Nerf Darts go with Nerf Blasters. Nerf Blasters are popular toys in my neighborhood as a holiday present.
Nerf Darts are also a common litter item left in the parks and outside areas of my neighborhood. As a result I have quite a collection of usable Nerf Darts. We wait a few days before collecting them in case the child in question comes back to pick them up; however that doesn’t seem to happen much so we end up rescuing them.
I have two recommendations:
- Remind your child(ren) to “leave no trace” and to collect their darts when they are done playing and bring them home. Have them count how many that take out to play with and do a count when they leave the play area.
- Write something on the dart to identify it for your kid(s) with permanent marker. Their name, initials, a fun word, etc. so they know which darts are theirs and pick them up. Permanent markers come in many colors now and you can always borrow one if you don’t have any.
Nerf Darts are made of two parts. A plastic tip (of various styles and colors) and a Styrofoam body, also of various colors. Both the plastic tip and the foam body are plastic, which does not biodegrade. Plastic just breaks down into smaller and smaller plastic bits called microplastics.
In addition to the dart pieces becoming plastic litter that is ground into the ground, the darts and pieces also get swept up into the storm drains and end up in our ponds.
The Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center has agreed to accept the Styrofoam bodies at their Styrofoam station as long as the plastic tips are removed. The broken/pulled off tips are too small for the single-stream recycling sorters and also the hard plastics station bailing process, so they should go in the trash.
Have fun and keep clean. Happy Holidays!
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