Recycling tips? My son wants to start, but trash provider is a No-Go.?

Question

My son who is 7, has recently expressed to me that he really wants to start recycling, which I think is great. The problem is, in the housing edition that we live in, trash service is already included in our monthly payment. I think they get some kind of discount to have all of us on one setup. Anyway, I contacted the trash company to see if they have a recycling service available and they said that unless I can get my whole community to do it, that it is not an option for me. Any ideas on how I can still show my son that I agree recylcling is important without having a hundred trash cans full of recyclables sitting outside my house? We do not have a garage to store it in, and I dont want stray dogs spreading stuff all over my yard, or the wind blowing it or whatever. Thanks!

Answer 1

Well, there are alot of ways to help the Earth. Recycling is a common and helpful way. Here are some ways to recycle...

*when you shop, use the plastic bags as a trashbag(You could also bring canvas bags, so that would save bags.)

*Oh, and did you know that when your refridgerator is in direct sunlight, it uses more energy?

*Fix leaky pipes

*Make a compost container(But, you might not like worms)

*After you wash your hands, you might use paper towels to dry them. Use a towel that hangs on the wall.

*Donate to animal shelters, and wildlife reserves, etc.

*Oh, and if I may suggest something, it would help a life if you help feed the stray animals...

****************Hope I helped...*****************************

Answer 2

You don't need a 100 trash cans just a few. Start off w/ one first. Try aluminum first or glass bottles or plastics. Make sure to use a liner.

Anther thing you can do to show your son a great environmental habit is to buy canvas grocery bags. The grocery stores sell them usually around 99 cents. I use these & these things are so great.

Good luck w/ your recycling.

Answer 3

You have a variety of great options suggested. Too many great options to quote. The key is to make it rewarding for your son and convenient for you. This is the age when what they have been learning in school motivates them to make changes. You want to foster this.

On the other hand Soprano like waste disposal companies want and need to make it convenient for themselves.

It is a waste of energy to convince them they could make money on recycling. Just as what has been said here already, that it is a feel good thing for us to recycle.

When they say Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, they put Reduce first. You have some great Reduce and reuse replies today. Recycling is great, but it is good to remember the additional energy it takes to do that. We drive it to be dropped off, it goes it a plant to be broken down to a raw material, which uses water and energy.

good luck

Answer 4

Something fun for kids is recycling paper at home.  It is like baking cookies.

Answer 5

Workers in the disposal industry feel that the energy expended to recycle is greater than the resource savings.  Recycling makes people feel good about themselves.  It is not a significant contributor to the ecology.

Answer 6

What about starting a paper recycling effort in his classroom?  Talk to the teacher about having the kids collect their scrap paper, magazines, newspapers, catalogs, etc.  and having the school arranging pickup by the trash department.  Your son could be the point man for the collection.

If the school won't cooperate, call the recycling department at your city trash department and ask them if they can help with school pickup.  If they will pickup only a large container, try to get the whole school involved instead ofj ust your kid's class.

(Any school that won't help teach kids recycling should be reported to the school board.)

Alternately, perhaps your son can collect all the scrap paper, newspapers, etc., from your house in something like a milk crate and once every two or three weeks you can drive it to a local recycling center.  Or, if your housing association has regular homeowner meetings, at the next meeting announce your son's idea, explain the problem with the trash vendor, and see if you can start a community-wide program.

Good luck.

Answer 7

get some seprate bins than what you put your garbege in and seperate the different types and then go to a land fill or dump and recycle them OR!! take all of the ones you have saved and take them to a grocery store and put them in the coin recycling thingy and you even get money for this!