Take your kids to a Master Recycler plastics roundup!

Was it the sun? Was it simply that it wasn't raining? Or perhaps that the Lake Oswego location of today's  Master Recycler Plastics Roundup was in a covered parking garage? I don't know. But in any case, it seemed as if today was "take your kids to a plastics roundup" day!

I had planned to bring my 6-year-old, and stopped by Heather's house to drop something off, only to find she was also planning to bring her 6-year-old, and was just about ready to head out. Our kids are best buddies, so this was great news to them! And there were tons of other kids there today too. Typically, we've got our plastics pre-sorted and ready to load in the car and drop off on the day of the Master Recycler Plastics Roundup. But some things do fall out of the bins. Or perhaps, some of us in the household aren't so detail-oriented at checking those numbers and putting them in the proper bin in the first place (ahem, we'll just not mention any names here). I will add that my 6-year-old has fabulous vision and is much better than I am at reading those tiny numbers in the triangles. That's why I wanted her to double-check our work and help me sort today at the roundup.

It also felt like I should demystify the thing for her. As we strive to be green-minded parents, clearly, serving as a role-model is one of the most important things we can do to raise our kids to be eco-aware. It was good for her to actually see this Plastics Roundup thing, and to ask questions about who takes all the plastic, what they do with it, and what it ultimately becomes. I had some idea about this from our session with Alan Jongsma of Agri-Plas during our Master Recycler training. It's also pretty mind-blowing to see these great giant white bags filled with plastic, which will help her understand why I sometimes resist buying certain things because I object to its excessive packaging.

Do you take your kids recycling with you?