Teaching and Learning Programme –
Recycling and Rubbish Reduction
in East Riding of Yorkshire
Lesson texts
Copyright © 2004 TC Associates
Module breakdown
Module 1 – Don’t drop litter. Why not?
Module 2 – What a load of rubbish
Module 3 – What’s in your rubbish?
Module 4 – Produce less. Create more!
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Using the Presentation
Students will access
from home via
the Internet and the VLE
Print-outs
can be sent to
absentees
Print-outs
support
homework
Presentation
on shared drive
School Network
Shared Drive/VLE
Delivered to
whole class
by projector/
interactive
whiteboard
Accessed by
individual
students on screen
Notes View pages
used as reference
Used by learning
support assistants
Copyright © 2004 TC Associates
MODULE ONE
Don’t drop litter. Why not?
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Litter = Rubbish = Waste = Resource
Litter is more than an eyesore. It is a
hazard. Think of some of the problems this
may cause.
Fire
Safety
Litter
Health
Threat to
wildlife
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Problems caused by litter
Did you know
 Every 12 minutes a fire starts because of litter
Litter is a Fire Hazard
 Thousands of car and bicycle accidents happen each year
because of litter
Litter is a Safety Hazard
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Problems caused by litter
Did you know
 Rats live in litter - they have fleas that carry disease
Litter is a Health Hazard
 Thousands of animals choke on litter each year
Litter is a Threat to Wildlife
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Litter facts
Litter can take months or even years to rot away
(biodegrade). Think of some materials that can
take several months to rot away.
A paper bag
A newspaper
A cotton shirt
Paper
Orange peel
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Litter facts
Some materials take many years to rot away.
Can you think of any?
Plastic bags
Metal containers
Leather
Takeaway containers
Discuss how many years you think it will take
for these pieces of rubbish to rot away.
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Litter facts
Plastic bags
Up to 20 years
Leather
Up to 40 years
?
Metal containers
Up to 100 years
Just think how much decomposing
litter (litter that is rotting away) is
lying on our planet!
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Prevent litter - reduce waste
How can picking up litter make a difference?
What do you think?
Some examples:
 You are making the area more beautiful
 You are setting an example for others to get rid of litter themselves
 You are making it less likely that others will drop litter because the area
is clean and tidy
 You are reducing the amount of waste in your area.
L
k
after East Riding of Yorkshire - it’s a beautiful place to live, let’s keep
it that way.
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MODULE ONE
Activities
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What hazards can litter cause?
Activity
1
Task 1
What hazards do you think litter causes apart from looking untidy and
spoiling the countryside?
 Fire hazards
 Safety hazards
 Health hazards
 Threats to wildlife
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Task 2
Activity
2
How long does it take for litter
to rot away?
Discuss how long it would take for the following objects to rot away:
Some orange peel
A newspaper
A baked bean can
A cotton shirt
A leather belt
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MODULE TWO
What a load of rubbish!
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ERYC waste facts
In 2005/06 East Riding of Yorkshire Council collected 200.000 tonnes of
household waste. This doesn’t include waste produced by factories and
businesses - that is called commercial waste.
Almost all of the household waste was buried in landfill sites.
2005/6 records show that:
 50.000 tonnes of household waste was recycled. That was 25% of the
waste collected
 Councils all round the country have been set targets for recycling
waste
 East Riding of Yorkshire Council must recycle 45% of household waste
by 2010.
To hit this target we all need to help!
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Amount of waste collected by ERYC in
2005/06
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Amount of waste that needs to be
recycled by ERYC by 2010
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How you can help ERYC achieve their
recycling target
Think about places in East Riding of Yorkshire
where you can take your rubbish to be recycled.
 Some supermarket car parks, leisure centres, pub car parks,
outside schools
These are called bring sites – ERYC has 143 bring sites
Do you know where your nearest bring site is?
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Recycling with Shopping
Using Bring Sites
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How you can help ERYC achieve their
recycling target
 What else can you do?
