Plastic pollution is as frightening as ever with over eight million tonnes of plastic entering our oceans every year. With activists like Greta Thunberg leading the way, here’s how you can encourage your little ones to live more sustainably and make an impact through small actions.
There’s a long way to go before we can repair the damage to our oceans – and Greta Thunberg, a recognised climate activist, has changed public opinion by questioning world leaders at the 2019 UN Climate Conference.
Children’s outerwear brand Muddy Puddles has looked at ways to encourage our little ones and the whole family to take part in saving our oceans. Here’s how you can encourage your children to live in a more sustainable, eco-friendly way.
Choosing to consciously consume
First and foremost, you can encourage your children to consume products consciously. Upon first consideration, this may seem like the sole responsibility of adults. But, younger generations can also be trusted to think with the oceans in mind.
Children might, for example, choose to not drink water from a plastic bottle. This does mean that you (as the adult) will first have to provide them with a reusable option. It’s little things like this that amount to lifelong habits and meaningful changes.
Decorating home recycling bins
In England, only 43.8% of household waste was recycled between March 2020 and 2021. To get your family into the sustainable spirit, your little ones can decorate the recycling bins. This is a fun activity that will remind your children why recycling is so important.
You may have bought your own mini bins that stay in your kitchen – these are perfect for a little arts and crafts. Whether you want to colour code or draw examples of which waste item goes in each bin, a crafted bin is more likely to convince family members to recycle their goods.
Campaign for better recycling in school
In addition to this, children can also campaign for better recycling routes in schools. Similar to homes, students and teachers produce a lot of waste within schools, and this should all be recycled properly. If it isn’t, pupils can address this issue and ask for it to be improved and channel their inner Greta!
Weekend beach cleaning
Activism isn’t a Monday-to-Friday activity – we should be considering ways to save the oceans every day of the week. This includes weekends, and what could be more fun than visiting the beach on a Saturday afternoon?
While there, your children can go out of their way to stop loose litter from entering the waters by picking up rubbish often found strewn along the UK’s beaches. Just remember to provide protective gloves, rubbish bags and kid’s waterproofs.
