(I’m not sure that tag line is working, but I suddenly had a flash of the line Canadian Blood Services uses: It’s in you to give. I find the ads a little creepy, but what a memorable catch phrase!)
Where was I?
Oh right, litter.

Blogged under the title “The Common Good Games,” Kick the Can is mentioned for its social benefits, but if you kick it all the way to a waste bin, then there are environmental benefits too!
We have a rule in our house: If you kick it, you pick it up. This has some funny effects. For one, the kids will actually leap over top of garbage to avoid kicking it, which is entertaining, but, it tells me that they have noticed it.
You can’t be surprised that they avoid it, but what might surprise you is that I let them. Here’s my logic:
I can accept that we are not in fact going to save all of the fishes in the deep blue sea by picking up that one piece of litter, but I am certain each piece of litter my children see has a lasting impact.
They ponder why anyone would throw waste on the ground.
They make sure their own waste is properly disposed of.
They make the link between personal responsibility and the health of the environment.
They understand that there is no “someone” who will take care of it.
There is only us playing Kick the Can, until we happen upon a blue bin.
Hot tip! Stuff a waste bag in your pocket whenever you walk somewhere, like to school, to the park, along a shoreline. You never know what litter you might stumble upon, and, chances are, a waste bin is not far away.
Read more tips, that just might work, here.
Live within limits without limiting life
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