10 Ways to Make Sustainability and Recycling Fun

We all know recycling is important, but fun? Not so much. Until now, at least! Living sustainably can be enjoyable for the whole family, and teach your children valuable lessons about caring for the planet in the process.

Here are ten easy and effective ways to make recycling fun and live a more sustainable lifestyle every day.

Play a Sorting Game

Sorting your recycling can be tricky, with so many different rules to remember. To make it fun and memorable for your children, try turning it into a game! The printable recycling sorting game by Adventure in a Box or the Recycling Memory Game are great places to start. Learning what goes where has never been more enjoyable!

 Make Your Own Recycling Station

If you’re going to jazz up your recycling system, it makes sense to jazz up your bins, too! Grab a few cardboard boxes and decorate them with paint or coloured paper, labelling each for paper, plastics, and glass. It’s a creative activity that teaches your family about sorting waste – and since recyclable items need to be clean and dry, you don’t have to worry about your boxes falling apart!

Think Before You Toss

Before throwing something away, pause and consider if it could be reused, composted, or recycled. Setting up a worm farm or compost bin is a fantastic way to repurpose food scraps into nutrient-rich soil. Brisbane City Council has some great tips on how to get started.

Go on Sustainability Excursions

The best way to teach children about waste is to show them what happens to it. Plan an excursion to a recycling plant or local dump to see the process in action. You can also visit op shops to hunt for second-hand treasures, or bulk food stores to stock up on essentials. Remember to take your reusable containers!

Grow Your Own

You don’t need a farm to grow your own produce! A backyard (or even a sunny balcony) can become a productive urban garden. Growing your own fruits and veggies reduces waste, packaging and helps close the loop by turning food scraps into compost. For more tips, visit the Local Harvest website.

Turn Your Trash into Treasure

Recycling is only one part of the sustainability puzzle. Reducing and reusing are just as important. Get creative and transform unwanted items into something useful or beautiful. From DIY crafts to upcycled furniture, turning trash into treasure helps you see everyday items in a whole new light.

Carry Reusable Bags and Containers

Next time you shop, bring your reusable produce bags and containers for bulk items or takeaway food. Keep them in your car or bag so you never forget! And if you’re still using plastic lunch boxes, consider switching to bamboo – it’s sustainable, durable, and naturally antifungal.

Pick the Perfectly Imperfect

Countless fruits and veggies are tossed before they even hit grocery stores due to ‘cosmetic standards’ of some businesses. The ABC series ‘War on Waste’ lists bananas as just one example – one big supermarket chain specified that they be “slightly arched with a blunt end” to meet their standards for sale. So, if you see a funny-looking fruit or a misshapen veggie, buy it! You’ll be showing supermarkets that it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Make Waste-Free Alternatives

Recycling is great, but reducing waste is even better. Try making your own beeswax wraps, floral soap bars, or natural vegetable dyes at home — they’re fun family projects and eco-friendly alternatives to store-bought items.

Use ‘Cleaner’ Cleaning Products and Tools

A lot of cleaning products come in plastic bottles and contain harmful chemicals. Instead, make your own all-purpose cleaner with simple ingredients like vinegar and lemon. You can also switch to a bamboo toothbrush, helping reduce the 3.5 billion plastic toothbrushes that end up in landfill each year.

By making recycling and sustainability fun, you’ll inspire your children (and maybe even your neighbours) to think greener, live smarter, and care more deeply about our planet.