Recycling: The Natural Choice
Environmental Education Lesson
Edwards YMCA Camp and Conference Center
Summary
Students will learn what the three R's mean (no, not reading, writing and arithmetic) and their importance on conservation. They will roll logs to examine various natural recyclers and visit our compost bins to see different methods for composting waste. This visit will include an opportunity to dig around the worm bin or add materials to the compost bins.
Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson students will be able to:
- Name and understand the order of the three R's.
- See and be able to list three natural recyclers.
- List three methods for composting.
- List at least three ways to help conserve natural resources.
Materials
- Two big buckets (1/2 full of water)
- Two small buckets
- Bag of trash
- Cans (about 15 cans)
- Milk tops
- Cones (8)
- Hula Hoops (2)
- Bug boxes (15)
- Large thermometer (for compost)
- Laminated cards and sheets for activities
Background
- More than 60% of what we throw away still has value and could be reused recycled or composted.
- Nearly $1 out of every $10 spent for food and beverages in the United States pays for packaging.
- In industrial countries, packaging contributes about 30% of the weight and 50% of the volume of household waste.
- Each individual produces from 4 to 5 pounds of trash a day. Of that trash 39% is paper, 9% plastic, 10% other, 8% metal, 14% yard waste, 7% food waste, and 6% glass, 7% wood. (1995)
- In 1980, Illinois had 600 active landfills. In 1991, only 110 remain.
- In Illinois 85% of solid waste goes to landfills, 2% is composted, 2% incinerated (burned) and 11% is recycled. (1991)
- In Wisconsin, there are 46 municipal landfills and 41 industrial landfills. (1998)
- In Wisconsin, 4 million tons of trash and recyclables are generated each year. That is enough to fill a typical city street over 4 feet deep with trash (curb to curb) for 500 miles.
- Each year 160 million tons of garbage is thrown away in the United States. That is enough to fill a fleet of garbage trucks encircling the Earth six times.
- Recycling 120 pounds of paper saves one tree from being cut down.
- Using recycled waste paper to manufacture new paper uses at least one-third less energy compared to making paper from the wood pulp of trees.
Introduction (3 Minutes)
- Explain to the students what the class is about and what they will be doing.
- Discuss what is meant by the term "trash." (trash = material considered worthless, unnecessary or offensive that is usually thrown away.)
- Discuss where the trash goes after leaving our homes. (landfills)
- List some of the facts about trash and landfills. (See the background section)
Warm-up Activities (The Three R's)(10 - 15 Minutes)
- Ask the students to list the three R's. (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)
- Discuss what each one means and its importance.
- Reduce - To lessen in extent, amount, number or other quantity. If we do not use as much packaging or eat what we take, then the amount of raw materials needed will decrease. This is the first step in eliminating waste.
- Reuse - To extend the life of an item by using it again. If we find other uses for already existing objects such as storage bins from coffee cans or repair something that may be broken such as a t.v., then we will not need to purchase Rubbermaid containers or buy a new t.v.. This is the second step in eliminating waste.
- Recycle - To collect and process materials so that they may be used again. This helps to prevent new materials from being needed. For example if we recycle aluminum, then no new aluminum will need to be made. This is the third step in eliminating waste. This step does require excess energy. For example to recycle aluminum, the old cans need to be gathered, melted down and reshaped. This is basically a last resort. If we recycle, then the landfills will not get so large, but energy will still be used.
- (Activity) That is a bunch of garbage!
- Bring out the bag of trash.
- Have the students guess how many pounds of trash that every human produces in a day. (four to five pounds)
- Ask the students what could be done with the materials so that there is less waste. (Reduce - don't use paper plates, buy in bulk, use Tupperware; Reuse - use containers to grow plants, use milk jug as a bird feeder, use big containers with lids as storage bins; Recycle - paper, steel, some plastics, aluminum, glass and food waste.)
Activity
Relay Recycling Race(15 Minutes)
- Set-up the game prior to the class. Use the game map for set-up.
- Divide the group in half (one team will become the throw away community and one will be the recycling community - Don't tell the teams which community they represent.)
- Explain how aluminum cans are made. (Aluminum is made from bauxite, which is a non-renewable resource. The bauxite is mined, shipped to the U.S., and transported to the factory where the aluminum is separated from the bauxite. It is then poured into flat sheets and later shaped into cans.)
- The communities (the two teams) will go through four stations:
(a) Earth's resources
(b) Manufacturer
(c) Consumer
(d) Garbage
- Team one (throw away community) will go through the following steps for the relay:
(a) Pick up a milk top, which represents bauxite (from which aluminum is made)
from the Earth's resources station.
(b) Place the top at the Manufacturing station and pick up a can, which they need to fill with water at that station.
(c) Take the can of water to the Consumer station and pour it into the bucket.
(d) Go to the Garbage section and throw away the can.
(e) Return to the starting line and tag the next person's hand.
- Team two (recycling community) will go through the following steps for the relay:
(a) Pick up a milk top, which represents bauxite (from which aluminum is made)
from the Earth's resources station.
(b) Place the top at the Manufacturing station and pick up a can, which they need to
fill with water at that station.
(c) Take the can of water to the Consumer station and pour it into the bucket.
(d) Take the can to the next person in line and they go directly to the Manufacturer
station. (This group can always bypass the Garbage station and after the first
time they bypass the Earth's resource station.
- The first team to fill the consumer bucket wins.
