Jessica
My lab
Title: Recycling to save the world!
Biological concept: In order for our earth to be healthy we need to do our part.
Educational concept: Using materials for other uses and how to be creative with that.
Benchmarks addressed: Diversity/ Interdependence: Relationship between habits and
organisms.
Transformation of concepts: Raise questions about what happens to garbage? Discuss in
class how that can do bad things. How can we make a difference? Pull out a table cloth,
take the garbage can from the room, and pour it out on the table cloth. Talk about how
those things can be used for good and not in a landfill. Point out bottles and cans that can
be recycled. Discuss what other purposes they can be used for. With food talk about
how it can be good for soil and that it helps plants grow better. (in another session make
a decomposer with the kids, see how food turns into dirt, with the help of insects). Once
you have pulled out all the recycled materials discuss how we can reuse them and how
recycling works.
How much will this cost to present to a class of 30?
Table cloth @ $5.00
Garbage= free
Total one time set up: $5.00
Total consumables for 30: free
How long to prepare initially:
15 minutes to go to store and buy table cloth
Time subsequent years? 5 minutes
How much time spent on the lab?
30 minutes to 1 hour
How long will this take you to clean up?
10 minutes (maybe)
Assessment: Set up a recycling area for the kids. Give each child a different thing to
recycle, have them place it in the proper bin, or have them tell you how they can reuse the
item.
Extension: Portland Metro Area recycling statistics- use information to generate the
discussion.
Recycling to save the world introduction:
What happens to our trash after we have dropped it in the garbage can? Sometimes our
garbage is put into a landfill, a large hole in the ground, sometimes it is dropped into the
ocean. What happens to the trash when it is put into a land fill? Trash put in a landfill
will stay there for a very long time. Inside a landfill, there is little oxygen and little
moisture. Under these conditions, trash does not break down very rapidly. In fact, when
old landfills have been excavated or sampled, 40-year-old newspapers have been found
with easily readable print. Landfills are not designed to break down trash, merely to bury
it. When a landfill closes, the site, especially the groundwater, must be monitored and
maintained for up to 30 years! Meaning, water is not good for us or animals to drink.
And when trash is dumped into the ocean it hurts the plants and animals that live there.
Is this good for the earth? No, so how can we stop pollution? By recycling!
Recycle at home
http://www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?articleID=13638
When it comes to curbside recycling,
the residents of the Metro region are national leaders. Our region recovered 59 percent of
the waste we generated in 2004. Unfortunately, 20 tons of recyclable materials go to the
landfill every day because the wrong types of materials get mixed together at the curb.
There are two things you can do to make sure what you set out at the curb gets recycled.
Click photo to see “glass on the side” ad. (Requires Quicktime)
Keep glass bottles and jars separate from everything else.
Use a sturdy container such as a bucket, pail, or plastic crate. Be sure to drill a couple of
drainage holes in the bottom so that it won't collect rainwater. Write "glass bottles and
jars" on the container using a marker and set it out at the curb. Glass mixed with other
items breaks and can contaminate paper, plastics and other recyclables making them
more difficult, costly or impossible to recycle. Glass on the side, please!
The only plastics you can recycle at the curb are plastic bottles and jars.
Click photo to see “plastic bags are recyclable, just
not at the curb” ad. (Requires Quicktime)
Keep all plastic bags, yogurt cups, margarine tubs and lids, microwave trays and other
plastics out of your curbside recycling container. One exception, if you live inside the
city limits of Beaverton, you can put tubs and lids in your recycling roll cart. You can
take plastic shopping and newspaper bags to many grocery stores or recycling depots for
recycling. A recycling symbol on a plastic item does not necessarily mean that it can
be recycled at the curb, or that there is a recycling market for it. When in doubt, leave it
out!
After you have dumped the garbage onto the table cloth, and all the students have their
gloves on you can point out the recyclable materials in the pile and have the students put
them in the recycling bins.
Curbside recycling - what and how
http://www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?articleID=527
What you can recycle at the curb in the Metro region,
and how to prepare it before you set it out for collection.
Weekly curbside recycling collection service is regulated by local government
agencies within the region and collection is done by franchised or licensed hauling
companies. What can be recycled at the curb and preparation requirements may vary
slightly from city to city. Contact your local government or Metro Recycling Information
at (503) 234-3000 for specific instructions.
If you don't have curbside recycling service, call Metro Recycling Information, (503)
234-3000, or visit our Find a Recycler page for the location of a recycling center near
you.
