Events like Plastic Free July are great times to introduce the children in your life to important topics such as the environment and reducing waste. Earlier this year we published a (free!) pdf that suggested five eco-friendly activities for kids, including organizing beach clean ups like the ones involved in Plastic Oceans Canada’s Trash2Treasure competition.
One of the core missions of The Tare Shop is to be a community resource for education about package-free lifestyles – so we wanted to focus this week on activities you can do with kids in and outside the house to get them involved in Plastic Free July. 

Making Newspaper Bin Liners

What child doesn’t love some newspaper origami? Not only does using newspaper liners allow you to cut down on the use of plastic bin liners, it’s also a wonderful craft activity for kids to try! And it's a simple enough activity that kids as young as six can take part (as demonstrated by the lovely child in this video from GreenBinOttawa).

If you have a crafty kid with lots of project ideas we also have lots of recycled crayons, colored pencils and grease pencils available in the Kids section of our Shop. 

Consider Reusable Nappies

If you’re taking care of a baby then you know they use a lot of diapers. It's just part and parcel of raising a child. This article by Lauren Bravo talks about the benefits and downsides of switching from disposable nappies to reusable ones.  Washable diapers are often cheaper in the long run despite the steeper upfront costs per pack, and using them severely reduces the amount of diapers you’re throwing away, cutting down on one-use plastic in the trash stream.

However, there’s valid reasons why people use disposable diapers, you don’t have to spend time washing them and they’re cheaper to buy per pack than most reusable options. And because they’re washable you have to factor in the water and power used to clean them when thinking about the difference in terms of environmental impact. 

Reusable nappies won’t work for everyone but if you’ve ever considered making the switch we’d definitely recommend reading the article and doing your own research. 

Check Your Local Library and Initiatives

Children and teens everywhere are affected by climate change and our efforts to combat it. It can feel very overwhelming for younger people to learn about a crisis that even adults struggle with. But younger people have also been on the front lines of recent movements and calls to action for world governments to take active, concrete action. 

If your children are expressing an interest in the topic of climate change and environmentalism, help them research local initiatives that they can learn about and maybe even get involved in.

If you and your kids are doing an activity or challenge for  Plastic Free July, take pictures and tag us, we’d love to hear from you. Use the hashtags #PlasticFreeJuly #PFJ #PlasticFreeForKids