6 Tips on How to Make Your School More Recycling-Friendly

Forming good habits is easier than breaking bad ones, and that's why schools play a crucial role in the fight to stop climate change, protect the environment and reduce the amount of waste we generate daily as a society. Teaching kids from a young age about the importance of recycling and sustainability will help them make healthier and greener choices in the future. But this leads to one more question: how can you promote recycling in your school?

Instead of focusing solely on theory, which may bore and discourage children, plan fun and engaging recycling activities and projects to let your students learn by doing, making and observing. And don't forget to lead by example, as that's the best way to encourage others to make changes in their lives and recycle not only at school but at home as well!

How Can You Teach Children to Recycle? Ideas for Schools to Encourage Recycling

Teach About Recycling in Your Lessons

Teaching kids about climate change requires finding the perfect balance between explaining the gravity of the situation and showing them that their actions not only matter but can make an actual difference. That's why lessons about recycling are the perfect place to start because it's something everyone can do to make a real impact.

Knowledge is the key to making informed decisions, so to help students understand why and how to recycle, teachers need to provide them with useful, up-to-date and reliable information. There's no one correct way to do it. You can find many opportunities to mention this topic in your lesson plan, including using recycling statistics in maths lessons, showing the impact of plastic on the planet both globally and locally, or even planning a trip to a local recycling centre to see the recycling process in action.

Let Children Get Creative With Recycling Art Projects

Old clothes, scrap paper, plastic bottles, newspapers, cardboard boxes... These are just a few examples of things that most of us would probably throw away without a second thought, but all of them are surprisingly easy to turn into art. All it takes is a bit of creativity and effort to reuse rubbish instead of buying new art supplies, which not only cuts down classroom waste but also saves money.

You can use recyclable materials to create art, but you can also use art to encourage kids to explore and research this topic more. How? There are many great ideas to choose from, such as creating board games with a recycling theme or educational posters explaining how recycling works and what items can be recycled.

Make Recycling Bins Easily Accessible

Learning the theory is important, but using this knowledge is crucial in order to change the world. Schools generate a lot of waste every single day, so giving students opportunities to segregate and recycle is a great way to make your school more recycling-friendly and encourage responsible rubbish disposal.

Recycling stations with separate containers for different recyclables (e.g., plastics, paper, glass) can be placed in each classroom and corridor to make recycling easy and automatic. Each bin should have a clear and visible label, and it may also be a good idea to have posters or infographics on the walls nearby that show what goes into which container to help children find the right one.

Start a School Compost Heap

It's important to keep in mind that materials such as plastic or paper are not the only ones that can be recycled, and you can give a second life to your organic waste as well! Composting is a great recycling project for children because it's safe, easy to do and gives them a chance to get involved in the process, which is always the best and most memorable lesson. All you need to do is find the right place or composting bin and collect enough food scraps to get started.

What exactly is compostable waste? You can add anything that counts as garden waste (e.g., grass cuttings, leaves, plants) and non-animal food waste (e.g., vegetable and fruit peels).

Reduce Waste Generated by Your School

The most effective way of reducing the problem of waste at your school is to choose eco-friendly alternatives to single-use products and encourage your students to do the same. Plastic water bottles are a great example. You can simply make it impossible to buy them at school and instead promote the use of reusable ones by making sure drinking water is easily accessible for free. It's an excellent way to teach kids that doing something good for the planet and saving money can go hand in hand.

Another great idea to reduce school and classroom waste is going digital. Of course, it may not be feasible to eliminate the use of paper immediately, but switching from paper printouts to online forms and tasks, wherever possible, can be an effective way to reduce paper waste. However, for this approach to work, every student and teacher needs to have access to the necessary tools and know how to use them.

When buying new furniture, tools, or equipment, look for recyclable items and those already made of recycled materials. You can also provide opportunities for students to donate old clothes, books and toys or even organise charity fundraising events at school to raise money for a good cause. This can be a great lesson not only on the value of recycling and reusing everyday items but also on helping those in need.

Reuse and Repurpose Instead of Buying New Things

Every classroom and every school needs suitable containers to store different things, e.g., art supplies, scrap paper, games, tools, etc. And while store-bought options are very convenient, it's not necessary to spend money on them. Making containers from old cardboard boxes and packaging can become a great DIY project for students. A plastic bottle can be turned into a crayon or paintbrush holder, a shoebox can be used to store paints or markers, and food cans can replace flower pots.

These are just a few ideas for fun recycling activities for children, and you can find many more online or create your own. Remember that each school has its own individual needs and can use different recycling ideas to become more eco-friendly, so instead of trying to emulate projects and solutions that work in other parts of the world, adapt them to suit your school and local recycling rules.

Make Your School Eco-Friendly With Recycling Bins From ALDA!

Our recycling bins are durable and available in a variety of sizes, which makes them perfect for both indoor and outdoor use. Placing containers for recycling in classrooms and around your school is a great way to encourage students to collect, segregate and recycle. We can deliver appropriate labels and covers in matching colours to help you create a recycling station that will be easy to use, even for the youngest kids.