Household waste recycling sites (the tip) – ERYC has 10 of these
sites
What can you do at home?
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Recycling our rubbish
Most of you now have a blue wheelie bin at home to use for recycling.
This is called kerbside recycling.
Use your blue wheelie bin for rubbish that can be recycled - paper and
magazines, food and drink cans and plastic bottles Take glass to the glass
banks (at most bring sites).
Garden and kitchen waste can also be recycled (composted) at home. ERYC
sell home composting bins at a reduced price.
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Kerbside recycling facts
In 2005/06 East Riding of Yorkshire Council collected 8,814 tonnes
of waste material from kerbside blue wheelie bins for recycling.
Records show that:
7,756 tonnes of this recycled material was paper and magazines.
529 tonnes was food and drinks cans.
529 tonnes was plastic bottles.
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Home Composting
 Composting kitchen and
garden waste is natures way
of recycling.
 Compost returned to the soil
is good for growing more
healthy plants.
 Reduces need for artificial
fertilisers that can damage
the environment.
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ERYC Kerbside Recycling during 2005/06
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Recycling our rubbish
 Use your blue bin for kerbside recycling.
 Start home composting – its great for your garden and the environment.
 Remember, only use your green wheelie bin for rubbish that can’t be
recycled like polystyrene and tissues.
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Facts and figures
Just look at these figures.
ERYC’s 2005/06 Household Waste Figures
Total Collected
Landfill
Recycled
% Recycled
200,000 tonnes
150,000 tonnes
50,000 tonnes
25%
What percentage is recycled?
Do you think this is enough?
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Waste sites in East Riding of Yorkshire
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Landfill
If you don’t recycle where does
the rubbish go?
It goes to landfill
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Facts about landfill
What do you know about it?
Landfill – is when untreated rubbish is tipped into holes in the ground.
When the hole is full the top is covered and the ground is returned to
other uses.
New landfill sites are becoming harder to find.
In East Riding of Yorkshire there is plenty of beautiful countryside but do we want to pollute it with rubbish and create lots of ugly tips
across our area?
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Facts about landfill
So what can we do instead
of sending our rubbish to
landfill?
Here is a landfill site in
East Riding of Yorkshire.
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Imagine what the Humber Bridge would look like piled high in a year’s
worth of rubbish.
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MODULE TWO
Activities
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Facts and figures
Activity
3
Task 3
Using the figures provided on factsheets 1 and 2 create a pie chart or
graph showing the amount of waste sent to landfill and the amount of
waste recycled (in tonnes).
Create a second pie chart or graph to show how much waste will have to
be recycled to meet the 45% target for 2010.
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Fact sheet
1
ERYC waste facts
In 2005/6 East Riding of Yorkshire Council collected 200,000 tonnes of
household waste.
This doesn’t include waste produced by factories and businesses - that is
called commercial waste.
Almost all of the household waste was buried in landfill sites.
In 2005/06, records show that:
 50,000 tonnes of household waste was recycled. That was 25% of the
waste collected
 Councils all round the country have been set targets for recycling
waste
 East Riding of Yorkshire Council must recycle 45% of household waste
by 2010.
To hit this target they need everyone’s help!
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Fact sheet
2
Facts and figures
Discuss in groups what percentage of waste
collected is recycled.
2005/06 Household Waste Figures
Total Collected
Landfill
Recycled
% Recycled
200,000
150,000
50,000
25%
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MODULE THREE
What’s in your rubbish?
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What’s in your rubbish?
An average family will produce 1,250 kilograms of household waste each
year.
What else would weigh this much?
A small car like a Mini!
Unfortunately, your household waste is bulkier (takes up more space) than
a Mini Cooper and fills at least a wheelie bin every week.
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What’s in your rubbish?
