**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with Recycle Week. Recycle Week is an annual event in the UK, organised by WRAP under the Recycle Now campaign. For official information and to learn more about recycling, please visit the Recycle Now website (www.recyclenow.com/recycle-week).
Understanding Recycle Week in EYFS & KS1
Let's recycle! ♻️ Recycle Week is an annual event in the UK that typically takes place in 2025 between 22nd and 28th September. Organised by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) under their Recycle Now campaign, it's the nation's biggest annual recycling campaign. The week aims to encourage people to recycle more often and more effectively, by raising awareness of the benefits of recycling and addressing common misconceptions. Each year often has a specific theme, highlighting different aspects of recycling.
For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this week provides a crucial and highly practical theme for exploring environmental responsibility, sustainability, and caring for our planet. It's about teaching children about waste, understanding where things go, and empowering them to make positive choices that protect the Earth. This week offers fantastic planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about ecology and sustainability both tangible and impactful.
Why Is Teaching About Recycling & The Environment Important for Young Children?
Integrating lessons about recycling and environmental care into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) is very important for fostering their environmental awareness, responsible habits, and a sense of global citizenship. During their early years, children are forming their understanding of the world and their place within it, including how to protect nature.
Environmental Stewardship: Learning about waste and recycling helps children understand their impact on the planet and instils a desire to protect natural resources.
Resourcefulness: It teaches them that materials can be reused and repurposed, encouraging creativity and reducing waste.
Practical Skills: Sorting and separating materials for recycling develops classification skills and practical responsibility.
Understanding Consequences: Exploring the effects of litter and pollution (e.g., on Endangered Animals or Ocean life) helps children grasp the importance of their actions.
Active Citizenship: Participating in recycling activities (even symbolically) demonstrates how individuals can contribute to positive change for the environment.
Engaging Recycling & Environment Activities for Recycle Week (0-7 Year Olds)
Make Recycle Week a truly hands-on and impactful experience with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on discovery, sorting, and protecting our planet! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by the extensive range of printable resources we have available, including those on our recycling and the environment pages.
Here's some inspiration for sparking eco-consciousness in your setting: (Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)
Recycling Sort: Provide a collection of clean, safe recyclable materials (paper, plastic bottles, cardboard, metal cans) and labelled recycling bins. Have children sort the items into the correct bins. Use our ‘Sort recycling cards activity/game’ for a structured activity.
Recycling Centre Role-Play: Set up a "Recycling Centre" or "Rubbish Sorting Station" dramatic play area using our ‘Recycling Centre dramatic role-play pack’. Children can take on roles of collectors, sorters, or customers bringing in recycling.
Junk Modelling Challenge: Provide a variety of clean "junk" materials (cardboard boxes, toilet roll tubes, plastic bottles, fabric scraps) and challenge children to ‘Junk modelling challenge - design a...sheets’. This promotes creative reuse.
"Find and Draw" Recyclable Materials: Go on a "material hunt" around the setting or outdoor area to find items made of different recyclable materials. Use our Find and Draw sheets for fabric, metal, paper/card, plastic and wood.
Vocabulary Building: Introduce key recycling vocabulary. Use our ‘Recyclable materials - word cards’.
Recycling Symbol Activities: Help children recognise the recycling symbol. Use ‘Recycling symbol - fine motor control sheets’, and ‘Recycling symbol - multimats’ for tracing, drawing, or creating the symbol.
"Don't Use Plastic Bags!" Campaign: Discuss the impact of plastic bags on the environment. Use 'Don't use plastic bags!' poster’ and 'Don't use plastic bags!' colouring poster’. You could also ‘Design a bag for life’.
Cut, Sort and Stick Activity: Our ‘Cut, Sort and Stick recycling activity’ provides a hands-on way to practice sorting different types of waste.
Story Time: Environmental Books: Read age-appropriate books about recycling, pollution, or caring for the Earth.
Link to Wildlife & Habitats: Discuss how recycling helps protect animals and their homes. Explore topics like Endangered Animals, Ocean, Beach school, Forest School, Wildlife, Plants, and Habitats.
Water Conservation: Link recycling to broader environmental themes, such as saving water (see our Water page).
Gardening & Plants: Connect to how healthy soil and environment supports plant growth (see our Gardening and Plants pages).
These activities offer great inspiration for making Recycle Week a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering environmental awareness, sustainability, and a sense of responsibility for our planet.
To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.
Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘Recycle Week’
Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes
More Early Years Event Pages for September
Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children
Browse our ‘Special Dates Calendar’ page using the link below. You’ll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!
SEARCH ‘LITTLE OWLS Resources’ USING THE FOLLOWING MENU BUTTONS…
Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'Recycle Week'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by WRAP or the Recycle Now campaign, which organise this event. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this week. For official information and to learn more about recycling, please visit the Recycle Now website at www.recyclenow.com/recycle-week.
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