40+ Recycling Activities For Kids To Learn

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Recycling games and activities for kids can help them learn about the hazards of pollution and ways of reducing it. Did you know that a plastic bottle you throw out today will sit in a landfill for thousands of years or drift in the ocean? It’s true, as harsh as it may appear. In a thousand years, we have no idea what the earth or people will look like, but plastic bottles will still exist. So, is there a way out? Recycling, on the other hand, may provide an answer.

To safeguard the earth’s natural resources and the environment, preserve the ecosystem, and keep waste to a minimum, we must all recycle. Taking something old and turning it into something useful is what recycling is all about. Here are some activities and games to help your little eco-warrior understand the concept of recycling.

In This Article

Key Pointers

  • Teaching children about recycling and its benefits is essential.
  • Introducing children to recycling through exciting recycling games is recommended.
  • Motivating children can be achieved by incorporating these games into their day-to-day activities.
  • Examples of recycling activities include making a glass flower vase, a pencil holder from an aluminum can, a bird feeder, and a recycled notepad.

20 Interesting Recycling Games For Kids

1. Waste no water

Waste No Water recycling game for kids

Image: IStock

You Will Need:

  • Non-breakable containers (soup can, or a plastic spaghetti sauce jar will work)
  • Water

How To:

  1. Divide the kids into two teams.
  2. Fill a clean container with water for each team. Ensure that the containers are of the exact size and are filled to the brim with water.
  3. Now set a start and finish point.
  4. When you signal ‘go’, the first player from the team has the run for the finish line, turn around, go back to his team and pass the container to the next person in line.
  5. The team with the most water in the bowl or container will be the winner.
protip_icon Quick fact
Recycling can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water and air pollution. It also helps conserve energy and natural resources, which is advantageous to the economy (1).

2. Trash Ball

You will need:

  • Recycle bins
  • Trash cans with trash

How to:

  1. Divide the kids into two teams.
  2. Arrange the trash cans on two opposite sides. The idea is to resemble a basketball court.
  3. As you say go, everyone needs to pick up the trash and throw it in the correct recycling bin.
  4. The team that finishes first wins.

3. Bottle bowling

You Will Need:

  • 2-liter soda pop bottles or dishwashing detergent bottles and small bleach bottles
  • Lightweight balls
  • Sand
  • Funnel

How To:

  1. Wash and dry the bottles before upcycling them.
  2. Ensure that the bottles are thoroughly dried before proceeding with the next method.
  3. Put an inch of sand in each bottle using a funnel. The sand will weigh down the pins, making it harder for the kids to knock down. If you want to create a set of bright bowling pins, fill the bottle with scraps of colorful tissue or crepe paper.
  4. Set up the plastic bowling pins on the lawn or playing area and hand over the ball to the participants.
  5. Now give five chances to each child to knock down the pins.
  6. The player who bowls down the pins fastest will be the winner.

Free Worksheets and Printables for Kids

4. Sorting Recycle Items

You will need:

  • Paper
  • Crayons
  • Scissors

How to:

  1. Draw two recycle bins and write ‘plastic’ and ‘paper’ on each.
  2. Ask the children to draw different types of paper and plastic items.
  3. Color the items that they have drawn and cut them out.
  4. Mix the items and ask each child to come forward and sort them into the correct recycle bin.

5. Scavenger hunt

You Will Need:

  • Recyclable items like bottles, plastics, various paper items and so on.
  • Pen
  • Paper

How To:

  1. This scavenger hunt requires children to find recyclable items. Make a list of all the recyclable items that the players have to find. You can even assign a time limit for the task. 30 minutes would be more than enough.
  2. Alternatively, children can go through a pile of recyclable items and ask them to get one of each item. It won’t just educate them on what can be recycled, but will also make them consider things that may not have actually been recyclable.
  3. The player who manages to get the most number of recycled items will win.
protip_icon Point to consider
Besides educating about recycling, a scavenger hunt can help children build problem-solving skills and learn the value of teamwork (2).

6. Recycling Basketball

You will need:

  • Recyclable items (plastic bottles, cans, paper balls)
  • Recycling bins or baskets

How to:

  1. Put the recycling bin or baskets at a distance.
  2. Let the kids take turns trying to throw recyclable items into the right bin.
  3. Each successful shot scores a point. Keep different scores for different items.
  4. The player with the most points after a set number of rounds wins.

7. Tumbling tows

You Will Need:

  • Recycle bin filled with clean aluminum cans

How To:

  1. Divide the children into 2 to 3 teams. You have to play this game one team at a time.
  2. Give each team a recycle bin filled with aluminum cans.
  3. As you say go, the children have to stack the cans one upon the other within two minutes. Each teammate has to take a turn at building the tower.
  4. The player who builds the tallest tower will represent his team in the final match against team stacking competition. The final game will decide the winner.

8. Bottle Cap Tic-Tac-Toe

You will need:

  • Paper
  • Bottle caps
  • Marker

How to:

  1. You can use two different colored bottle caps or just draw X’s and O’s to differentiate the caps.
  2. Draw the tic-tac-toe grid on the paper.
  3. Start playing.

