Teach kids all about recycling with our free printable recycle symbol template!
Why Recycle?
Before I dive into recycling statistics and my opinions on the matter, I just want to say one important thing.
God created this beautiful world, and it’s so frustrating to see people destroying it blatantly.
That said, I truly believe there are people out there who don’t litter and try hard to care for the land they are given, but they also don’t necessarily understand the importance of recycling.
Hopefully, starting today, we can change that.
According to Recycle Across America, the recycling level in the US is currently only 21.4%, which is extraordinarily low!
If those levels were to reach 75%, it would be the environmental equivalent of removing 55 million cars from our roads.
That is insane, you guys!
Why would we not want to recycle?
Recycling can preserve what’s left of this once-incredible world and, hopefully, lay the foundation for a better, less-toxic world for future generations.
We can, and should want to, do better!
The Recycle Symbol
While recycling has been something I’ve strongly believed in for years, our recent relocation to the PNW has made me realize just how many people don’t have access to amazing recycling facilities or choose not to recycle at all.
Spending most of my life living in the KC metro area spoiled me a little, you guys.
We had curbside recycling, and our facilities took almost everything!
So, as a person who wanted to do their part, our recycling bin was bursting at the seams each week, and our trash can wasn’t.
That said, the recycling services near our new home are severely lacking.
We have to drive 45 minutes away to recycle glass, and the only type of plastic we can recycle is clear plastic bottles with screw-on lids.
So, needless to say, we are now filling a trash bag every day or 2, and our recycling, while still a lot, is nowhere near what it used to be!
We don’t have curbside pickup, and we have to drive to our local recycling center.
Since it takes so much extra work to recycle around here and the facilities are somewhat lacking, I’ve found that most people simply don’t.
This is NOT good enough, you guys!
While I’m not sure what role I can play in getting better facilities, I’m currently doing what I can to reduce, reuse, and recycle in my own home, and that’s at least a start.
So, if you are ready to teach kids about recycling or simply want to work on doing better yourself, it’s time to understand what the recycling symbol truly stands for and how you can do your best to live by it.
The recycle symbol is basically 3 arrows in a loop pointing to each other to represent the importance of the three Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle.
Minimize your waste, repurpose what you can, and finally, turn your trash into something new by recycling it!
Recycle Symbol Template
Ok, I’m going to be blunt with you guys, this type of template is likely super easy to find online anywhere.
So, while the need may not be huge, I did, however, decide to go ahead and create this for one simple reason.
I wanted to add a recycle symbol template to our growing list of free resources, making this a one-stop shop for all my loyal newsletter friends!
While I don’t think this one was 100% nessicary, I still had fun putting it together for you all!
All that said, I only created this one in a single size, and there is no easy-to-cut outline.
So, needless to say, you will need to get creative with this one!
As you can see in the image above, I cut around the recycle symbol template, leaving a simple white edge, making this a ridiculously quick project.
That said, you can totally cut this out a little closer to the line or cut all three arrows out separately, whatever fits your need is fine, you guys!
Recycle Template Uses
This simple symbol is perfect for using in the classroom or at home for Earth Day!
That said, you can totally use this printable for more than just your once-a-year Earth Day celebration.
Use as a simplistic April coloring page or create a recycling-themed bulletin board in your classroom.
However you choose to use it, you can get your hands on this freebie below!
Free Recycle Symbol PDF
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More Spring Printables
Looking for even more spring printables? I’ve got you!
From the Easter bunny to Arbor Day printables.
You can find tons of free printables and fun activities over on the kid activities page here on Life + Homeschool!
