I had a laugh the other day when I dropped my son off at childcare, and noticed as I was leaving that there were quite a few kidlets with their noses pressed against the window watching intently… and just what were they so interested in? Why it was rubbish day, and the recycling truck was on it’s way down the street to pick up the bins.
I don’t know what the fascination is about the rubbish truck, but I do remember waiting eagerly to watch the same weekly event when I was a child. And that’s probably one of the reasons the Green Toys version of the recycling truck is such a popular toy. It’s an awesome eco design, made from 100% recycled plastic milk containers and no metal axles – it even has a movable recycling bed and open/shut rear door.
My son received one as a gift on his second birthday, and I can honestly say he’s played with it almost every day since. He sorts rocks, sticks, cardboard and just about anything he can find before re-enacting the ceremonial “dumping of the rubbish” complete with some pretty interesting sound effects.
Since we know our customers love this classic, we’re giving one away in time for Christmas! Just tell us in the comments below any of your own recycling tips. Whether it’s getting the little ones to help with sorting, or “upcycling” by reusing household items for crafts and such, we’d love to hear your ideas.
A winner will be chosen at random and notified on Dec. 10. In the meantime, discover the entire Green Toys range at Itty Bitty Greenie – and save 20% until Christmas!
Diane says:
I have one bin with 2 seperate compartments, one for general rubbish and the other for recycling. It works great!
Michelle V says:
We re-use (clean) yoghurt tubs for storing the kids paints; and hubby uses empty ice-cream containers for storing items like nails, screws, etc.
Karen says:
As an early years teacher I know how much we appreciate donations whether it be cardboard boxes,old magazines, corks or old clothes for dress ups plus any old but still working toys and books so please don’t throw things away think of all the fun the kids and teachers will have thinking of ways to use it x
Narelle Rock says:
We take all the newspaper to Kindy where they get money for weight, a great fundraiser for them. Also toilet rolls, boxes etc for all the kids to make things to take home!
Ruth Evans says:
You don’t need to take the windows out of envelopes – the recycling process can handle staples and tape on boxes too! They separate the pulp from the detritus by soaking it in water.
Megan says:
We keep jars for pickling, jams etc and they also make beautiful vases! Recently a friend of mine used 175 jars in her wedding with mixed blooms in them scattered around and on the guests tables, they looked divine!
Lee says:
We have a double recycle bin one side for green waste and one for plastics, paper etc. The foot pedals are the same colour as our corrosponding wheelie bins outside and the kids love it (the big 2yr old does anyway the one yr old just likes it being a bin). Only problem now is teaching Daddy.
Sarah Delaney says:
My son just loves rubbish/recycling trucks and I have taken that on board and we now keep all boxes and interesting plastic and containers and put aside to recycle for his crafts table at preschool, he gets right into this and grabs the boxes and puts them ‘away’ before anyone else has a chance – we are also very popular at preschool for our weekly bag full of supplies!! Thanks
sharyn h says:
my kids love craft stuff so i reuse anything and everything – from envelopes i got in the mail (ie. for drawing on); toilet rolls, cut up old bras that dont fit me anymore for material etc.
Angela says:
We love to compost as much as we can including most paper and cardboard. Glass jars are reused in many different ways but the best is as cheap, plastic free food storage for frozen beans, stocks, soups. Everything gets a look over for its creative benefit before going in the bin!
Nicole says:
We live in the bush and are on tank water so we recycle everything! We have to sort our rubbish as we have to take it to the tip ourselves. We also have buckets in the shower and next to the washing machine, we save all that water for our garden.
Chloe says:
My son uses empty egg boxes as recycling trucks! He drives them round the house and when he finds some scrap paper, the lid (robotic arm) opens up, paper is placed on the inside and then flipped in as it closes – all done with appropriate sound effects. In fact most of our recycling is made into toys first, before going in the bin.
