Children take the lead when it comes to recycling

Educating young children has been touted as the solution to the crisis of plastic use in the world.

Recent figures have shown that children are leading the way when it comes to wanting to change the world to make it a better place. A poll of 2,000 parents of youngsters aged between five and 18 found that one in six admit their little ones know more about exactly what can be reused than they do.

Carried out by The Midcounties Co-operative, the research stated that four in 10 parents have tried to throw something away only to be stopped by panic-stricken recycling-savvy youngsters.

A quarter of those asked also admitted that their children regularly reminded them to take their own bags on the weekly shop and while there, encouraged mum and dad to pick loose fruit and veg, rather than those in plastic packaging.

Mike Pickering, from the Co-operative, was a driving force behind the poll and said the results were eye-opening, in the best possible way.

He said: “Reducing single-use plastic is a high priority for our 700,000 members, so we wanted to understand whether this desire was making its way to the next generation.

"Our results show, happily, that the mantle is also being passed down, with children showing real engagement in sustainable living – something we regularly see with our work in schools."

Educating young children has been touted as the solution to the crisis of plastic use in the world.

The Mid-Counties Co-operative has launched its ‘Plastic is not Fantastic’ education programme, but many other parts of the country are also looking at ways of pushing a planet-happy message.

UK school children made headlines with enormous protests urging politicians to take climate change and other environmental issues seriously

Jacqui Smellett, a teacher at a school in Chichester, West Sussex, said she has found her Year 2 pupils “engrossed” when they have done practical work into how to save the planet.

"It is definitely one of the most involved topics I have covered in my classroom," she explained.

The children ask "why don’t adults stop using plastic bags?"

"When you go into detail about the impact plastic use is having on landfill sites, and in particular, on the environment with it affecting animals, and climate change, many of my little ones were outraged and asking what we could do about it.

It really brought a proactive side to my class when the subject was brought up.

Tiny minds are things of extreme power, I find, so if we educate our young to care, educate them on why it is so important and how we can take every day steps to make a big difference, that is the solution.

They listen. They care. We should take advantage of that.

You often find they ask simplistic questions such as, "why don't we sort our own recycling rather than put it all in one bin?" or "why don't adults stop using plastic bags?"

"They have a point. But in today's world of hustle and bustle, time is of the essence for many. People's lives are busy but for my little ones in particular, they just don't get why more time and care isn’t taken to preserve what we have. Children see things in a simplistic way. It is very black and white for them. Maybe we need to be following their lead."

Mrs Smellett said the upcoming Earth Day for 2019 provides the perfect timing for classroom-based learning. Held annually, the day aims to demonstrate and promote environmental awareness while calling for the protection of our planet. Earth Day is celebrated in more than 193 countries, including the UK. "If we are going to leave our planet in a better condition than we found it, the work needs to start early," she said. "So we make it as fun as possible.

And ideas for activities are plentiful.

Already this year we have created a hanging garden, and talked through what the plants need, and what they provide. We have a vegetable patch that the children are responsible for tending to, and everyone has a role and a responsibility.

That is ultimately what it is about – teaching responsibility."

Other child-friendly activities include upcycling rubbish into 'flower art', painting paper bags, making pine cone bird feeders and turning old food tins into drums to give them a new job. Mrs Smellett continued: "Last year we also recycled tins to make a wind chime and made our own nature journals. The children got really involved and loved learning about the new things they could make from old items."

The news that children are engaging in environmentally friendly education comes just after UK school children made headlines with enormous protests urging politicians to take climate change and other environmental issues seriously.

Students walked out of school classrooms and university lecture halls across the country to protest against MP’s inaction on climate change in the global day of action which saw youngsters from New Zealand to Italy to Spain join in.

It is estimated more than 2,000 events were held worldwide across 120 countries and the UK was no exception.

Staged protests were held around Britain including in London, Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge and Brighton – with youngsters calling for an urgent response to tackle climate change, cut emissions and switch to renewable energy.

The day of action was inspired by teen Greta Thunberg, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize after staging weekly protests alone outside the Swedish Government headquarters.

United Nations climate chief Patricia Espinosa said young people were sending a "clear message that nations must significantly increase their efforts to address climate change."