 In 2005/06, ERYC produced
200,000 tonnes of household waste
 A wheelie bin holds approximately 10
kilograms of waste
 Therefore, in 2005/06, ERYC’s waste
filled 20,000,000 wheelie bins.
If you stood these wheelie bins side by
side they would stretch from Spurn to
Flamborough and back 58 times!
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What’s in your rubbish?
Discuss what rubbish is in your bin at home.
Here are some examples of the rubbish that a typical bin contains:
Textiles
Newspapers
and magazines
3%
16%
Glass bottles
and jars
9%
Plastics
(bottles and
bags) 8%
Note: figures provided are percentages of overall weight
Organic waste
(like vegetable
peelings) 20%
Paper and card
(mostly packaging)
30%
Metal cans 6%
Other waste
materials
8%
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Percentages of different types
of rubbish
6%
8%
8%
9%
16%
30%
3%
20%
Plastics (bottles and bags)
Glass bottles and jars
Newspapers and magazines
Textiles
Organic waste (like vegetable peelings)
Paper and card (mostly packaging)
Metal cans
Other waste materials
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MODULE THREE
Activities
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What do you think is in your bin?
Activity
4
Task 4
Using the information provided on factsheet 3 produce a bar chart or
pie chart showing the percentages of types of waste in a typical
household wheelie bin.
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Fact sheet
3
What percentages of rubbish?
Discuss what rubbish you think there is most of
in a typical bin.
Textiles
Newspapers
and magazines
3%
16%
Glass bottles
and jars
9%
Plastics
(bottles and
bags) 8%
Note: figures provided are percentages of overall weight
Organic waste
(like vegetable
peelings) 20%
Paper and card
(mostly packaging)
30%
Metal cans 6%
Other waste
materials
8%
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What do you think is in your bin?
Activity
5
Task 5
Family Survey – how much household waste do you think your family
produces in one week?
 As a class, discuss what types of waste should be counted in columns on
your survey chart
 Fill in the heading for each column
 Show the days of the week in the rows of the chart
 Using the ‘Household Waste Survey’ chart you have designed, collect
information each day that will show the types of waste that are thrown
away in your house
 Count the number of items for each column and enter the information
each day.
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What do you think is in your bin?
Activity
6
Task 6
 Decide the best way to show the results of your survey. This can
be done by hand or using a computer.
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MODULE FOUR
Produce less. Create more!
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Think before you junk!
The National Waste Strategy 2000 said that councils must recycle more
waste instead of just dumping it! So what can you do to help?
The strategy suggests ways of producing less waste.
What do you think
these might be?
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
This is called
the waste
hierarchy!
Recover
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Reduction
Discuss what you think is meant by reduction of
waste.
Reduction means sending less waste to landfill.
A tonne of waste prevented is a tonne less
to bury
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Reuse
Discuss what you think is meant by reuse of waste.
Reuse means reusing things, such as glass bottles, returnable
plastic crates, shoes, spectacles or even computers.
Some products are designed to be reused a number of times.
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Recycling
Discuss what you think is meant by recycling of
waste.
Recycling means turning rubbish into new products. Lots of
things can be recycled. In East Riding of Yorkshire a kerbside
recycling scheme means you can recycle:
 Paper
 Magazines
 Food and drink cans
 Plastic bottles
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Recovery
Discuss what you think is meant by recovery of
waste.
Recovery involves transforming (changing) the material by
reprocessing it. For example, burning waste, or extracting methane
from a landfill site, to generate heat or electricity.
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What materials can be sorted?
There are many projects being started across the country to support the
reduction of waste.
In all areas these plans encourage the sorting of materials that can be
recycled.
If people sort the waste at home, (called kerbside collection), then less
waste has to be disposed of.
Think of some materials that can be sorted before
collection:
paper
plastics
cans
glass
organics
textiles
Compost bins help households to recycle their kitchen peelings and garden waste.
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Get it sorted - spread the word!
Tell everyone who can’t recycle at home to do their bit by using our
Household Waste Recycling Centres (tip).
