But recycling is becoming mandatory in many communities, and environmentally conscious families everywhere are making the effort, whether required or not by local authorities.
Here are some things fathers can do to encourage their families to recycle their home-generated waste.
Know what can be recycled. Different parts of the country and the world have different recycling standards. The economics of recycling is generally driven by the revenues that can be brought from selling recycled products. In some areas, the cost and energy consumed transporting recycled materials to secondary markets can exceed the value of the recyclables. So talk with your local waste authority (often a city, county or district) or check their website for information on what can be recycled in your area.
Find out how recyclables are collected. In some communities, recyclables are sorted at home and collected curbside. Sometimes they are collected curbside but not separated at the source (all in one can). If there is not curbside collection, find out where a recycling center is located in your area.
Make a family commitment. Convene a family council and talk about the need and value of recycling. You might even assign children to do research at school or on the Internet to explain why it is important and how it makes a difference to the environment. Then create and all sign a family commitment or pledge to recycle what can be recycled in your community.
Set up a home recycling center. Once you know how recyclables are collected, you can set up a location at home for recycling. In our community, recyclables are collected every other week and collected in one big blue container. We don't have to separate them at home. In other areas, recycling cans are different for paper, plastic, glass and metal. If you have to separate, create an area with four stacking, labeled and color coded bins. This will help you keep your recyclables ready for the pickup day. Or, if you take them to a recycling center, you can just put the bins in the car when they are full and drop off the recyclables at the collection point.
Put a bin next to your kitchen garbage can. It is important to make recycling obvious and easy for your family. We keep a blue kitchen-sized garbage can next to our regular white garbage can in the kitchen so we are always thinking about recycling. When it is full, you can put the contents into the one large recycling can or into bins for separation.
Save money from recycling. If you take your recyclables into a recycling center where you are paid for what you bring in, set the money aside into a special fund for a family vacation or major purchase. It's a fun way to save and it helps the kids see the tangible results for your family and will encourage them to recycle even more.
Reduce. An important tool in the recycling effort is to minimize what you bring into your home that never has to be recycled in the first place. Try buying in bulk to minimize packaging. Rather than buying pudding “snack packs” for school lunches, make pudding and put them into small plastic containers that can be washed and reused. Reducing consumption is a great way to benefit the environment.
Reuse. Sometimes, we can avoid throwing things away at all. Outgrown clothing can be donated to local charities. Old mayonnaise bottles and lids can be used to store small items in the garage, workshop or sewing room (I use mine for various sized nails, screws and anchors at my workbench). Books in good condition could be donated to the library, a local homeless shelter or hospital. We save packing boxes and supplies from things we buy online to send Christmas packages to family members living away from home.
Buy recycled. Earlier, we learned that the secondary markets for recycled products often drive the finances of recycling. A commitment to buy recycled paper for the computer printer, mulch from recycled products for the garden and other such products will help the secondary markets flourish and make recycling available more places.
A strong commitment to the environment is an important value in any family. And recycling is a good way a family can make a real difference in its community and the earth's environment.
