I know it is kinda late, but I need some ideas for February 13th on fun things kids between the age of 5 to 14 can do to learn about reducing and recycling. I have hardly any ideas and am lost. Any ideas would be great.
Here is a whole page of inexpensive crafts for Kids. Susan
Please remember that there are three key words: Reduce, reuse, recycle. They are in that order for a reason.
Reduce means learning to create less waste,and thus is the best and most important. Most of us can effectively reduce by using fewer convenience products, or choosing the simplest packaging. Reducing means less stuff goes into the waste stream.
Reuse means learn to get more than one use from things, at the consumer level. Reusing can mean many things, from wearing last year's dress shoes for casual until they wear out, to using the bath water to clean the floor and flush the toilet. Reusing delays when consumables go into the waste stream, and may support reduction efforts.
Recycling is the last resort in managing the waste stream. It saves over the energy usage of developing new sources, but it still uses energy to remanufacture things retrieved from the waste stream after the consumer.
If you want to help the environment, you will put equal or greater emphasis on the steps before recycling.
I am frankly fed up with how commercial our society has gotten about recycling. The first project of civilized people should be reducing, not blaming. Recycling does not justify failing to evaluate our habits of consumption.
