A survey of 3,000 UK adults and 1,000 UK children aged 5 to 16 has found that 86 per cent of parents say their child's environmental education has helped change household recycling habits. Around 7 in 10 children have encouraged their family to save electricity (68 per cent) and water (69 per cent).
Children correcting parents
Just over 1 in 5 (21 per cent) parents say their children have corrected them for recycling incorrectly, and 58 per cent of children say they know more about recycling than their parents. Biffa launched the research into the UK's great recycling generation gap to mark Recycle Week, which runs until Sunday.
Almost 1 in 10 children say they can teach adults to look after the environment. The research suggests that lessons learnt at school are increasingly shaping family behaviours.
Young advocates for sustainability
Many parents reported that children now play an active role in household recycling decisions, from identifying which materials can be recycled to challenging wasteful habits and encouraging family members to be more environmentally conscious.
Georgia Gibson, Biffa's Social Value Manager, said: "Never underestimate the pester power of children. What starts in the classroom can quickly make its way into the family home, with children encouraging parents to recycle more, waste less food and make greener choices."
She added: "These findings show that children aren't just learning about sustainability, they're becoming passionate advocates for it. They have the confidence to challenge the adults around them and in doing so, can help turn good intentions into everyday habits."
Scotland's youngest binfluencer
Little Logan Mitchell, from Inverness, Scotland, is typical of the survey findings. He is so diligent at recycling, helping mum Katy change her habits at home, that he has been awarded Scotland's top "binfluencer". The five-year-old is so passionate about recycling that he has also received awards at school and wants to work for Biffa as a bin man when he is older.
The survey also revealed that many people believe older generations are better at upcycling, with 68 per cent saying they were better at making things last, 66 per cent saying they were better at repairing broken items and 65 per cent saying they were better at reusing items in comparison with people today. These figures mirror data mined through 6,000 conversations on Mumsnet, who are partnering with Biffa for Recycle Week.
Household disagreements over recycling
Disagreements over recycling habits are also happening across Britain, with the poll showing that 17 per cent argue over who puts the bins out, with 66 per cent of men likely to put the rubbish out while 66 per cent of women know what can and can't be recycled.
With 27 per cent of families arguing over food being wasted, with 23 per cent disagreeing over rinsing and 29 per cent arguing over someone putting something in the wrong bin.