Amber says:
I am pretty new to the whole “Go Green” bandwagon, but I have started to re-use and recycle as much as I can. I have used things for crafts mostly but the biggest move I have made thus far is using reusable shopping bags. It’s a small step but it’s a step nonetheless. I LOVE Green Toys the stand they are taking on saving the environment and making toys that are better for our children. I really like to support a company like that! Here’s to hoping I win the recycle truck, my son turns 2 on Christmas morning and he would love it!
amy pugmire says:
my kids love to help recycle. they know exactly what goes in the blue trash can and what goes in the gray. they get excited to help!
Abbie says:
While there are more and more things that are recyclable, having a full recycling bin just means you are buying a lot of stuff that happens to be in recyclable packaging, and most recycling these days that goes into your council bin is actually downcycled. Buy in bulk and then decant, buy without packaging (many markets and smaller shops will let you put things into boxes/your own bags), take your own bags shopping, and make some mesh ones to put your fruit and veg into. Make more foods from scratch/eat healthier – food scraps are compostable, plastic packaging isn’t.
Philippa C says:
The kids love recycling magazines, cutting out pictures of this and that and making beautiful cards and artwork with them.
Dani says:
We are lucky enough to have a recycling bin provided by our council and my little man loves to check with me what goes in the yellow lid or the green lid. He also loves to watch the rubbish truck come by, one for each bin. We find this has been a great activity to teach him about colours, recycling, materials and the environment with the added bonus of big truck noises
Jodie K says:
I LOVE scouring through op shops and garage sales for pillow cases, doona covers and dresses made from interesting fabrics. I upcycle them into dresses and skirts for my daughter and family. Nothing beats a one off piece made with love!
tanya jackson says:
We make sure we recycle all our milk cartons , boxs , jars everything really we are moving next week and we hope to buy a compost in the new year the kids love making things from our old boxs too everything from robots to cubby houses they have endless fun using their imagination xo Tanya
Natalie Blanch says:
We don’t have a regular rubbish collection, but rather take our recycling and rubbish to big bins nearby. This motivates me to try to reduce the amount of packaging that comes into our house in the first place so I don’t have so much to carry to the bins! Buying at farmer’s markets and whole food stores that encourage you to bring your own containers helps reduce both recyclables and rubbish, as do cloth nappies.
With the recyclable items, we wash them, and let my daughter play with what she likes until they get too tatty or too many, then they are replaced.
Recycle, reuse and reduce
Emma says:
My little boy draws on the back of old computer print-outs, instead of using pages of new paper for his art work. We have also been cutting up old Christmas cards to make smaller gift-tags for this years Christmas presents.
Leesa says:
Entertaining a 18 month old is hard work, but the garden is our friend! We love using different ‘buckets’ and containers to water the plants, the herb garden and the fruit trees. We have learnt that toilet rolls aren’t so good!!! We tap the tank to see how full it is and make songs with the different notes. We request no new items for birthdays and christmas, but if they must, a used item or plant is gratefully received.
lace says:
We use lots of upcycling during craft time and also collect bottles to take back to the store. the kids like to put them in the bottle collection bins.
Amber says:
We are making baby steps to being Green. We’re being more cautious of the toys we buy, we’re using reusable shopping bags, and trying to reuse stuff for crafts with the kids. We love GREEN TOYS! They are an amazing company that we love to support. Here’s to hoping we win!
Caitlin says:
I try to buy food without packaging, but when we do, we make toys out of them, or use them to pot plants/mulch the garden as appropriate!
Vashti McMurray says:
We use plastic containers as bath toys and leftover containers, use envelopes for writing lists or coloring paper for he kids. Also egg cartons make great glue/paint holders for craft time!
Celeste says:
We save all of the kids drawings throughout the year to use as Christmas wrapping paper. Both the kids and the receiver of the gift love it!
Pat says:
I cut up old t shirts and make t shirt yarn out of them which I reknit into arm warmers for winter !