1. Paper - Recycle newspapers, magazines, cardboard and scrap paper
in one bin.
Corrugated cardboard: Flatten corrugated cardboard. Stack large pieces under bin,
place smaller pieces loose in bin with other paper recyclables. Pieces must be less than 3
feet in any direction. Do not include waxed corrugated boxes.
Brown paper bags: Place loose in paper bin.
Magazines: Place magazines and glossy catalogs loose in the curbside bin with other
paper.
Telephone books: Stack loose in paper bin.
Newspaper: Place loose in curbside collection bins with other paper.
Scrap paper: Place all scrap paper in a paper bag to keep it from blowing away, and put
the bag in your paper bin.
Include with scrap paper:
Do not include with scrap paper:
unwanted or so-called "junk" mail
waxed paper and cereal box liners
cereal, cracker and cookie boxes
food-contaminated containers
(flattened with liners removed)
shoe boxes (flattened)
frozen food boxes
wrapping paper (no foil, plastic coating or tape)
photographs
greeting cards (no foil or plastic coating)
tissues, napkins or paper towels
envelopes (window and labels OK)
pet food bags
paper bags
plastic paper envelopes (Tyvek)
paper labels from cans
hard cover and paperback books
construction paper
wax-coated boxes or paper
cores from paper towels and tissue
carbon paper
(do not include towels or tissue, please)
paper egg cartons
paper (colored or white): photocopies, fax paper,
stationery, file folders, note paper, computer paper,
brochures, coupons
post-it notes
some paper milk and juice cartons and drink
boxes: empty, rinse and flatten cartons; remove
plastic caps and spouts. Empty and flatten drink
boxes. Remove straws from boxes. Place cartons
and boxes together in a paper bag with scrap paper.
Note: these items are not accepted at the curb in
King City.
2. Metals and plastic bottles - Place steel cans, aluminum cans, foil,
scrap metal, empty aerosol cans and plastic bottles and jugs all together
in one bin.
Aluminum: Rinse aluminum cans, food trays and foil. Include scrap aluminum pieces
such as old lawn chair frames with all non-aluminum pieces removed. Pieces should
measure no more than 30 inches for curbside pickup, no more than 36 inches in
Clackamas and Washington counties.
Scrap metal: Place items such as metal hangers, worn-out plumbing, bolts and screws in
your curbside bin with cans and plastic bottles. Remove all non-metal materials such as
paper, rubber or plastic. For curbside collection, pieces should measure less than 30
inches and weigh less than 30 pounds, or less than 36 inches and 40 pounds in Clackamas
and Washington counties.
Steel (tin) cans: Rinse. Remove labels if possible, recycle labels with scrap paper. It is
now optional to flatten cans, except in Fairview, Gresham and Wood Village.
Empty aerosol cans: Empty the can through normal use. Remove and discard plastic cap
unless it is part of the can. Do not flatten or puncture can and do not remove nozzle.
Plastic milk jugs and bottles: Remove lids and rinse. No need to remove labels. Do not
include plastic bottles that contained motor oil, pesticides, herbicides or other hazardous
materials. Do not include other types of plastic, such as margarine or yogurt tubs or
plastic bags unless you live inside the city limits of Beaverton. For information on how to
recycle other types of plastic, call Metro Recycling Information or visit our Find a
Recycler page for a drop-off location near you.
3. Glass bottles and jars - set out at the curb separate from all other
recyclables in a rigid container such as a bucket or crate.
Remove lids and rinse containers. Leave labels on. Set out separately from other
recyclables in a rigid container. Please do not include other types of glass such as vases,
bakeware, drinking glasses, window glass, light bulbs or broken glass; dispose of these
items in your trash can. Recycle metal lids from jars with scrap metal.
4. Motor oil
Pour used oil into a clean, leak-proof, see-through plastic container with a screw-top lid.
(Clean, empty milk jugs work well.) Please, no containers larger than one gallon. Make
sure the lid is tight. Don't contaminate oil with other fluids. Never put motor oil in the
garbage or pour it onto the ground or down storm drains. Leave your jug of used oil on
the ground next to your bins.
5. Yard debris
Most communities in the metro area offer curbside yard debris collection, but service
varies from area to area. For details, call your garbage hauler or the local government
agencies listed for your area in this brochure. Call Metro Recycling Information, (503)
234-3000
Transformation: Have the students make a poster of recyclable materials to place above
the recycle bins.
Suggestions: visit the local recycle center for a field trip.