Elizabeth Hellier
LESSON 7: Landfill in a bottle experiment
Age/Stage: Stage 1/ Year 1
Objective: For students to gain a deeper understanding of landfills. Students will be able to understand and test
which materials are biodegradable. They will be able to recognise the importance of decreasing the damaging effects
of methane gas and leachate, which landfill produces. Students will learn the importance of reducing the amount of
rubbish that goes into landfill and identify the benefits of doing so.
Outcomes and indicators: New NSW Science K-10 (incorporating Science and Technology K-6) Syllabus
ST1- 9ES: Identifies ways that people use science in their daily lives to care for the environment and the Earth’s resources.
- Explore ways in which people use science knowledge and skills in their daily lives to care for the environment and use resources
sustainably (ACSHE022, ACSHE035)
ST1-14BE: Describes a range of places and spaces in the local environment and how their purposes influence their design
- Observe ways people use places and spaces in their local environment and for what purposes e.g. a landfills
ST1-12MW: Identifies ways that everyday materials can be physically changed and combined for a particular purpose
- Explores how everyday materials can be physically changed by actions e.g biodegradability of materials
ST2-11LW: Describes ways that science knowledge helps people understand the effect of their actions on the environment and on
the survival of living things
- Investigate the role of living things in a habitat, eg microbes (micro-organisms) in soil
ST2-16P: Describes how products are designed and produced, and the ways people use them
- Explore the ways existing products can be reused and recycled to incorporate environmental considerations.
Values and attitudes:
ST1-1VA: Shows interest in and enthusiasm for science and technology, responding to their curiosity, questions and perceived
needs, wants and opportunities.
ST1-2VA: Demonstrates a willingness to engage responsibly with local, national and global issues relevant to their lives, and to
shaping sustainable futures.
ST1-3VA: Develops informed attitudes about the current and future use and influence of science and technology based on reason.
Rationale: These lessons provide students with a “hands on” approach to understanding the importance of recycling.
Students will be provided with opportunities to create their own mini landfill experiment over the course of two
weeks. Students will be able to test which materials are biodegradable. This lesson will be divided into two lessons,
with the last lesson providing students an opportunity to discuss and record their findings.
Resources and equipment: (Amount of materials can be decided by how many students are in your class)
10 x 2 litre plastic bottles with top cut off (Plastic bottles have been brought in from the student’s home, and parents
were asked to cut the top off)
1 x large tub of soil from school garden
5 x spray bottles (Students bring from home)
Various rubbish which can be collected from classroom recycling and lunch boxes (after eating)
Marker
Measuring cups (one cup) (Students bring from home)
Sheets of newspaper
Table to put mini landfills on
Plastic or gardening gloves (Students bring from home)
Plastic wrap
Students science books
IWB resource (Refer to resources on website)
Key Scientific Knowledge:
Landfills:
- Rubbish in landfills are packed together very tightly. The rubbish in the ground is therefore airtight, and
because of this rubbish starts to rot and the bacteria starts to very slowly breakdown the materials. This is
called an “anaerobic process” as oxygen has been removed. This process eventually causes a landfill gas to
occur which is made up of 54% methane and 40% carbon dioxide. This gas is harmful to our environment as it
can either explode or burn, adding to global warming. Some landfills have gas controls where the landfill gas
is used to produce electricity. Some of this gas still escapes into the atmosphere (HowStuffWorks, Inc, 19982013; Clean Up Australia, 2009a).
- Some materials will decompose in landfills such as food scraps, yet items such as plastic and Styrofoam can
take up to millions of years to decompose. Every year more rubbish is dumped, taking up more space on
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earth (HowStuffWorks, Inc, 1998-2013).
Leachate is any liquid that, when it passes through an item, absorbs solutes. When it rains, this liquid
absorbs harmful chemicals such as battery acids from these items, which can then flow into rivers, harming
animals, humans and plant life. A layer of protective clay and plastic, along with drains, are used to stop the
leachate from flowing into rivers and lakes (HowStuffWorks, Inc, 1998-2013).
