Actor Robert Redford was once quoted as saying: "I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?"

But why be on the defensive when you can be proactive? And if research is to be believed, the majority of eating and lifestyle habits are formed in children by the age of 10.

So, pay attention all parents — the responsibility for teaching your children the importance of recycling and caring for the environment lies with you. Adopting environmentally friendly habits and passing on these life lessons will ensure a sustainable environment for their future and the future is now!

As natural as brushing their teeth

In an ideal society, recycling should be as natural to your children as brushing their teeth, packing away their toys and putting on their seatbelts when climbing into a car. Not because they are radical environmentalists or the offspring of crazy "tree huggers", but rather simply because it’s all they know.

From a tender age, we teach our children to say please and thank you, we tell them not to talk to strangers, not to litter and so many other small yet essential life skills that we don't even consciously think about. Why should lessons in environmental protection and recycling be any different?

Fun but effective

The approach employed is personal but to be effective it should be fun. Scare tactics might work when demanding a clean up campaign for a messy bedroom, but will probably prove less effective in starting up a recycling regime.

The Glass Recycling Company, South Africa's national organisation responsible for facilitating the recovery of waste glass for recycling, is working hard at mobilising citizens to improve glass recycling quotas.

To this end, since its inception, it's successfully dented its target, by increasing the recovery of waste glass from 148 000 tons to more than 204 000 tons per year.

This is effectively an increase in recovery of just over a 38 percent over a two-year period. But this growth trend needs to be sustained and grown further still and company is offering advice to help facilitate this process.

Knowledge is empowering so begin by educating your children regarding the potentially negative impact that glass has on our environment and how they can help make a difference by reusing and recycling it. Due to the fact that it is not bio-degradable, glass can cause:

• Unsightly litter


• Injury to human and animal life


• Pollution of natural water sources


• A key factor in the starting veld fires


• It ends up in landfills which has a negative effect on our soil, vegetation and underground water systems.

Tips and hints:

• Recycle all glass containers — not just beverage bottles. Containers, which hold food, medicine, and household items and are made of glass are all recyclable.
• Reuse old containers. They are great for storing paint, crayons, buttons and arts and crafts tools such as paint brushes, rulers and much more.
• Explain to your children what is recyclable and what is not. For example, light bulbs and cookware such as 'pyrex' are not recyclable. They have different properties that can contaminate a recyclable load of glass.
• Plan your trips to the bottle banks to fit into your daily schedule — it will become part of your plan rather than a chore! Take your children along with you and show them how and where to put their bottles.
• In South Africa, it is not necessary to wash glass before placing it into Glass Banks in addition to this, we don't need to separate different coloured glass into separate banks.
• Encourage your child's school to participate or start a recycling programme of their own.

To date, 412 glass banks have been installed at 303 different sites for your convenience, with an additional 550 banks allocated for distribution over the coming months.

There's no doubt that children are influenced by their peers. By making recycling a way of life and making it as habitual as the other lessons we teach them, before we know it, we will have a generation of recyclers that work together to build a sustainable environment. In this way, the balance in society will shift from a generation of non-recyclers to a generation of recyclers that respect our planet.

To find more about a Glass Bank in your area, visit the Glass Recycling Company Website — www.theglassrecyclingcompany.co.za