Child's play

I've been working with a client the last few weeks on an ad campaign that reminds people to recycle their cans and bottles. The strategy we're using is to point out that recycling has become so easy, there's no really no excuse to not do it.

Ironically, my kids have fun recycling when they turn it into more work than it needs to be. Why? Because to them, crushing cans is like a mommy-endorsed form of destruction. And they know I'll praise them for their good teamwork.

AJ, because of height, strength and birth order, gets to claim the role of official crusher. He stands on a small step ladder and smashes the cans using the cruncher we've got mounted on the wall.


His assistant, Sydney, meanwhile keeps the cans coming. And going. She happily hands cans up to AJ...

...and then takes the crushed ones from him and dumps them into the designated bin.

My job in all of this is to give the cans a slight squeeze before Sydney delivers them to her big brother. (They tend to collapse faster for AJ if they've already been dented.) I also stomp flat as many cans as possible during the brief moments when Sydney doesn't need my help. Otherwise this process would take forever.

Of course, once AJ tired of their game, Sydney had to climb the ladder and try smashing a can herself. (She requires a little help with the handle from Mommy. Though I have to be sneaky about it because she insists on "do myself!")

Sydney had so much fun that the next challenge became trying to scrounge up a few more cans to extend the game a little longer. Lucky for her, I found a few empties cluttering the floor on the passenger side of my car. I knew there was a reason I was allowing those cans to accumulate there!