Can I Recycle This? A Kid's Guide to Better Recycling and How to Reduce Single-Use Plastics

by Jennie Romer, Christie Young (Illustrations)

You probably know that you're supposed to recycle--but you may not know how or why. This adaptation of the successful adult book, written by a lawyer and sustainability expert, will answer all your recycling questions.

Can I Recycle This? skips over preaching and platitudes common to books on environmentalism and instead gets right to the real information that kids need.

It takes readers through every step of the recycling process, from the moment that they throw an item in the bin to its journey through the recycling machinery and on its way to its new life. It gives kids the answers and resources they need to be far better informed than their parents, many of whom were raised on the un-nuanced and often inaccurate "recycling solves everything" mantra. It shows how sorting concepts that kids already know and practice can be applied to waste. And it empowers even early elementary school children to make smarter choices about consumption and disposal, using ideas and examples that they can understand.

Adapted from the adult nonfiction book of the same title, Can I Recycle This? is a both fun and educational book to teach the littlest readers the hows and whys of recycling, and to introduce them to the responsibility that we all have to protect the environment.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 14, 2023

About the author

Jennie Romer, Esq. is a lawyer, a sustainability expert, and author of Can I Recycle This?, an illustrated guide to better recycling and how to reduce single-use plastics. As a Legal Associate at the Surfrider Foundation’s Plastic Pollution Initiative, Jennie leads policy efforts and litigation efforts to reduce plastic pollution across the United States.

Jennie has more than a decade of experience as an attorney and sustainability consultant fighting for effective legislation on waste reduction and single-use plastics. Her knowledge is routinely sought by legislators, environmental nonprofits, and businesses across the U.S. Her work and expertise has been featured in National Geographic, The New York Times, Vice, Politico, along with other outlets.

Jennie is a native of California who earned her JD from Golden Gate University School of Law. She also holds bachelor’s degrees in Zoology, Environmental Studies, and Black Studies from UC Santa Barbara. In addition, Jennie is a member of the state bars of California and New York.

After law school, Jennie was an associate attorney in San Francisco and volunteered her time with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to help re-draft San Francisco's original plastic bag ban. Ready to take on a bigger challenge, Jennie then moved to New York City and served as pro bono counsel to City Council Members on the plastic bag bill and coordinated a coalition in support of that bill. Although NYC's bag law was preempted by the state legislature, the New York State legislature later passed a statewide bag law from this early momentum.

By immersing herself in the solid waste and plastic reduction world related to plastic bag laws Jennie gained expertise in recycling and waste systems. She felt it was vital to share her knowledge with the wider public, particularly to help them understand the issues relating to recycling, and how to fix it. Soon after the passage of NYC’s bag law, Jennie began writing her book: Can I Recycle This?

In 2019, Jennie joined the staff of the Surfrider Foundation, where she continues to contribute her plastic pollution policy expertise to Surfrider’s nationwide network. Jennie is based in New York, where she lives with her husband and family.

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as an adult reader for the AR Diamond Book Award. This book was a very nice little introduction to recycling. The book details all of the items that can/can't be recycled and what happens after you drop off your recycling.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bright, colorful illustrations and straightforward text make this appropriate for a wide age range, with helpful information about how recycling works, why it is important, and how we can reduce our plastic consumption to have less to recycle to begin with. This helps demystify the concept for kids and their caregivers, and although the author repeatedly notes that recycling policies differ based on location, she shares a simple yes-or-no guide to some of the items that people tend to be most confused about.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars (I really liked it)

This was an informative yet simple explanation of recycling. It was engaging and presented information in a way that is easy for the reader to understand. I want to make my husband read the adult version as I'm constantly seeing him wish-cycle. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the illustrations in the book. They are in the style of kids' crayon drawings and I feel like it might be too childish. I can't decide. Regardless, I'd love to purchase this book for my school library.

[Chandler Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is informative and the information in it is, of course, important but choices were made that don't make it the best book in my opinion. It's all about font and illustrations. The combination of the two give off independently published vibes (and not all independently published books are bad) - I read this as an ebook and I feel like I would get a paperback pamphlet if I got a physical copy. There's got to be something better for this subject.

[Emma Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explains why we should recycle, what can be recycled, and how recycled materials are processed. The book goes into detail about why certain items can't be recycled, even if it seems like they should. This book could be used in a unit on recycling. The book feels pretty long, especially for the age range of 4-8, so I would likely split the book into sections.

[Jj · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and fun introduction to recycling for younger kids, as well as great info for older kids and even this recycling-enthusiast adult. It exceeded my expectations and I will be recommending this one to lots of folks, young and old.

Thanks to Penguin Young Readers for the review copy!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super helpful and informative book that states the need for recycling and conservation without being overly scary for kids. This is a great book to use as a family/school/classroom/community if starting a renewed push for better recycling and single-use plastic reduction!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our brand-new school does not recycle. We have recycling BINS, but the custodians just tip them into the trash with the rest of the garbage. And yet we won a "green" award? Anyways, if any classes decide to do PBL re: recycling, this is an ok intro.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5
Great book about recycling for children! Easy for children to understand and surprisingly interactive. There were important aspects of recycling that were addressed in this book that I didn't even know/consider.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of recycling for families.

[Lupe Ramirez]

New vocabulary words to learn about recycling

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For more bookish thoughts, visit my blog: Craft-Cycle

3.5 stars

A nice kid-friendly guide that breaks down the basics of recycling. It includes some of the issues with landfills, why we recycle, the process of recycling, its limitations, and the importance of limiting single-use items.

Simple, bright illustrations that pair well with the points made. I especially enjoyed the section on how materials are sorted at recycling facilities. This includes details about the different machines and technology used and explains why some items shouldn't go in curbside bins (too small, damages machinery, dangerous to workers).

While many of the recycling procedures vary by place, Romer provides nice basic guidelines on how to think about the things we recycle and throw away.

The backmatter contains an Author's Note about writing the book, a list of further resources such as organizations, books, and films, and an index of terms used.

A nice guide that can span a variety of age groups. Informative and an interesting look into the world of recycling.