Ready, steady, recycle

Take it further

You could use this activity to kick-start your collection by asking everyone to bring some items to donate.

Why not make battery recycling boxes to run a battery recycling competition within your group or beyond. Get ready for a Scouts UK battery recycling competition in 2025.

Learn more about the importance of recycling batteries thanks to Varta Batteries.

You’ll need

At least one item from each recycling category

Before you begin

Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.

Planning and setting up the activity

Everyone should bring in at least two items that they think can be recycled.
Source some extra items to make sure you have one item from each of the recycling categories. Make sure to include batteries, as many people don't know that batteries can be recycled.
The person running the activity could make signs for each recycling option ahead of time, or have the young people do it as part of the activity.

Get ready to recycle

Split into small teams, and allocate a recycling option to each:

- recycling at home
- recycling centre or collection point
- compost or food waste
- rubbish or non-recyclable
- clothes

Everyone should put their items for recycling in the middle of the space.
One person should stand with the items (this could be the person leading the game). They should hold up one item at a time and say what it is.
One member of each team should hold up the picture that best represents where this item should be thrown away. If there are disputes, the teams can discuss their ideas.
Keep score to see which team has the most correct answers once all the items have been sorted.
Make sure that all the items are properly sorted when taken away.

Reflection

This activity helped you to develop your role in society by understanding how our waste is disposed of. Materials like paper are widely recycled, but some plastics are not. Were there any items that really surprised you that they can be recycled? Batteries for example can be a tricky one as many people don't know they can be recycled, and while they cannot go in the recycling bin at home, it is much better for the environment if you take them to a collection point to be recycled properly. Now you know more about what items can be reused or recycled, what steps can you take to waste less and recycle more? Why is it so important to recycle?

This activity also involved you using practical skills. You had to use your knowledge to decide where different things can be recycled properly. Was there anything that you hadn’t been recycling properly? Did you learn anything new about recycling? Were there any items that were disputed? How could you check what can be recycled?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.