Discuss what you could find at these centres:
 glass banks
 save-a-can banks
 paper banks
 places for textiles
 places for garden rubbish.
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How you can help when it comes
to recycling
How do you think you could help when taking rubbish
to the Household Waste Recycling Centres?
You could:
 wash out bottles, cans and jars
 take the labels off them as well
 crush the cans and plastic bottles to take up less space.
Safety First
 be careful when handling rubbish
 ask an adult to crush cans for you
 watch out for sharp edges.
Where is your nearest recycling centre?
Visit http://www.eastriding.gov.uk/environment
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Think!
When getting rid of your rubbish think about the 4Rs.
What are the 4Rs?
 Reduce - Don’t create waste - if we cut down on the things we use we will
produce less waste
 Reuse - Use it again before you throw it away check to see if it can be
re-used by someone else
 Recycle - Can it be recycled?
 Recover - Can the energy locked up inside it be converted into
something useful?
If it has to be thrown away (disposal) can we do it safely?
Get that rubbish sorted !!!
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Recycled Products
Recycling means manufacturing a new product from old, used material.
Lots of recycled products are available.
Cardboard containers
Plastic bottles
Used aluminium cans
Used glass bottles
Toilet rolls
Fleece jackets
New aluminium cans
New glass bottles
The display in the photograph shows waste materials that have been
collected (on the left) and then recycled into new products (on the right).
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Recycled Products
At the moment there is not enough demand for recycled products.
A manufacturer will automatically choose to use a raw material rather
than a recycled one if there is no demand from the public.
To make sure more waste is recycled we must start using recycled
products.
Lots of information on products that can be recycled is available. For
more information on these products you could use an internet search
engine using the key words you have learnt about recycling.
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MODULE FOUR
Activities
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Group work – waste disposal
Activity
7(a)
Task 7(a)
 Discuss what you think is meant by landfill.
 What do you think are the problems of this method of getting rid of
waste (waste disposal)?
 What type of products are reused in your house?
 What do you think is meant by recycling?
 Make a list of the types of waste that can be recycled.
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Group work – recycling in your area
Activity
7(b)
Task 7(b)
Discuss the type of recycling that takes place in your area
Write a report about recycling in your local area. You should
include the following in your report:
 what material is recycled
 how the material is collected
 where the material is collected
 who collects the material
 what you think happens to it when it is collected.
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Activity
7 (c)
Group work - Presentation
Task 7(c)
Using the images in the recycling folder, and using your answers to
Task 7(a) and 7(b), make a multi-media presentation to show to the
class. Work in small groups.
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Activity
8
Get the message across
Task 8
 Design a poster that will be used in an advertising campaign about
recycling. The campaign is aimed at promoting recycling and will be
used to educate the general public.
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
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Glossary 1 (Primary)
Biodegrade – when a product breaks down, safely and disappears into the environment.
Bring sites – a place where people take their rubbish to be recycled.
Civic amenity site – a place where people take their bulky waste.
Collection facilities – all of the organised collection networks available to people.
Contaminants – materials that have been mixed with other materials when they shouldn’t have
been.
Controlled waste – industrial, household and commercial waste.
Disposal – getting rid of rubbish.
Home composting – the breaking down of kitchen and garden waste to either produce a soil
conditioner or to achieve a reduction in their collected waste.
Household waste – all wastes covered by Schedules 1 and 2 of the Controlled Waste Regulations
1992.
Household waste recycling sites – see ‘bring sites’.
Kerbside recycling – a system where the householder puts their waste or recoverable materials
into a container or bag and places it, on a specific day, outside of their property, for collection.
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Glossary 2 (Primary)
Landfill site – a place where rubbish is tipped into the ground.
Municipal waste – all waste collected by or on behalf of local councils and includes all household
waste, street cleaning waste and some business waste.
Processing – the treatment of recyclable, compostable or otherwise recoverable materials at a
Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or other facility, prior to reprocessing.
