10 Interesting Recycling Games for Kids

Our Earth is a wondrous, beautiful place, brimming with verdant life. It’s important that we all contribute to keep it that way – for us, our children, and our future generations too. And one significant way to achieve this is recycling!

Kids who recycle grow into adults who recycle. The more engaged they are at a young age, the better. Games made with recycling materials can be a super tool to teach children the importance of not wasting anything.

There are numerous reasons why learning about recycling is relevant for today’s youngsters. For us at Kinderkind, your best-loved store for stylish clothes for toddler girls and boys, one of the top reasons is helping our little ones learn more about the environment, and why it’s so vital to look after it. At Kinderkind, we believe that young or old, we can all make a difference by recycling to save the earth’s natural resources and preserve the environment.

Check out 5 top reasons why children need to learn about recycling:

https://www.ecomena.org/teach-children-about-recycling/

Recycling can sometimes feel tedious to young children. So it’s important to make them realize that recycling can be fun! 

With that in mind, here are 10 games and activities for our little Earth crusaders to get better acquainted with the concept of recycling.

1. RECYCLED BOTTLE BOWLING GAME

Plastic bottles are a bane for the environment. Recycle them to create the coolest bowling alley in your own living room!

You Need:

• 7-10 plastic bottles
• Small Balls
• Stickers & paints
• Sand

How To:

• Help your kiddo decorate the bottles with paints and stickers and fill them with an inch of sand to weigh them down.
• Set them up like bowling pins in the playing area.
• Let the kids take turns to bowl away! The player who bowls down the pins fastest will be the winner.

2. RECYCLED CAN WIND CHIMES

Old tin cans keep piling up? Put them to good use – let your little ones create these pretty wind chimes to brighten up your home!

You Need:

• Tin cans & lids
• Paint
• String
• Hammer and nails
• Washer
• Glitter

How To:

• Use the hammer and nail to make small holes in the cans and lids.
• Paint the cans and lids in colorful hues and decorate with glitter.
• Insert string through each hole and tie to a washer.
• Tie all the strings together so that the cans are bunched up.
• Hang them in a breezy spot and watch them jingle and chime!

3. RECYCLED NOTEPAD

How many times do we throw away paper that’s just written on one side? Have your little environmentalist recycle them to make a cool personalized notebook!

You Need:

• 15-20 sheets of paper used on one side
• String Or ribbon
• Cardboard
• Marker
• Paper punch
• Scissors
• Crayons to draw

How To:

• Ask your child to draw a large shape like a heart, on the cardboard and cut it out.
• Help them trace the drawing on a piece of scrap paper. Stack about 5 pieces of paper below and then cut out the shape. Repeat till the shape has been cut out of all the papers.
• Punch a hole on top of each page. Use the string or ribbon to tie the pages together, and you have a cool notebook! Your kiddo can make a cool drawing on the top sheet with their name on it to personalize it!

4. RECYCLING BIN RACE GAME

Kids love races, don’t they? This Recycling Bin Race will have them dashing around for all the right reasons!

You Need:

• Paper
• Marker
• Scissors

How To:

• Ask the children to make three signs – ‘Paper’, ‘Plastic’, and ‘Glass’. Hang the signs in different parts of the room. Gather the kids in the playing area.
• Now call out the names of different recyclable items one at a time; for example: newspaper, milk bottle, cereal box etc.
• The kiddos have to play the roles of the item and race to the correct recycling sign as fast as they can!

5. BUILD A RECYCLED ROBOT

Robots are universally adored by children. So go ahead and help your kiddo build their very own robot from everyday household items!

You Need:

• Any kind of discarded material – old boxes, soft drink cups & lids, delivery cartons, tin foil, straws, scrap paper etc
• Glue
• Markers & Crayons

How To:

• Ask the kids to draw a rough sketch of how they’d like their robot to look.
• Help them create the basic robot structure using boxes and cartons.
• Now attach other items to complete the robot. Use markers and crayons to bring it to life!

6. RECYCLED PARACHUTE

No matter how old you are, parachutes are always cool. We guarantee your little ones will love making these mini parachutes that they can throw around!

You Need:

• Plastic or polythene bag
• String
• Scissors
• A small stone for the counterweight

How To:

• Cut out a square shape from the bag and trim the edges to make it into an eight-sided figure.
• Poke a small hole at each of the edges.
• Attach 8 pieces of string to each hole and knot them.
• Tie each of the strings to the small stone.
• Drop it from your balcony or upstairs window and watch it float to the ground!

7. MILK JUG TOSS

This simple yet fun activity is bound to be a favorite with kiddos. It’s a great way to use up those empty milk jugs too!

You Need:

• A gallon milk jug
• String
• Yarn pom pom or wiffle ball
• Scissors
• Colorful duct tape

How To:

• Cut the bottom half off the jug and cover the cut portion with tape.
• Run string through the pom pom or wiffle ball and tie it around, leaving a length of string free.
• Tie the other end of the string to the jug. Now let your little ones just toss the ball up and catch it in the jug!

8. TOILET PAPER ROLL BIRD FEEDER

This is a super way to reuse toilet rolls since most of the time we throw them away. It’s also a great recycling education activity that doubles up as a way to get those pretty birds visiting!

You Need:

• Toilet paper roll
• Spoon
• Peanut butter
• Birdseed
• Twine

How To:

• Using the spoon, ask your kiddo to rub peanut butter all around the toilet paper roll. This will act as glue.
• Roll the toilet paper roll all over the birdseed so that it is coated all over.
• Pass the twine through the roll, knot it up and hang it where birds can drop in to enjoy a little snack!

9. RECYCLE SCAVENGER HUNT

Children love scavenger hunts, don’t they? This Recycle Scavenger Hunt is an awesome way for kids to learn about materials around the house that are recyclable.

You Need:

• Recyclable material like paper, plastic, bottles etc.
• Pen & paper to keep score

How To:

• Hide various recyclable items all around the house.
• Split the kids into teams.
• The objective is to find as many recyclable items within the time limit. The team that finds the most items is the winner!

10. RECYCLED WIND SOCK:

Wind socks are delightful to watch fluttering in the breeze. Help your child make their very own windsock from leftover party supplies!

You Need:

• Small plastic tub with a tight-fitting lid
• Leftover party materials – streamers, ribbon, crepe paper, etc
• Scissors

How To:

• Cut out circles from the bottom of the tub and the center of the lid, leaving the outer ring intact.
• Cut the ribbon, crepe paper and other materials into 3-foot streamers. Arrange the streamers under the lid to form a hanger and snap on the lid to hold them in place.
• Tuck two ends of a piece of ribbon under the lid to make a hanger.
• Hang the windsock in a breezy spot for everyone to enjoy!

If your little ones have more questions about these activities, have them check out this fun video full of cool recycling facts!