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“Did you know, a plastic bottle you throw in the trash today will sit in a landfill or float in the ocean for thousands of years? ”
Recycling is the number one way to stop this.
” It’s important that we all recycle to save the earth’s natural resources, preserve the environment and keep the garbage to a minimum. And, here are a few activities and games to acquaint your little environmentalist with the concept of recycling.”
1. Bottle Bowling:
You Will Need:
2-liter soda pop bottles or dishwashing detergent bottles and small bleach bottles
Lightweight balls
Sand
Funnel
How To:
Wash and dry the bottles before making the pins. Ensure that the bottles are thoroughly dried before proceeding with the next method.
Put an inch of sand in each bottle using a funnel. The sand will weigh down the pins, making it harder for the kids to knock down. If you want to create a set of bright bowling pins, fill the bottle with scraps of colorful tissue or crepe paper.
Set up the plastic bowling pins on the lawn or playing area and hand over the ball to the participants.
Now give five chances to each child to knock down the pins.
The player who bowls down the pins fastest will be the winner.
2. Scavenger Hunt:
You Will Need:
Recyclable items like bottles, plastics, various paper items and so on.
Pen
Paper
How To:
This scavenger hunt requires children to find recyclable items. Make a list of all the recyclable items that the players have to find. You can even assign a time limit for the task. 30 minutes would be more than enough.
Alternatively, children can go through a pile of recyclable items and ask them to get one of each item. It won’t just educate them on the what can be recycled, but will also make them consider things that may not have actually been recyclable.
The player who manages to get the most number of recycled items will win.
[ Read: Scavenger Hunt Ideas For Kids’ ]
3. Tumbling Tows:
You Will Need:
Recycle bin filled with clean aluminum cans
How To:
Divide the children into 2 to 3 teams. You have to play this game one team at a time.
Give each team a recycle bin filled with aluminum cans.
As you say go, the children have to stack the cans one upon the other within two minutes. Each teammate has to take a turn at building the tower.
The player who builds the tallest tower will represent his team in the final match against team stacking competition. The final game will decide the winner.
4. Recycling Relay:
You Will Need:
3 labeled boxes: 1 recycles, one reuse, and one trash
Two boxes of clean trash
How To:
This game would work well for age groups. Basically, you have to gather a pile of recyclable, reusable and landfill items. 20 would be enough.
Now place the three boxes at the end of the playing area. The Reuse box should be placed the closest; the Recycling Box should be placed midway, and the Landfill Box must be furthest away.
The playing teams have to figure out what they have to do with each item and then run to the bucket and place in the appropriate bin. They more items they reuse, the more items they can recycle. It also increases their chances of winning. Besides, it will reinforce the idea that reusing is cheaper and requires lesser resources than recycling. Recycling, on the other hand, uses fewer resources than land filling.
At the end of the game, you have to review each item in the bin. The team members have to explain how they would reuse an item in the reuse bin to confirm that the items put in the recycling bin are actually recyclable in the community.
You are even free to deduct the points if you feel the item put in any bin is incorrect
