These days schools are doing a great job of teaching our children the importance of recycling and going green. Not surprisingly, children are often the policemen at home when it comes to giving their two bits about how mamma should recycle too!

Recycling Old Glass Jars

Educate your child on how glass is made from minerals mined from the earth. Glass jars are great for recycling as they do not have any chemical residue of their own!

Glass planters: Use old wide mouthed jars for planting succulents or money plants. If the jar is wide enough you could even plant some basil, coriander or a chili plant. These plants are easy to grow and you only need their seeds, which are easily available either in your home or in the market.

Glass lanterns: Glass jars make great lanterns. More so if you have colored jars! Simply insert a bulb into the mouth of the bottle along with the holder. Secure it with a colorful string and hanf it in a cozy corner of your home.

Decorative glass jars: Got a little artist at home? Encourage him to paint over the glass with acrylic paint. You can also get some great textures onto a glass by letting a dollop of paint run from top of the bottle till its end and drying it off with a hair dryer!

Recycling Plastic Bottles

Plastic bottles are made from chemical, so unless the bottle comes stamped for re-use it is best not to put any food or drink items in them. But that doesn’t mean it cannot be recycled! Here are some simple and easy tricks for your little one!

Plastic Planters: The thing about plastic is that it can easily be cut. So making a an entire vertical garden out of cut plastic bottles is not so difficult! Cut out a large portion out of the stomach of the bottle and fill it with mud. Now plant some seasonal flowers inside and water them regularly. These can also be put on your window sill.

Plastic Art: Take an empty coke bottle. Dip its bottom in pink color so it completes covers the grooves on the bottom. Now gently stamp it over a white paper to make cherry blossom like patterns and finish off the branches with a brown marker.

Bird Feeder: Take an old Soda bottle and fill it up with bird seeds or grains. Now poke a hole through one side of the bottle with a wooden spoon and let it come out the other side. Gently let the bird feed slide onto the head of the spoon. Hang it in your balcony and backyard and watch your little one being fascinated with birds that keep visiting!