Get Your Kids Ready for the Recycling Competition at their School

Whitfield County Schools and Dalton Public Schools will be next Tuesday, so now's the time to prep your kids for the recycling game. Instilling recycling habits is a simple thing that can make a big impact and boost their confidence not just in the first week but all year round. Knowing you are making a difference and helping out both people and animals by saving the environment is a great mood booster for adults and kids alike.

In Whitfield County and the City of Dalton, more than 30 schools are actively participating in recycling initiatives, including a school recycling contest, Target Recycling at School, a program of the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. Look for sky-blue-colored recycling bins located outside the schools when dropping off your child or inquire with the teachers and administration about recycling containers inside the school. Last year, schools collected 372,950 pounds of recycling. That’s the weight o f15 Hubble Space Telescopes!

Since recycling rules and routines can vary from school to school or classroom to classroom, it's essential to familiarize your child with the specific recycling system at their school. Remind them to be on the lookout for recycling containers and assure them that asking questions is encouraged! Whether it's about the location of recycling bins or what specific items their teacher collects. Asking these questions can help them get familiar with the routine and establish them as a student that leads others to care about the world around them.

Let your kid know that if they are especially passionate, they can consider joining or even starting a recycling or eco club at their school. Before they get into the classroom, teach your children about the recycling symbol (the triangle with three arrows) and the types of paper products that can be recycled.

Utilize the free Recycling Ben worksheets available online at www.dwswa.org/mascot-recycling-ben, offering interactive learning through matching games, word searches, and coloring sheets. Engage your children in hands-on learning by organizing a scavenger hunt around the house, where they must find and identify five recyclable paper items in five minutes or less.

Children may find it challenging to remember that paperboard tubes (e.g., toilet paper rolls) and paperboard boxes (e.g., cereal boxes) can be recycled with their typical construction paper and worksheets so make sure you practice throwing those items in the recycling bin together. For older children, emphasize that waxy or laminated paper, like they might find with stickers, is not recyclable so they are well-prepared. Practicing recycling habits at home will boost their confidence when recycling in front of their peers at school.

When you talk with your kids about recycling, don’t forget to talk about why we recycle. Recycling helps us keep our environment clean and helps us preserve our forests and water. Those things are helpful for us, but unless you live next to the woods that can sometimes be hard for children to grasp. What they do understand clearly and often care deeply about is the animals that live in those forests so go over wildlife that they have seen or care about such as deer, foxes, or wolves and how them recycling in their classroom helps those animals in the forest.

Engaging in recycling routines and actively contributing to the planet's well-being can significantly boost a child's confidence. The simple act of responsibly disposing of waste can bring them joy and a sense of accomplishment throughout their day. By helping your child prepare for the school year with a recycling mindset, they can become leaders in promoting sustainability at their school and beyond. Let's empower the next generation to make a difference and create a brighter, greener future.

Amy Hartline is the recycling and education program coordinator for the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. Have a recycling question? Contact her at (706) 278-5001 or ahartline@dwswa.org.