Recycling Collection

When we talk of recycling, we are referring to making items that are unusable to be usable one more time. Recycling makes us not use so much of the natural materials available. So much can be done to keep the environment in good condition, and recycling is a very simple way of doing good to the environment. It allows everyone to be gentle to the earth.

School clothing that are old

All of us outgrow the clothes we wear. The clothes you wore 10 years ago are no longer the clothes you are wearing now. A good example is school clothing. You can recycle this material in the following ways:

• You can request that your parents alter the shape of your old school clothing. The sleeve can be adjusted if it's too tight around the arm. The trouser length can also be made longer by lowering the hem.
• Pass it to others. Your younger brother or sister or even relation can fit into your old uniform. In fact, anyone who has a smaller body size than yours can make do with this clothing.
• Yes, you can sell old uniforms physically or online. Search for platforms that buy old clothing and sell to them. Online stores such as eBay are great for this kind of deal.
• Give out. Either to a local charity in your area or clothing banks found in many boroughs. They may even come to pick them up from your home. Find out from your parents how you can do this.

What could happen if you don't recycle old uniforms?

It isn't always great to trash old school clothing. This is because they mostly end up in landfills, and the materials that make up some of these clothes do not decay. So, having them recycled pays the most, particularly when they get to those that don't have so much through charity and cloth banks.

Paper

As you move from class to class, there are so many textbooks and handbooks you may not find useful again. Do you have any? You can have them recycled:

• Local recycling. A lot of junk collectors recycle paper. And about staples, don't bother taking them out, it will be done at the recycling plant.
• Pet beds. Old papers can be turned into beds for your pet, but you must take out the staples. If the pet is in a cage, you can line the cage with these papers.
• Doodle pads. Another reuse for old paper is to take notes, particularly during a landline telephone conversation. Go ahead and remove some pages off your old handouts and keep them as telephone message pads.

What could recycled paper turn to?

Most of the time, the paper that is recycled is sorted, the ink is blotted out, and the staples taken out. The paper mill typically does this job, and the recycled paper is changed to pulp and used to make fresh papers.

Leftovers from lunch packs

Mummy might add some foods to your lunch pack that you just don't like to eat or you can't because you are full. Your school may have a way of recycling this food waste which you can use.

• Recycling at school. Find out from your teacher whether there is any recycling service in your school, as most schools have these systems.
• Compost making. It is a great idea to introduce a compost-making programme in your school where all the food waste from you, your classmates and your teacher can go into composting. This can work as fertiliser in your school garden to assist plant growth.

What happens when food waste is not recycled?

When dumped in landfills, these foods decay and release harmful gases; however, these gases can be transformed into energy that can be used in our homes for heating and other uses. Compost can help farmers grow their crops. Don't forget that certain products don't work for recycling, including light bulbs, wrapping paper, wax paper, etc. Don't feel discouraged by this. Just concentrate on the many things that can be recycled and used again. You are showing love to the environment by doing this.

Recycling can be fun!

There is where an adult presence would be required. It can be a parent, teacher or some senior. Children can learn so much and enjoy themselves while recycling - it takes several creative ideas to see this come through. See some examples for you.

Let's recycle our own paper

A fun activity that educates going children on how the recycling procedure is done. You need the following to do this:

• Newspaper
• An iron
• Blender
• Measuring cup
• Square pan
• Water
• Window screen
• Bucket
• Hand towels

How to do this

• Shred the newspaper into bits and soak them in a bucketful of water for 30 minutes.
• Remove a handful of the moist newspaper, place it in the blender and grind till it becomes very soft.
• Empty the blended paper into a measuring cup. Get the square pan and pour 3cm of water into it.
• Lay the window screen on the square pan and add one cup of pulp to the screen.
• Scatter the pulp across all areas of the screen until it is sticky.
• Remove the window from the pan and let the water drain out.
• Lay the pulp-covered screen with its face pointing downwards on a hand towel. Gently take off the screen and let the pulp remain on the towel.
• Cover the pulp-laden towel with a second towel and press with iron, or a rolling pin.
• Let the pulp dry for a day.
• Your recycled paper is ready; use it well.

Junk gathering competition

Take the children to a park or beach in your area and let them compete in a junk collection challenge. Any child who gathers more junk in half an hour than the others is the winner. You achieve two things here: the children are taught the impact of waste lying around the environment, and secondly, you are cleaning your local area.

Recycling into art

Beautiful things sometimes come from rubbish. Yes, show the children that garbage can be transformed into great small works of art. See some inspiration here:

• Gather used corks and make them into trays and casters attached to some string.
• Take some car hubcaps and have them painted into beautiful ornaments for the garden.
• Put workbook pages together like frames and murals; it's a way of keeping a child's schoolwork artistically.

Recycling into musical instruments

• This is simple on the condition that you target making percussion instruments, not brass, which would be more complex.
• Old plastic containers of varying shapes, thickness and size can be made into drums that will give off different beats kids would love.
• You can extend plastic that are flexible around containers and have them attached to make your recycled instrument come to life a bit.

There are many other interesting ways to make children learn about and enjoy working with garbage. Got any questions? Dial 020 37450982, and we will be glad to speak with you.