When people recycle/compost they decrease the amount of rubbish in a landfill, therefore decreasing the
amount of methane gas and leachate which is formed (HowStuffWorks, Inc, 1998-2013).
Biodegradability:
- Biodegradability is the ability of materials to be broken down by microorganisms and can occur in both
aerobic and anaerobic environments (with and without oxygen). These materials will break down when they
are mixed with soil in the right conditions (GreenGood USA, 2013).
Layout of the lesson: 45 minutes
Introduction to the lesson:
Students will sit in a large circle on the floor in which a discussion will take place regarding the excursion to the
Chullora resource recovery park. Students will be asked to discuss what they learnt about the day in relation to
landfill and the benefits of recycling. Students will be asked the following questions: (Answers were covered on the
excursion)
- What are some things people throw away?
- What do you throw away?
- Why do we need to reduce the amount of rubbish we throw away?
- Why is methane gas and leachate harmful?
- What happened to the items that became buried in the landfill?
- What will happen when there is no more space for all our rubbish to go? How can we fix this?
Teacher will explain to the class that we will be conducting an experiment to see what happens to the rubbish in a
landfill. Write the word Biodegradability on the IWB and ask students what they remember this word to mean from
the excursion (discuss word definition). Go around the circle and ask students to list materials, which they know can
be recycled (plastic, aluminum cans). When people don’t recycle these materials they end up at the landfill. Explain to
students we will be making mini landfills, which will show which materials are biodegradable. Explain to students if
items such as aluminum cans aren’t recycled and turned into something new such as a new can, they end up at a
landfill and can take 80-200 years to breakdown. Students will be able to investigate what happens to materials that
aren’t recycled.
Experiment: (Ducksters, 2013)
Students will be divided into pairs (20 children in class, 10 groups of 2 children). Each pair will lay out a sheet of
newspaper on their desk. Students will be given a 2 litre plastic bottle with the top cut off, 4 pieces of rubbish from
the compost and other recycling bins the classroom has. In their science books students will write down their 4 pieces
of rubbish and hypothesis what will happen to each of them, will they breakdown in the soil? How much will they
breakdown? Students will be provided with a cup to fill their bottles with soil from a large tub of soil located at front
of classroom (gloves will be worn). Students will be asked to add rubbish and then dirt, alternating each until all their
rubbish is covered. Using spray bottles filled with water, students will moisten the top of the dirt. Ask students to
label their bottle with a maker. Students will set their mini landfill bottle aside on an assigned table (in a warm/sunny
place) and cover with plastic wrap.
End of lesson:
Students will be reminded to spray their mini landfill daily with some water to keep it moist. A short discussion will
take place on the floor and the teacher will create a table on the IWB of which materials were used and whether or
not they will breakdown in 14 days. Students will refer to their hypothesis in their science books. (Refer to IWB
resource).
Modifications:
Extension:
As a class, students can make one large
To extend this lesson, students can make predictions about the
landfill.
biodegradability of other materials and research their findings using the
internet and books from the school library.
References:
Clean Up Australia. (2009a). Composting fact sheet. Retrieved 28th October, 2013 from
http://www.cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/cleanupaustralia_factsheet_composting.pdf
Ducksters. (2013). Science experiment: Landfill and recycling. Retrieved 25th October, 2013 from
http://www.ducksters.com/science/experiment_landfill.php
GreenGood USA. (2013). Biodegradable definition. Retrieved 28th October, 2013 from
http://www.greengood.com/terms_to_know/biodegradable_definitions.htm
HowStuffWorks, Inc. (1998-2013). How landfills work. Retrieved 28th October, 2013 from
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/landfill.htm
NSW Board of Studies. (2012). Science K-10 (Incorporating science and technology K-6).
Retrieved October 19th, 2013 from
http://syllabus.bos.nsw.edu.au/science/science-k10/