How to get my parents to recycle?

Question

My parents do not care about global warming but i do and iam trying my best to get them to recycle a lot of things but they seem to not care at all. What should i do?

Answer 1

Here's what works for us:

1) Have a second trash can right next to the trash can for trash in your KITCHEN (where most things are probably thrown away). As they're moving to the trash can, it will be easy to just throw it in the recycling, because it's right there. (We actually have a third for compost--but go figure.)

2) Scold them when you're throwing something in the trash and find a recyclable in the trash can. But don't be too severe, just mention it.

3) Deal with the recycling yourself. They have less trash to take out, so it's a good deal for them.

4) If you're too young to drive, and recycling is not picked up in your neighborhood, you might want to consider keeping a big trash can or tub outside to accumulate recycling in, that way you only have to convince someone to take you to the recycling center once every couple of weeks and not every other day. A can crusher is also nice if you drink coke so that the cans take up much less space. Boxes should have the other end opened so that they can easily be flattened and take up less space. YOU can do that when moving from the small to big recycling cans. Also, other than newspaper, I'd say sort it at the center. (If you get the newspaper, I would say have a separate place to recycle it in the home. (Or maybe you could start with just newspaper, and once they have that down, add the other stuff.)

Also, it wouldn't hurt to bribe them when asking them to take you to a center. If it takes them 30 minutes, then that's 30 minutes of their time. You owe them a dish-washing session or a couple of loads of laundry or something to make up for their (perceived) wasted time.

Personally, I would say your goal is for them to have a change in habit, because that's really all it is. If you develop a system that makes their lives easier, they'll do it. But if your system makes their lives harder, they probably won't. Also, if it becomes enough of a habit, they'll keep it up after you're grown and gone. (Wouldn't that be nice!)

Answer 2

People who don't care are rarely persuaded by facts. I personally believe we should recycle everything we can, but if you focus more on reduce then there is a lot less to recycle. The majority of our waste is food packaging. If you eat a diet that has more real foods like meats, vegetables and whole grains you can dramatically reduce the amount of packaging you bring home. About the only argument that may be effective is land use. Find out from you local landfill how many more years they are projected to accept trash and if they have located the next location for expansion or new landfill. Chances are very good if the landfill has been in use for a while you have less than 10 years and the chance of an ugly unusable piece of land being anywhere near is slim. So, the new landfill will either destroy something beautiful or your parents will be paying huge fees to have the waste taken a great distance. My favorite quote if from Helen Keller “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”

Answer 3

Maybe you should consider that citing Global Warming WEAKENS your case. Your parents have had environmentalists urging them to recycle for DECADES before GW became the new fad. If they weren't convinced before, then they are likely going to think that folks are just inventing a new excuse for getting them to do the same thing.

How about this:
Tell them that it means SO much to you that they make this small effort to help the environment, and that you PROMISE that if they give you the benefit of doubt and try this, that YOU will give them the benefit of doubt and comply with whatever they ask of you (schoolwork, chores, cellphone/internet/tv/car use, curfew, etc) no questions asked...even if they can't give you a reason or you don't agree with their reasons.

Follow through on that promise...

In the big picture, your parents must KNOW that recycling, energy conservation, etc is the RIGHT THING to do for the planet you all share. And you should know that trusting your parents to make the right decisions in your upbringing is also the right thing. They might grant you the benefit of doubt based on your mature understanding of this.

If you are already an independent adult, this advice won't help you as much. But you can still use it to illustrate all the times you trusted their advice even when you doubted them and things turned out well, OR the times that you went against their advice and things didn't turn out well. Being able to admit your own mistakes will make it easier for your parents to accept the possibility that they might be making one.

Overall, just remember that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar...

Answer 4

Hi, How great it is you are trying to get your parents to recycle, i dont know how old you are but if you get the recycled things collected try to get some strong boxes and keep them tidy and ask your parents to just collect the tins and newspaper es daily and soon i think they will start to use the boxes. You have to make shure they get sorted every day as your parents wont have the excuse to bin them if you keep everything tidy. When you have trained them on these first 2 boxes add another for plastic and continue to add more boxes. Regards Eileen.

Answer 5

you do the best you can to recycle...and hopefully they will see how easy it is and notice the benefits. buy another trashcan for the kitchen and label one "trash" and label the other "recycleable". that makes it very convenient for them so they can't give you any excuses! =) then maybe you can recycle some cans and plastic bottles and show them the profit you made. even though that's not your motive for recycling, the extra cash may appeal to them and get them in the spirit. and last, maybe you can try to find some articles on global warming that they could read to bring them awareness! i hope you find something that works, and i thank you for your concern and efforts! good luck!!!

Answer 6

I personally think I would give them a guilt trip by suggesting to them that you will be here long after them, and you and possible your children will have to suffer the affects of global warming later on in life.

Why people refuse to recycle is madness to me and just darn right lazyness.

Answer 7

Yes, you can start with it yourself!

I just read about this website on the Wall Street Journal: Carbon Diet Plan. It is an application that can put us on a 'carbon diet'. As an individual and friends, we can make an impact on global warming 1 lb at a time.

http://www.CarbonDietPlan.com

Answer 8

Ask them to explain their ignorance and why they don't care. You take the initiative and recycle the things that can be recycled and maybe if they see how important it is to you then they will smarten up.

Answer 9

Trick them into reading a article about how dangerous Global warming can be

Answer 10

show them the money that can be saved by recycling plastic and aluminum(induce them by greed). have them spend a day in vegas this week(temperatures soaring to 117) or strike fear in them by showing them dried up lake beds. tell them gasoline will jump to $6 a gallon soon and make them buy a prius(toyota is trying to make the 2008 version do 100 miles to the gallon!) and let them know to write their local congress about alternative bio-fuels unless of course they want to continue supporting terrorism by consuming petroleum?