School Teachers can now download FREE criteria to help students explore recycling efforts!
Passionate about protecting our environment. Committed to being a learning resource. Our goal with The Recycle Guide is to provide you with relevant, accurate, and unbiased information about recycling. We believe that at the core of recycling is an individual’s choice. Your daily choice to reduce waste, reuse various materials, and recycle items instead of throwing them in landfills is what makes recycling programs work. Let’s get started learning and working together!
Teacher Resources
Want to help start teaching someone else about recycling?Recycle America has some links that can help those interested in talking to students, family members, or even city council chairmen about the benefits of recycling.
For Kids:
- EPA’s Environmental Kids Club
Learn how to protect our environment (air, water, garbage & recycling, etc.) using interactive games such as EPA’s Office of Solid Waste Planet Protectors club for kids. - Earth911.org Education
Pick grade level activities that are made just for you. - Where does all the trash go?
Ever wonder where all the trash goes…? Go here and find out! - Waste and Recycling Workers Week Coloring Book
Fun learning tool for kids about the men and women who work to keep our environments safe and clean.
For Students:
- EPA’s Student Center
Everything about the environment from A to Z. - Earth911.org Education
Pick grade level activities that are made just for you.
For Teachers:
- EPA’s Teaching Center
Plenty of teacher resources all environmental subjects from air to water. - Earth911.org Education
Teacher resources with lesson plans. - EPA’s Office of Solid Waste, Teacher Resources and Tools
For Researchers:
- EPA’s Researchers and Scientist Center
This page gives access to scientific information that may be useful in understanding and protecting our environment.
Additional Recycling Sites:
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
EPA’s national effort to conserve natural resources. - National Recycling Coalition
National Membership organization dedicated to maximizing recycling. - SWANA
Solid Waste Association of North America. - Plasticsresource.com
Information on Plastics & the Environment. - America Recycles Day
Your attitude, your actions, can make a world of difference! - AmericanPlasticsCouncil.org
Plastics and plastics recycling information. - National Parks and Conservation Association
Explore the National Parks and learn about conservation. - National PET Plastic Association (NAPCOR)
Learn about PET bottle recycling. - Earth911.org
Locate local recyclers by zip code. - Curbside Value Partnership
Learn about curbside recycling. - Glass Recycling
Learn about glass recycling.
Recycling Activities
Here are some fun ideas and downloadable activities to learn more about recycling!
Create a Parachute
What You’ll Need
- A plastic bag
- Scissors
- String
- A small object to act as the weight
Instructions
- Cut out a large square from your plastic bag.
- Trim the edges so it looks like an octagon (an eight sided shape).
- Cut a small whole near the edge of each side.
- Attach 8 pieces of string of the same length to each of the holes.
- Tie the pieces of string to the object you are using as a weight.
- Use a chair or find a high spot to drop your parachute and test how well it worked, remember that you want it to drop as slow as possible.
Waste and Recycling Workers Week Coloring Book
Fun free coloring book for kids to learn more about this national holiday and the men and women who work daily to keep us and our environment safe and clean from waste.
Recycling Word Search
Can you find all the hidden recycling words? Put your knowledge and word finding skills to the test in this fun word search. Look for words related to recycling like newspaper, bottles, plastic, and environment.
Drum or Shaker Instrument
What You’ll Need
- Empty drink can
- Frozen peas, rice, or small pebbles
- Paper
- Glue
- Paint
Instructions
- Find a can and clean it.
- Then remove the pop top.
- Fill the can with frozen peas, rice, or small pebbles.
- Seal the can with a piece of paper and glue
- Paint the can any way you want.
- Shake or tap the can and enjoy your drum or shaker!
Trash IQ Crossword Puzzle
Test your trash and recycling knowledge with this fun crossword puzzle!
Bird Feeder from a Plastic Bottle
What You’ll Need
- One large (2-liter or bigger) plastic drink bottlewith cap
- 3 or 4 wooden dowels (or unsharpened pencils) each3/16 of an inchwide and about 8 inches long
- A nail or other sharp object for punching holes in
- String or wire, 16 to 18 inches long
- Household funnel (optional)
Instructions
- Wash the bottle and remove the label.
- To make a perch, use a nail to punch 2 holes in the bottle, opposite each other. Insert a dowel or pencil so that it passes through one hole, through the bottle, and out the other side. Make 3 or 4 similar perches, alternating the positions so that all sides of the bottle are used.
- Now you’re ready to poke the feeding holes. With the bottle’s neck facing away from you, use a nail to poke a small hole about 2 inches above each perch. Keep in mind that the seeds will just fall out if the holes are too big.
- Use the nail to poke a hole from one side of the bottle’s neck to the other.
- Thread the string or wire through the holes in the bottle’s neck and tie or twist them together at the ends. This will be your hanger.
- Remove the cap and fill the feeder with sunflower seeds or mixed seeds. (A small household funnel will make this easier to do.)
- Screw the cap back on and hang the feeder from a tree branch or hook outside.