- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- preschoolers today articles
- preschoolers today q&a
- children today articles
- children today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
On the Road to Recycling
Help Save the Earth With Fun, Educational Activities By Dianne Hadaway
Recycling is important and everyone benefits from taking care of our planet and saving money and resources. Those are great reasons to participate in a recycling program in your home and in your community. Learning about recycling different materials and how to play a part in preserving and protecting the earth and atmosphere can be an easy, fun and educational project for the whole family.
Why Recycle?
Why is recycling important? Think about how much garbage your family creates each week. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that in the United States, each person generates 4.5 pounds of solid waste each day! When you think of how much garbage all the world's families and businesses create, it's easy to understand that there is just too much waste for our landfills to handle. Creating more landfills is not a good solution to the problem, however, because all that garbage creates pollution and unsafe conditions for our soil, water and air. The good news is that every family can help by creating their own recycling program to help conserve energy and resources – and to keep the planet from becoming covered with garbage.
The Three R's
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) says an easy way to start a recycling program with your kids is by practicing these three R's: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Reduce
waste by throwing away fewer items and by only purchasing items you really need, that last a long time and that come with less packaging material. Reuse
by finding ways to use items again, repairing broken items or creating new ways to use items. For example, Joan and Tom Prichard, parents of two children ages 10 and 8, of Grayson, Ga., say they reuse plastic milk jugs to create a root watering system for their tomato plants. They poke small holes in the bottoms of the jugs, bury them near the vines and fill them with water. Their children help by monitoring the plants and the water levels in the jugs. Recycle