Why it's important to put the right things in the right bins

Have you been wondering how you can teach your children to sort correctly with the 3-bin service? We’ve created the Binz Adventures, an education and activity book designed to help guide you on your journey of at-home waste education. It includes easy-to-read stories and fun activities that you can safely do at home.

The Circular Economy - Why sometimes it's good to go 'round in circles

Have you heard of the ‘Circular Economy’? It’s the fancy name we give to making something new from something old and then using it again and again. That means it can go around and around being used again and again, just like a circle! We have a few examples below explaining the ways you’re involved in the circular economy.

It’s good for the environment when this happens because if things can’t go into the circular economy, they have to go into something called ‘landfill’ instead, but we’ll let our red-lidded bin explain that to you. Keeping as many things as possible in the circular economy makes the Earth happy.

So, what can you do to help our planet? It’s easy! Follow the instructions from The Binz below, and you’ll be a Waste Sorting Champion in no time! 

Green-lidded FOGO bin

I have a green lid, and my favourite things are vegetable and fruit scraps, leftover food like toast, pizza, steak, and things that come from the garden like weeds, grass, and leaves.

The things I like are ‘organic’, which means they turn brown after a while because they break down over time and can be turned into something called ‘compost’.

What’s compost? It’s an extra special dirt that helps plants grow. It’s perfect for gardens, parks and even farms! 

Yellow-lidded recycling bin

I have a yellow lid, and my favourite things are glass bottles and jars, empty food tubs (like the ones from your yoghurt and butter), paper, cardboard  and plastic bottles. I’m not as easy going as the other bins, and I like things that had food in them to be rinsed before being given to me.

When the right things are put in me, it helps be do my job properly, like turn glass jars and bottles into roads. I have a pretty cool job, don’t you think? 

Red-lidded residual bin

I have a red lid, and you can give me all of the things that can’t go in my friends, the yellow and green bins. Sometimes, some things we use can’t go into the circular economy, and these are the things that I look after.

What goes in me ends up being buried under the ground in ‘landfill’. The best thing you can do to help me is to make sure you put recyclables in the yellow bin and food scraps and things from the garden in the green bin.

If you can, try and cut down on using things that can’t be recycled (even though I know that can be hard sometimes!). 

More activities and templates

The Circular Economy of Kitchen Scraps (template)

Download The Binz Adventures Guide

Download Children's Sticker Chart

Download Children's Sticker Sheet

Download The Binz Adventures Posters