9. Recycling relay

You Will Need:

  • 3 labeled boxes: 1 recycle, one reuse, and one trash
  • Two boxes of clean trash

How To:

  1. You have to gather a pile of recyclable, reusable, and landfill items. 20 would be enough.
  2. Place three boxes at the end of the playing area. The reuse box should be placed the closest; the recycling box should be midway, and the landfill box the farthest.
  3. The playing teams have to figure out what they have to do with each item, run, and place them in the appropriate box. It will reinforce the idea that reusing is cheaper and requires fewer resources than recycling. Recycling, on the other hand, uses fewer resources than land filling.
  4. At the end of the game, you have to review each item in the bin. The team members have to explain how they would reuse an item in the reuse bin to confirm that the items put in the recycling bin are actually recyclable in the community.
  5. You are even free to deduct the points if you feel the item put in any bin is incorrect.

10. Can Pong

You will need:

  • Tin cans
  • Ping pong balls

How to:

  1. Align the empty cans however you wish but at a distance.
  2. Establish a barrier line that the kids cannot cross.
  3. Let each kid try to throw the ball inside the can.
  4. Play till there is one child left standing.

11. Newspaper dump

Newspaper Dump is a fun way to teach kids about recycling

Image: IStock

You Will Need:

  • A stack of newspaper for each team
  • Recycle bin

How To:

  1. Divide the players into each group and hand them their stack of newspapers. The teammates have to split the newspaper stack equally among the team members.
  2. Set up a recycling bin at the finish line.
  3. As you signal, the first player of the team has to carry his stack of newspapers to the finish line and deposit it in the container. Now he has to run back to his team and tap the next player in line.
  4. The team that deposits the newspaper first will be the winner.
protip_icon Quick tip
You can set up an obstacle course between the start and finish line to add an element of challenge to the activity.

12. Recycling Monster

You will need:

  • Recycling bin
  • Paper
  • Colors
  • Scissors
  • Glue

How to:

  1. Draw different shapes such as eyes, nose, mouth, ears, or whatever body part you wish to add to your monster.
  2. Color these body parts and paste them on the recycling bin, and your recycling monster is ready.
  3. This can be done at home or in school. Make sure you feed a recyclable item every day.

13. Recycling bin race game

You Will Need:

  • Paper
  • Pen or marker
  • Scissors

How To:

  1. For this eco-friendly game, now you have to call out the items one at a time. The children have to run and stand under the sign corresponding to the recycling bin they belong to.
  2. Gather the child in the playing area. Tell them that they have to play the roles of the item that can be recycled and have to get to the correct recycling bin as quickly as they can.
  3. Ask the kids to make three signs- ‘Plastic’, ‘Glass’ and ‘Paper’. Hang the signs in different parts of the meeting room.
  4. Here’s a list of the items for you to call out:
  • Milk jug
  • Pickle jar
  • Magazines
  • Newspaper
  • Junk mail
  • Jelly jar
  • Cereal box
  • Water bottle
  • Ketchup bottle
  • Olive jar
  1. Kids will have a thrilling time trying to get to the right bin as fast as they can.

14. Sustainable Sounds

Recycling activities for kids, child playing with kitchen utensils

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

  • Discarded items such as buckets, tin cans, pans, and boxes
  • Sticks or wooden spoons

How to:

  1. Choose an item to turn into your very own sustainable musical instrument.
  2. Turn a bucket into a drum, an empty tin can into a shaker, and more.
  3. Start a sustainable band.

15. Trash can relay

You Will Need:

  • Five trash cans

How To:

  1. Divide the kids into two teams.
  2. Arrange the five trash cans to create an obstacle course. The first player of each team has to run the course, weaving in and out the garbage cans.
  3. When the player reaches the last can, he has to turn around and twist back to the team.
  4. The first player will tap the next player in line, who will take his turn off running the course.

16. Memory Match

You will need:

  • A large cardboard
  • Paper
  • Scissors
  • Colors

How to:

  1. Draw a square and then draw your recyclable item inside the square. Color the item after you are done. You can draw leaves, paper balls, and bottles.
  2. Make sure the items are in pairs. Cut the squares so they look like cards.
  3. Place one pair of the cards face down on the cardboard.
  4. Let the kids take turns flipping the cards to find the match.
  5. If they find a matching pair, they keep the items and get another turn.
  6. The game continues until all pairs are found. The kid with the most pairs wins.

17. Passing the trash

You Will Need:

  • Trash can with trash
  • Recycling bin

How To:

  1. Divide the kids into teams and tell them to form a form. Place a garbage can or recycling bin at the end of each line.
  2. As you say go, the team members have to pass the recyclable items down the line, saying what kind of item it is. Each of the teammates has to move the item in a way other than how they got it. They can pass it under the legs, over the head or around the back.
  3. Once the trash gets to the end of the line; they have to put it in the correct container.
  4. The team that gets the most items in the proper container in a specific time limit will win.

18. Craft Race

You will need:

  • Clean recyclable items (plastic bottles, cans, paper)
  • Glue, tape, scissors, markers
  • Colors or paint

How to:

  1. Divide the kids into teams and give them a set of recyclable items.
  2. Set a timer of 15-20 minutes.
  3. Each team must create something out of the recyclable materials. It could be a robot, a car, or a ship.
  4. At the end of the time, judge the creations based on creativity and use of materials.
  5. The team with the most creative items wins.

19. Let’s recycle sorting games

You Will Need: