“Thinking green: Learning to recycle can be fun for ... - Joplin Globe” plus 1 more

Thinking green: Learning to recycle can be fun for ... - Joplin Globe

Posted: 22 Apr 2010 09:29 AM PDT

April 22, 2010

Thinking green: Learning to recycle can be fun for youngsters

By Joe Hadsall Globe Features Editor

JOPLIN, Mo. —

By Joe Hadsall

jhadsall@joplinglobe.com

Earth Day is as good as any day to get your children thinking green.

What makes it easier is that your kids may already be excited about it, said Mary Anne Phillips, recycling coordinator for the city of Joplin.

"The hardest part is taking action," Phillips said. "The excitement is there, the inquisitiveness is there, but getting action may be tough."

Because Joplin doesn't have curbside recycling, trips to the recycling center may not get kids bounding off the couch to put their shoes on and head to the car. But what if there was cash involved?

Phillips said that recycling aluminum cans can mean a payday for kids, which is a great motivator.

"That's one of the easiest things to do," Phillips said. "It's easy to rinse them out, take to one of the three redemption places and get some money back."

Kids can also make paper donations pretty easily — most schools have a Paper Pals bin for paper recycling. Everything from office paper to newspapers can be thrown in the bins without separation, Phillips said.

From there, habits can be extended to other things, she said. Kids can learn to rinse soda bottles, to throw fruit peels on a compost pile and more.

Composting is one of the major things Phillips encourages to kids, she said. Once a pile is started, it's easy to keep it going with the occasional apple core or banana peel.

"Everyone has fruit or vegetable waste," Phillips said. "I tell kids to mix it up with lawn clippings, then watch the worms come, eat it up and poop it out."

Recycling is one of three R's that Phillips tells kids about. The other two, "reuse" and "reduce," are just as easy for kids to do.

Old T-shirts can be reused as a cleaning towel instead of paper towels. Picnics can be enjoyed with regular dishes instead of disposable plates and utensils.

But in order for kids to stay excited about green living, Phillips said, they have to have a role model — their parents.

"If both parties are not on board, it's not going to happen," Phillips said. "It has to trickle up and trickle down."

Ideas

Kids can be incorporated in the following ideas and activities:

■ Fix faucet leaks: A leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons a year. Have kids keep an eye out for leaks and drips.

■ Avoid running water: Turn water off while you brush your teeth.

■ Say no to plastic: According to data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2001, about 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide annually, and it can take months to hundreds of years for these bags to break down. Bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store.

■ Replace light bulbs: One fluorescent bulb can save approximately $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in six months.

■ Start a compost pile: According to the EPA, 23 percent of U.S. waste materials sent to landfills, such as yard trimmings and leftover food, could be used as compost.

■ Think before wrapping: Be creative and use newspaper, take-out menus, old calendars and wallpaper to wrap gifts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Wanted: Your second hand shoes - Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Posted: 20 Apr 2010 07:54 PM PDT

Worldly Soles is a charity bringing shoes to those that need them most in Africa and Nepal.

The organisation began earlier this year after its coordinator, Volker Euler, was inspired by an ABC Radio campaign in Brisbane, which asked people to donate shoes to Africans.

Euler and his wife are encouraging the community of Sydney to do the same, with shoes to be sent to Nepal as well as Africa.

As he explained to Adam Spencer, they need 4,000 more pairs to fill up their first shipping container to Nepal, "It's quite a poor country, there's been lots of landslides, so people get relocated to cities and suddenly there's a need for shoes... kids are running around streets and rubbish tips in bare feet."

Worldly Soles is after good quality, clean shoes that you don't wear anymore.

If you're feeling generous, throw in a pair of socks too.

They hope to get up to 100,000 pairs by the end of the year.

Various Tafe campuses around Sydney are acting as a collection point, so the advice is, "Look at your shoes in the cupboard and ask yourself, 'Have I worn these in the last 12 months?' And if you haven't, probably you won't wear them again, so please send them to us."

Head to the Worldly Soles website or call Volker Euler on 0409 711107.

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Kids Shoes

Thursday, April 22, 2010