One way that my sister and I beat the summer heat when we were little was to cool off in the kiddie pool in the back yard. I remember the feeling of never wanting to come out — even when I got “prune fingers”! Once in a while, our cousin came along to join in the fun. It was a great way to spend the day and to cool off on those sunny days.
I suspect that Grandma used to dread the days when we used gallons of water to fill the pool. When the water got dirty, we just tipped it out into her yard. Of course, we didn’t use any chemicals, but still, we wasted a lot of water. And when we emptied the pool, it really saturated her garden.
We never thought about it when we were kids, but a kiddie pool, though lots of fun, is not very sustainable. Back then we didn’t worry much about plastics, but now I realize that these large plastic pools usually wind up in landfills.
So, how do you make this fun childhood experience more eco-friendly? You can start by choosing a kiddie pool that uses nontoxic plastics (like EverEarth). And consider how full you want it to be — does it need to be filled to the brim? Maybe invite an additional child to maximize the use of the water or bring an inflatable pool to the lake or beach and fill it with lakewater or seawater.
Speaking of the water, can some of it be reused? Use it to water a thirsty flower garden, veggie garden, or street trees.
Lastly, there is the problem of disposal. What do we do when the kids have outgrown the pool? I looked up “kiddie pool reuses” and I found a lot of cool ideas. You can turn it into a little raised bed garden or make a mini-greenhouse by clustering pots of plants in the pool and draping clear plastic over the top. You could even convert it into a giant cooler for food and drinks at outdoor parties.
If you still have kids at home, you can repurpose kiddie pools as sandboxes, ball pits, or a cage for small pets like guinea pigs. And when it’s too broken to reuse, check with your local recycling program before you throw it out. There may be a place you can drop it off for recycling.