Recycling and Reducing Waste
Recycling and reducing waste explained for ages 4-6. Learn the three Rs — reduce, reuse, recycle — sort rubbish, and help keep our planet clean, with a fun quiz.
Key takeaways
- The three Rs are reduce, reuse and recycle
- Recycling means old things are made into new things
- We sort waste so paper, glass, plastic and food go to the right place
- Making less waste keeps our planet clean and saves trees, water and energy
Where does our rubbish go?
Every day we throw things away. An empty box. A snack wrapper. A bottle of juice all gone. We pop them in the bin and they go away. But where do they go?
A lot of rubbish goes to a big pile in the ground called a landfill. Landfills fill up and they can be smelly and messy. Some rubbish even ends up in rivers and the sea, where it can hurt fish and birds.
The good news is that we can help! We can make less rubbish. And we can turn some of it into new things. Let's learn how.
The three Rs ♻️
There are three special words that all start with the letter R. They help us look after our planet.
Reduce means use less. Take only the food you will eat. Turn off the tap so you don't waste water. Carry a bag you can use again instead of a new plastic bag.
Reuse means use it again. A glass jar can hold pens or flowers. A big box can become a toy house or a fort. Old clothes can be passed to a younger child.
Recycle means make it into something new. Old paper, bottles and cans go to a special place. There, machines turn them into new paper, new bottles and new cans!
Sorting helps a lot
When we recycle, we sort our waste. That means we put each thing in the right bin.
- 📰 Paper and cardboard in one bin
- 🍶 Glass in another
- 🥤 Plastic bottles and tubs in another
- 🥫 Metal cans in another
- 🍎 Food scraps in a compost bin
Sorting helps because each kind of waste is made new in a different way. Glass is melted. Paper is mushed up. When we sort, the machines can do their job.
Why it matters
When we recycle a paper book or box, fewer trees get cut down. Trees give us clean air and homes for animals. When we make less waste, we use less water and less energy too.
A clean planet is good for people, for animals and for plants. You can learn more about taking care of nature in Looking After Our Planet. When we save energy, we also help in the way you can read about in Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy.
Try this — make a sorting game!
Find some clean, safe rubbish at home, like a paper, a clean plastic tub and a clean can. Get a grown-up to help. Make three boxes and label them paper, plastic and metal. Now sort each thing into the right box! Can you do it fast? This is just what big recycling machines do every day. Always wash your hands after, and let a grown-up handle anything sharp.
What is one way YOU could make less waste today?
Quick quiz
Test yourself and earn XP
What does the word 'recycle' mean?
Recycling means old things, like paper and bottles, are made into brand new things.
Which of these are the three Rs?
The three Rs are reduce, reuse and recycle. They all help our planet.
What can we do with an old glass jar instead of throwing it away?
We can reuse a clean jar to hold pens, buttons or flowers. Reusing makes less waste.
Where should an apple core and banana peel go?
Food scraps go in a compost or food bin. They rot down and feed the soil.
Why is it good to make less waste?
Less waste keeps our planet clean and saves trees, water and energy.
FAQ
They go to a special place where machines clean and sort them. Old paper can become new paper. Old plastic bottles can become new bottles or even soft fleece for jackets. Old glass jars are melted and made into new jars. The old thing gets a brand new life.
No, not everything. Clean paper, cardboard, glass, many plastics and metal cans can usually be recycled. But dirty food wrappers, broken toys and some plastics often cannot. That is why reducing and reusing are even better than recycling — they make no waste at all.
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