Local programs seize on growing interests among Gen Alpha children about recycling, sustainability

This study found that children and teens can play a crucial role in growing local and national recycling rates by recycling at home and at school, and influencing both their peers and parents.

“The younger they are, the easier it is to turn the tide,” said Lorelei Hagans-Floyd, program specialist at the Montgomery County Environmental Learning Center. “As they’re learning how to tie their shoes, as they’re learning how to brush their teeth, incorporate the daily small habits.”

The learning center is hosting a competition that explores topics like recycling and water conservation. The Environmental Calendar Contest encourages Montgomery County students in grades K-12 to use their creativity to encourage others to increase their recycling habits.

Students have until Sept. 30 to enter an original, hand-drawn artwork for a chance to get featured and win prizes for themselves and their schools. Submissions, which should be sent to Montgomery County Environmental Services at 2600 Sandridge Dr., Moraine, Ohio 45439, should tie into one of this year’s themes: “Away is Somewhere” and “Reimagine Water.”

The “Reimagine Water” theme challenges students to imagine a day without water. And “Away is Somewhere” is a new campaign through the Montgomery County Environmental Learning Center that aims to make students question what happens when they throw something away.

“When we have these contests, we circle around what’s going on in our community,” she said. “It’s giving them the mindset that when you throw something away, you just can’t forget about it. It’s going somewhere, and it’s having an effect on our environment.”

Hagans-Floyd said any household can start incorporating more sustainable habits into their daily routines, and it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach. She suggests starting with reducing food waste and finding ways to reuse common household items instead of tossing them in waste bins.

Winners of the calendar contest will be featured at a ceremony later this year at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery.