How to Cope with Family Who Won’t Recycle
Jan 8, 2010 Recycling
Keeping the recyclables out of the trash in some homes can be as difficult as keeping the trash out of the recyclables. Some people really just don’t care, even when it’s as easy as picking which of two bins, trash or recycling, their discards go in.
When you have things set up, that can be quite frustrating.
My family in general is pretty good, although my oldest of late has taken to accidentally throwing food into the recycle bin rather than the trash. So much of what she throws out can be recycled that I think it’s almost a reflex to pick that bin. I don’t think it’s a rebellion.
But it did get me thinking about how to cope with people who don’t want to recycle even when it’s easy.
Talk About It
The first step is the simplest and sometimes it even works. Just talk about the issue. Talk about what gets recycled in your area. Talk about why it matters to you.
Ask why they don’t recycle. Ask if there’s anything you can do to encourage them to recycle.
Make Sure It’s Convenient
You can cut down on excuses if recycling is as convenient as throwing out trash. It won’t stop everything, but it can help.
The kitchen is the most obvious place to have a trash can and recycle bin side by side. But any other room where you find there to be a problem, consider adding in a recycle bin.
If people print at the computer a lot, for example, you need a recycle bin there for any wasted paper. It happens. If you only have a trash can there, that’s what will be used. A convenient recycle bin can be a huge help.
Put In Some Extra Effort
If just talking about it doesn’t make any changes, put in a little extra effort yourself and make sure they know that you’re doing it. Pull their recyclables from the trash and put them in the recycle bin. Be upfront that you don’t like the inconvenience of having to do so. Keep your comments appropriate to whoever you’re having the issue with, of course.
Try “An Inconvenient Truth”
Watching “An Inconvenient Truth
It’s either get them thinking or arguing. If you want to change someone’s mind sometimes that’s what you need.
Great Books for Green Parents
Jul 6, 2009 Going Green
Whether you read them enough to make them worth buying, or just borrow for a quick read from the library, books are another great resource for parents wanting help in taking care of the environment and their families. There’s so much to know!
Free Range Kids
I was lucky enough to be sent a review copy of this one for one of my other sites. Great book, and while it’s not about environmentalism, there’s a lot to it that can be combined with teaching kids to care about the environment.
Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home
I reviewed this one a while ago. Lots of tips on living cleaner and greener, and broken into separate sections so it’s easy to pick the areas you want to get started with.
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
Another book I got to review a while back. Lots of fun and a great reminder of how very important it is to get your family outside.
Books I haven’t read that sound promising:
The Green Teen: The Eco-Friendly Teen’s Guide to Saving the Planet
The Green Parent: A Kid-Friendly Guide to Environmentally-Friendly Living
Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care
Keeping Kids Green and Busy While School’s Out
Jun 30, 2009 Eco Friendly Home, Eco Friendly Parenting
With the kids at home more, summer is a time that can be a little bit challenging for green parenting. Somehow you have to combat all the boredom that comes from having more free time, while facing the fact that the weather is warmer. Here are some of the things I do:
1. Try to get the kids outside early and late in the day.
I have a lot of sympathy for them wanting to be inside during the hottest parts of the hottest days. Who wouldn’t prefer that?
But even on the days that it breaks 100 degrees F around here there are times that they’ll willingly play outside. Rather than let them turn on the TV first thing in the morning, as they would love to do, I boot the kids outside to play. They can come inside when it really starts to warm up. Then I do it again when the day cools off sufficiently.
This also has the advantage of limiting the need for sunscreen. My kids generally aren’t out in the most powerful of the sun’s rays, so I don’t have to apply sunscreen to them so often.
2. Make homemade popsicles.
Sure the store has cheap ones, but they’re often little more than sugar water.
I prefer to make my popsicles from smoothies, but you could use regular juice or pudding if you prefer.
3. Hit the library.
Hot days are great for spending at the library. Get some new books for your kids to read while not having to run the air conditioning in your own home. The library’s there, after all!
4. Combine lawn watering with running through the sprinklers.
We have water restrictions starting up in our area, which means watering only on certain days and only after 6 p.m. and before 10 a.m. and only for 10 minutes per section on timed sprinklers.
