The Surprising Benefits of Garbage Sorting and How to Get Started

If you have heard that the rules around mobile phones and electronic devices in early childhood settings have changed, you are right. If your child attends a childcare centre in NSW, these changes are already in effect.

Here is a plain-English breakdown of what changed, why it happened, and what it means for your family.

Why Did the Laws Change?

The changes were introduced as a child safety measure. In 2025, Australia’s Education Ministers agreed to amend the Education and Care Services National Law to address concerns about the potential for personal devices to be used to capture, store, or transmit images of children in care without authorisation.

The intent is straightforward: children in early learning settings deserve an environment where their privacy and safety are actively protected.

What Changed Nationally

From 27 February 2026, amendments to the national Education and Care Services National Law took effect across Australia. Under these changes, educators and staff who work directly with children are restricted from using personal electronic devices in care settings.

Before this, from 1 September 2025, all early childhood education and care services nationwide were required to have written policies in place addressing the use of digital devices.

What Changed in NSW

NSW moved ahead of the national timeline. The Education and Care Services (Supply, Authorisation and Use of Devices) Order 2025 took effect on 6 November 2025, applying across NSW’s 6,000 or more early learning services, including long day care centres, preschools, and family day care.

Under this order, educators and staff must use service-issued or service-authorised devices rather than their own personal devices when working directly with children.

What Counts as a Personal Device?

The definition is broad. A personal device is any device owned by an individual (not the approved provider) that is capable of capturing, storing, or transmitting an image. This includes:

Mobile phones
Smartwatches
Cameras and tablets
iPads and laptops
Hard drives, USB drives, and memory cards
Wearables such as camera glasses

Who Does the Ban Apply To?

The restrictions apply to anyone working directly with children at a service, including permanent and casual educators, students on placement, volunteers, contractors, and allied health professionals delivering programs on-site.

Parents, carers, and other visitors are not covered by the ban. In NSW, parents and carers remain free to use their personal devices during drop-off, pick-up, centre visits, and events involving their own children. There are also authorised exceptions for essential purposes, including emergencies and health or disability support needs.

What About Screen Time for Children?

These new laws specifically address staff device use, not children’s screen time. Screen time limits for young children are not mandated within childcare regulation at a national level.

The relevant guidance comes from the federal Department of Health and Aged Care’s 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, which recommend no screen time for children under 2 years, and no more than 1 hour per day for children aged 2 to 5 years. These are health guidelines, not regulatory requirements.

What This Means for Your Family

If your child attends a childcare centre in NSW, their service is already required to operate under these rules. Any educator or staff member working directly with your child should not be using a personal device to take photos or videos. Only service-authorised devices should be used for that purpose.

If you have questions about how your centre handles digital devices or image capture, you are well within your rights to ask. Most services will have a written policy in place that covers exactly this.

At Clovel, the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is at the heart of everything we do. If you would like to know more about how we support your child across our centres, we would love to have that conversation with you.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg once said, “I have learned you are never too small to make a difference.” This is an important that concept that we, as parents and caregivers of preschoolers, can begin instilling in the children in our lives.

Teaching children that they have the power to make a real difference in the world around them empowers them to take on additional responsibilities and facilitates empathy. There are many ways that preschoolers can help care for the planet—like planting trees and turning off lights when leaving a room—but one of the easiest ways they can help is with garbage sorting at home.

While it may not sound glamorous, there is much to be learned by sorting the contents of a rubbish bin. Children can hone their sorting skills, dividing the contents into trash, recyclables, and compostable items while learning about the importance of taking the time to do so.

And that’s why we decided to dedicate today’s blog to garbage sorting and how to prepare your child for this planet-saving concept.

Looking for a childcare centre that helps children learn through real-world experiences?

At Clovel Childcare, children are encouraged to explore sustainability, responsibility, and environmental awareness through hands-on learning experiences that build confidence, curiosity, and lifelong positive habits.

Begin with a Book

The concept of recycling can be challenging for younger children to grasp. Having a few books on hand will help your child understand what happens to the trash once it leaves your home and how recycling can help.

If you’re looking for a book that introduces the concept of caring for the planet, you won’t find a better option than The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. This story packs a surprisingly powerful punch as it follows the Lorax who tries to stop deforestation from taking place.

To help children understand what happens to trash once it leaves the home, read What A Waste: Rubbish, Recycling, and Protecting our Planet by Jess French. This book lays out the problems caused by our ever-growing landfills and highlights the ways in which children can help by promoting reuse, recycling, and composting.

Introducing these concepts through picture books helps your child grasp the magnitude of the problem and how they can be part of the solution. Don’t be surprised if they want to start garbage sorting right away.

Create a Recycling Game

Games are a great way to help children remember which items go in the trash, which can be recycled, and which are destined for the compost pile.

This recycling activity by Happy Hooligans includes free printables you can use to create labeled jars and picture pieces of different types of garbage. Children will have fun sorting the pieces into items that are recyclable, compostable, and trash.

Start Sorting in Your Own Home

The best place to start the sorting process is right in your own home. You may already have a regular trash bin and a recycling bin in your home. Adding a compost canister will give you a place to store food scraps and items that can be added to your compost pile.

You may start by going through your trash bin together to see if there is anything inside that belongs in one of the other bins. Once your child understands what goes where, they can then place items in the appropriate bin moving forward. Your child can be responsible for then dumping the recycling into the larger outdoor bin (if you have one) and dumping the compost container onto your pile at the end of each day. This site is a great resource for those interested in starting an outdoor compost pile. If you don’t have the space for an outdoor compost pile, you can still show your child the magic of transforming food scraps into soil by creating a homemade composter on a smaller scale.

Take a Tour

Many recycling centers offer tours to explain their process to the public. Consider booking a tour for your child and their friends so they can see exactly what goes at a recycling plant.

Take a Hike

Preschoolers love scavenger hunts, so why not take them on one that focuses on recycling? Head to your local park or beach and, as you hike, keep an eye out for wrappers, food items, and cans that have been left outdoors.

Scavenger hunts are always more fun with a printable sheet to check off. We love this set from Hands on Learning with Life. We love that they offer a word list and a picture option for eco-warriors who aren’t yet reading.

Once your scavenger hunt is complete, take the findings and sort them at home into your own bins.

There really is no such thing as too young when it comes to caring for the world in which we live. By broaching the subject now, children will enter school with a firm grasp on the importance of keeping our planet healthy and well, and they’ll be able to share with friends that they, too, have the power to make a real difference.

Lyn Connolly

Founder and Company Director

Lyn Connolly is the Founder and Company Director of Clovel Childcare & Early Learning Centres, a family‑owned group of eight centres across Western Sydney established from her first service at Merrylands. Active in early childhood education since 1977, she also serves as President of the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW, representing providers in state and federal consultations, media, and public hearings.

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