it a game with special priviledges as a reward. I think this would be 'positive competition' that improves the now very trashy neighborhoods in the area, plus improves children's relationship to the environment. When children are more involved in solutions to things like the environment they live in, I think they will be more likely to care about keeping it cleaner. Building such pride is missing in our culture and needs revised in such creative ways in order for children to take the initiative on saving out planets future. Again this action starts at home.

Speaking of home there are many everyday items made of plastic, foam, paper, cardboard, newspapers, etc. Teachers and parents should get involved in helping kids learn what is recyclable. The little three curved arrow triangle are on recyclable items. Show children where these are located on items like pop bottles, water bottles, laundry detergent, food containers, on any packing foam, etc. I find it sad to see so many recyclable items on the ground all over the neighborhood, so obviously the kids are not getting involved on an everyday basis.

If everyone got involved in environmental issues in everyday life in their home now, at any level, then those habits will become part of normal life in the children's future homes.

[nancy]

Very well said. I remember when I was young they did teach us a little about recycling but not much. I really do hope they are doing more then when I was young.

[Andy]

I don't remember them teaching us much at all about recycling when I went to school. I don't even remember seeing any recycle bins. I guess it was to long ago.

[Louise31]

Schools now do a lot to teach the kids most schools have recycling bins on site and they teach them what happens to the paper etc when it is put in the bins.

[Naphtali]

Kids learn much more about recycling than when I was young. Recycling is the law now and it wasn't years back. The problem with recycling is adults don't recycle much. I see in my building that even though we have different bins that are clearly labeled what is to go into which bin the adults just dump whatever they have into the nearest bid. I hope the kids learn to be better at this than the adults are.

[Louise31]

It is a shame when adults dont set a good example and I wish more did but there is hope for the next generations.

[suvan]

It's a bitter truth that parents are not following the rules properly,so what we'll expect from their kids !Parents are the first teacher of a child.Kids first follow their parents & learn everything from them.Thus responsible parents can only give responsible kids.When parents will aware about our environment,then only their kids will learn how to take care of our environment.

[vtte]

A lot of people learn about recycling, but not too many people really take it into heart. Children will recycle when they see others doing so, and they will recycle when they are forced to. If they take care to recycle on their own habits without feeling that the paper that they are throwing away is going to waste is another issue.

[DarkTimes]

Well the schools do go into some detail about recycling for the most part, but usually they don't receive any formal reward. I guess that rewards system could work as it would give the kids some good motivation, and in the end they would make recycling a habit rather than a forced action.

[Cermet]

I think learning to recycle will have to be a practice that starts at home -- not just in school -- although I'm sure the school could help. In my city, they passed out recycle bins and within a week you saw everyone taking their clothes to the laundry mat in them - sooo, so much for recycling

[BlueSword]

kids would learn that recycling would help save the environment, they would know its importance and why it is important. and they can impart it to their friends and they can give their own little contribution in helping the environment. kids are very intelligent, once you've teach them something, it will remain in their memories.

[Ziveeman]

I do think that it's more up to the parents to enforce recycling. The schools can help but they can only do so much before the kids brush it off as another long, boring lesson. The parents can at least give bigger and better incentives for the kids to recycle (not to mention easier to pinpoint who did it and therefore able to punish correctly).

[nishant20]

to be honest, even i don't think children learn anything about recycling at school or college level and not only students but most of the adults also hardly care about recycling. if we see, only the environmentalists and people who are employed for such kind of work look into these matters

[cena_john]

The school i studied in did a good job in motivating students for recycling to save the environment. I had joined a paper recycling workshop for a complete year during my grade 8 where i had recycled and made a pad 200 pages thick out of newspaper waste.!!!!!

[ferdousx]

Recycling shows peoples interest on a greener and pollution-free earth. For kids it is a very good step for the nature. Recycling shows them the importance of a ecologically balanced environment and leads them to learn more about nature and become caring about it. If kids are shown how to recycle they will definitely become a eco-savers one day.