Fun with recycling during Trashy Tuesdays

Linsay presses down on her paper so it can dry out and solidify.

What does Mentor Public Library have in common with Oscar the Grouch? (Besides the fact that we—much like the grouch's eyes—never close.)

We both love trash.

Granted, we don't love it for the same reasons. Oscar loves trash because, well, he's a grouch.

We love trash because it gives us a chance to teach kids about recycling and reusing.

Eli helps his recycled paper dry out.

That's why we're teaming with Bonnie Rice from the city of Mentor and Beth Bollas from the Lake County Solid Waste District to have Trashy Tuesdays all summer.

Rice and Bollas will also show children some of the fun ways they can reuse their trash. For example, this week, kids took recycled paper slurry and turned it into sparkly, new construction paper.

Beth and Bonnie are going to have Trashy Tuesday crafts every other Tuesday this summer over at the Read House. They will show kids how to make a wallet, beads and other fun crafts from recyclables.

Sarah makes construction paper out of a bucket of purple slurry.

We hope the kids who come to any of the Trashy Tuesday sessions have a lot of fun, learn something about recycling, and even bring those lessons home to their families

All of the Trashy Tuesday programs are free and open to kids of all ages.

However, we ask that parents register their children beforehand. They can do so by calling Mentor Public Library at (440) 255-8811 ext. 221 or on the library’s website.


For more photos from our first Trashy Tuesday, check out our Facebook page.