Get an A+ on Your Recycling Report Card

August is National Back to School Month, and after more than a year of remote or hybrid learning, schools across the nation are finally welcoming students back into classrooms for the new school year.

With school officially back in session for many students, now is the perfect time to educate the student, parent or teacher in your life about proper recycling to help ensure kids form sustainable habits early on.

Republic Services has a variety of resources that parents, teachers, and kids can all use! Check out how you can add recycling education into your routine either inside or outside of the classroom.

Classroom Learning:

• For educators looking for lesson plans and activities about recycling and sustainability for online teaching and at-home assignments, Republic Services has a free online curriculum for pre-K through 12th grades. The downloadable curriculum was written and vetted by teachers and is aligned with grade-level standards. It includes step-by-step lesson plans and supporting materials such as videos, virtual field trips, slides, handouts, and student certificates.

At Home Learning:

• In April, Republic Services announced a partnership withMizzen by Mott, a platform that provides high-quality, engaging learning content to afterschool education programs. Created by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Mizzen by Mott is a free app to help afterschool professionals deliver exciting learning opportunities that will inspire, engage, and empower young learners. Afterschool educators, homeschool educators, and other users can access these free lessons on Mizzen’s website or through the Mizzen by Mott App.
• Recycling Simplified At-Home Learning is another free online resource featuring engaging videos and activities about recycling that is designed to assist families in keeping learning going outside of traditional school hours. Activities are family-friendly, and you don’t need any teaching experience to dive in and help your child learn at home. The program includes videos and fun activities that will keep your child or teen engaged, as well as “learning together” activities that family members can do with children ages 3 to 10.
• Republic Services also offers several fun and engaging games designed to help teach kids about recycling, including picture and word searches, a coloring sheet, and a trivia game. These tools are available in English and Spanish. Download them here and get started on the afterschool fun!

Back-to-School Shopping:

• Back-to-School shopping also gives students, teachers, and parents an opportunity to make sustainable choices. Remember to make a list ahead of time to avoid wasteful impulse buys, repurpose anything you can from the previous school year or buy products that are made from recycled materials - including reusable containers and lunch boxes. And, make sure to understand which items you can recycle or reuse, and which items need to be tossed when you’re done using them for the school year.

To learn more, visit https://recyclingsimplified.com/ .