On hot enough days, 6 p.m. is still plenty hot enough for running through sprinklers!
And of course there are always local swimming pools, beaches and so forth if you want to cool off during other parts of the day.
5. Crafts!
Within certain age ranges, it’s easy to come up with kids’ craft ideas. My kids love saving magazines and other things that might otherwise go into the recycle bin for a path through their crafting table first. Saves me a lot not having to buy everything they craft with, and the reuse is a great habit.
As kid get older, they may have particular ideas about what they will be willing to do, but if you find something they really enjoy making, try to encourage it.
6. Have friends over.
It won’t necessarily help to keep the kids cool, but having friends over certainly helps with the boredom factor. I always tell mine no TV or computer time with friends over.
7. Know when to give in on TV and computer time.
Really, it’s not the end of the world if kids watch a bit more TV or spend more time playing on the computer during the summer. What matters is that they get enough activity overall.
Make Green Easter Baskets for Your Kids
Mar 25, 2009 Eco Friendly Parenting
It’s just a couple of weeks to Easter, and I’m thinking already on what I want to put in my kids’ Easter baskets. It’s a holiday they have a lot of fun with, and I like to keep up the excitement without overdoing the spending.
With that in mind, I thought I would offer some tips on keeping Easter a bit greener for the kids.
1. Buy Easter baskets that can be reused.
Our kids’ Easter baskets get reused every year. We didn’t get the cheapie ones from the store. We found nicer ones that will hold up for many years. The kids love them.
You can find good baskets at thrift stores or any store in your area that sells baskets. It’s been a few years, but I think ours came from Cost Plus.
You can also consider using a bucket as a basket. This is great for kids who are still young enough to really enjoy playing in the sand.
2. Reuse other supplies from year to year.
Sure, you don’t like all that ugly plastic stuff you may have bought for Easter in years past, but if you have it there is no further harm in using it. Just don’t go buying new plastic eggs or plastic Easter grass.
Build up your supply as needed with more environmentally friendly Easter basket supplies.
3. Real grass in the Easter basket.
Two ways you can do this. The first would be to take lawn clippings the day before and use them in the baskets. It should be simple enough to time mowing the lawn so that you would have the clippings ready when you need them.
Another would be to line the basket with foil, add dirt and grass seeds, then grow the grass in the basket. Best to get started now if that’s what you want to do, as it will take a couple weeks to get things growing tall enough.
4. Skip the egg dying kits.
Nothing wrong with dyeing Easter eggs, but the little kits are relatively wasteful, especially if you have what you need to dye the eggs already at home.
I like to dye the eggs with food coloring and vinegar in a colander. We did this last year, and it turned out really beautiful.
You can also use natural food colorings. You can start with the raw eggs and boil them with the dye agents and some vinegar, using:
- Carrots or turmeric for yellow,
- Red cabbage leaves or blueberries for blue,
- Beets or cranberries for pink,
- Yellow onion skins for orange,
- Red wine or purple grape juice for purples.
5. Think about what you put into the basket.
Go easy on the candy and think more about what the kids will use. As it’s spring, seeds and small garden tools can be fun. Books can also be a good gift.
Fun Watching Family Get It
Jun 25, 2008 Going Green
One of the struggles I’ve faced in going green in my life is with my husband and kids. Differing views on what is worth doing can be challenging.
That makes it so nice as things start to click!
My husband recently bought and installed a simple clothesline. His comment was that it was really too warm to be using the dryer. Last year he wasn’t interested in the idea. He’s now hung various loads out to dry and likes how fast it goes on hot days.
He’s getting it in more areas too. He’s as much a fan of using vinegar for cleaning as I am, I think. He used to complain about the smell. I’ve taught him that a couple drops of lavender oil takes care of that.
Kids are more challenging, although at 6 my daughter is really getting the basic ideas of recycling and cleaning up trash she finds when we go for walks. Both kids will ask which can a particular item goes into when it’s time.
Patience, I’d say, is really the key. You may not get them to do what you want right away, but over time you can get family members to see why you want to recycle, use less energy and so forth.
Tags: clothesline, family, Recycling