- To add an extra twist - have a limited number of cans for each group. In other words, the throwaway community (team one) will only have so many chances to fill the bucket.
Scavenger Hunt (travel time)
- Discuss how nature decomposes its "waste" to be used again for soil. (Decomposition - the break down of plants and animals into basic elements such as carbon, nitrogen, iron, cobalt, manganese, boron, zinc, copper and potassium; to rot. An example - a tree falls over and absorbs moisture. Insects and microorganisms enter the tree and begin breaking it down. It then begins to crumble. Eventually, the tree will once again become soil with many vital nutrients to help new trees grow.)
- Do a scavenger hunt outside looking for 5 decomposable objects and 5 non-decomposable objects from the ground (This can be done on the way to the forest, where you will do the next activity).
Nature's Recyclers (10 - 15 Minutes)
- Discuss some of nature's recyclers. (mushrooms, insects, worms, etc.)
- Teach the students how to roll logs.
- Explain that logs should be rolled towards oneself.
- Look to see if there are any insects or other critters.
- When finished, return the log to the same spot, very carefully.
- Discuss/explain what "composting" means. (Composting - accelerated breakdown of grass clippings, leaves, paper, and food waste in the presence of oxygen by bacteria and fungi to produce a soil-like substance known as compost.)
Compost Bins (10 - 15 Minutes)
- Hike the students to the compost bins located near the upper parking lot. (Along the way, you can keep looking for mushrooms or examples of other decomposers.)
- Discuss how the compost bins work and how they lower the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. (Compost bins work by providing ideal conditions for various micro and macro organisms to survive. These organisms help to break down the "material" by "eating" the substances. There are certain factors, which affect the speed of composting. Food {carbon and nitrogen levels}, air and water are the main factors. Surface area/particle size, volume and temperature also play a role in composting. Scientists say the carbon/nitrogen ratio should range between 25:1 and 30:1, while the temperature should range between 90oF and 140oF. The piles need to be kept moist {about as moist as a wrung out sponge} and they need to be aerated. This can be done by turning the "material" with a pitchfork or turning the tumbler bin. Composting can take as short as two months or as long as two years, depending on the conditions of the compost pile, its size and materials being composted.)
- Have the students help turn the bins and mix up the compost.
- If there are food scraps, add them to the bin and cover with other compost.
- Show the students the worm bin and explain how, just as in nature, worms can work to recycle one's personal waste.
- Let the students dig through the worm bin in search of worms.
- Pull out several worms so students can see them up close.
- If the worms have not been fed recently, allow the students to put some food in the bin.
- Discuss what can go in each bin (compost and worm) to be recycled.
- Worm bin
- Newspaper
- Food
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Coffee and tea
- Crushed egg shells
- Compost Bin
- Yard clippings
- Leaves
- Wood chips
- Food (as with worm bin)
- Do not compost the following
- Meat and fat
- Dairy products
- Oils
Wrap-up (10 - 15 Minutes)
- Discuss what conservation means and why it is important. (Conservation - the wise use of natural resources to minimize loss and waste.)
- Discuss various ways to help conserve and eliminate waste. (See Appendix A)
- Activity) Can it be recycled?
- Divide the group in half.
- Mark out a playing field with the cones.
- Have half of the group on one side and the second half on the other side.
- In the middle scatter the laminated playing cards.
- Have the groups line up in a single file line.
- Ask the groups a question about recycling (see attached sheet for questions.)
- The first person in each line runs to the middle and looks for a card that answers the question. They then run back to their side of the field.
- Discuss the answers after each round.
- Review the three R's and various natural recyclers.
- Review different means of composting.
Don't let the world hold you back (Rainy day activity for the wrap up.)
- Have the students sit in a circle.
- Ask a series of questions relating to the students' habits of conservation i.e. Move four spaces to the left if you turn the water off when brushing your teeth. (See the attached sheet for suggested questions.)
- The students move if they can answer yes to the question.
- If someone is in the seat they move to, then they stand in front of them.
- If someone is standing in front of you, then you may not move, even if you can answer yes to the question.
- The object is to get around the circle and back to your seat or past your seat. The game ends, when the one student reaches his/her seat again.
Pre-Activities
Make spore prints
Vocabulary words
How many chips in a chocolate chip cookie
Model clay - renewable/ non-renewable resources
Post-Activities
Make a class worm bin or personal worm bins
Make bird feeders from plastic milk bottles or other reusable materials
Make recycled paper
Build a terrarium from a 2-litre bottle
Investigate what lives in compost
Resources
Recycling Coordinator
Bureau of Solid Waste Management
WI DNR
PO Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707
608-267-7565
· They have various activities, study guides and related facts concerning recycling.
Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Center
UW Madison
610 Langdon St. Rm. 529
Madison, WI 53703
608-262-0385
· They have materials concerning composting including different composting bin plans.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Albany Co., N.Y.
518-765-3500
RW Goes to School: A teacher's guide (a guide about worm bins or vermicomposting)
WI DNR
Pub CE-244 98
608-262-0385
Vermicomposting: A teacher's guide for composting with worms
WI DNR (distributed by)
4-H Leader's/Teacher's Guide of New York
608-262-0385
Composting: Waste to Resources by Jean F. Bonhotal
Web Pages:
The Burrow http://gnv.fdt.net/~windle/
New Jersey Online's Yucky Site www.nj.com/yucky/worm/index.html
Worm Woman www.wormwoman.com/bio.html
Cornell Composting www.cals.cornell.edu/dept/compost/
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