"There is no such thing as "away". When we throw anything away it must go somewhere."
--Annie Leonard
Since starting Growing Healthy Kids in 2009, we have
always recycled veggie scraps from the Kids in the Kitchen classes to the compost pile at the Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen. The kids use clean jars for
making our healthy vinaigrette when we have a Giant Salad Party. Whenever possible, we use real plates that
can be washed and reused instead of using paper plates. We teach and practice the principle of "reduce, reuse, recycle."
At home I do a lot of recycling. All jars, cans, and nut milk containers get
washed out and either placed into the recycle bins or they get repurposed into
jars for storing my favorite lentils and beans.
At all of our Growing Healthy Kids classes, recycling is always discussed and practiced. I am always surprised, however, to find out how many families do NOT recycle
paper, glass, plastic, and metal.
While spending a year volunteering with children at Boys
and Girls Clubs of Indian River County, I arranged a field trip with the
children to visit the local landfill on Oslo Road in Vero Beach. Seeing all the garbage produced by the 130,000 people in Indian River County up
close and personal was a real learning experience for the kids and one they (and I) will not forget.
Here are 5 recycling tips you can use to make Earth
Day an everyday celebration wherever you are:
1. Start
an herb garden using recycled containers (put several holes in the bottom of
the container first).
2. Does
your school recycle anything? How about where your kids attend an afterschool program like the local Boys and Girls Club? If not, start a recycling campaign.
3. Use egg cartons as containers for small art supplies or to keep small pieces of crayons separated by color.
4. Put used coffee grounds on your plants outside.
5. If you don’t use recycling bins or containers at home, call your county administration office and find out how to get some. Make sure you find out what can be recycled, especially plastics with the number inside the triangle. In the county where I live, there is no cost to homeowners to recycle.
3. Use egg cartons as containers for small art supplies or to keep small pieces of crayons separated by color.
4. Put used coffee grounds on your plants outside.
5. If you don’t use recycling bins or containers at home, call your county administration office and find out how to get some. Make sure you find out what can be recycled, especially plastics with the number inside the triangle. In the county where I live, there is no cost to homeowners to recycle.
For more kid-friendly recycling tips, go to www.earth911.com by clicking here.
In gratitude,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder of Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