Recover – to transform material by using it again for the original purpose or for other purposes.
Recycle – to reprocess rubbish for the original purpose or for other purposes.
Recycling – the reprocessing of rubbish into new products e.g. paper, glass, cardboard, plastics
and scrap metals can be recycled.
Reprocessing – the treatment of recyclable or compostable materials, after collection and
processing, to prepare a secondary material that meets market specifications.
Reduce – to reduce the actual amount of rubbish produced.
Residue – materials sent for final disposal after collection and processing.
Reuse – involves products designed to be used a number of times in the same form, such as glass
milk bottles or returnable plastic crates.
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Glossary 3 (Primary)
Special waste – defined under the Special Waste Regulations 1996. In broad terms, any wastes
on the European Hazardous Waste list that have one or more of 14 defined hazardous
properties. Controlled waste, which consists of, or contains, substances which are ‘dangerous to
life’ as defined in UK regulations.
Sustainable development – development which meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Waste (rubbish) – products which have been discarded by the householder, business, or other
waste generator, as having no further use.
Waste management – management of the collection, recovery and disposal of wastes.
Waste minimisation – the reduction of waste.
Further sources of information:
- Waste not, want not – A strategy for tackling the waste problem in England (November 2002)
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/su/waste/report/01.html
- Review of environmental & health effects of waste management (May 2004)
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/health-effects/index.htm
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Glossary 1 (Secondary)
Biodegrade – when a product breaks down, safely and relatively quickly, by biological means, into
the raw materials of nature and disappear into the environment.
Bring sites – a place where people take their waste and/or their recyclable, compostable or
otherwise recoverable materials.
Civic amenity site – facility provided by a local authority for householders to take bulky
household waste, garden waste and other household wastes, which are not normally taken by
vehicles on domestic collection rounds.
Collection facilities – all the collection infrastructure available to the householders for the
collection of waste and recyclable, compostable or otherwise recoverable materials, civic
amenity sites and mini recycling centres.
Contaminants – misplaced materials that are not targeted (including dirty materials) but which
are set out by the householder in the programme facilities. Contaminants can also be the result
of failure to maintain the separation of the targeted materials during the collection and
processing.
Controlled waste – Industrial, household and commercial waste, as defined in UK legislation.
Disposal – getting rid of rubbish as a last resort.
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Glossary 2 (Secondary)
Home composting – the aerobic decomposition of kitchen and garden putrescible waste organised
by householders in private gardens or allotments, to either produce a soil conditioner or to
achieve a reduction in their collected waste.
Household waste – all wastes covered by Schedules 1 and 2 of the Controlled Waste Regulations
1992.
Household waste recycling sites – see ‘bring sites’.
Kerbside recycling – a system of waste recycling in which the householder or other waste
generator places their waste or recoverable materials into a container or bag and places it, on a
specific day, at the curtilage or in the immediate vicinity of their property, for collection.
Landfill site – site used for waste disposal into/onto land.
Municipal waste – all waste collected by or on behalf of local authorities and includes all
household waste, street cleaning waste and some commercial and trade waste.
Processing – the treatment or upgrading of recyclable, compostable or otherwise recoverable
materials at a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or other facility, prior to reprocessing.
Upgrading operations include sorting, densification, shredding, bulking.
Recover – to transform material by extracting value from it through reprocessing the material
in a production process for the original purpose or for other purposes, including energy recovery.
This is also referred to as ‘to valorise’.
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Glossary 3 (Secondary)
Recycle – to reprocess waste materials in a production process for the original purpose or for
other purposes, including composting but excluding energy recovery.
Recycling – the reprocessing of wastes into new products. Many non-hazardous wastes such as
paper, glass, cardboard, plastics and scrap metals can be recycled. Certain special (hazardous)
wastes such as solvents can also be recycled.
Reprocessing – the treatment of recyclable or compostable materials, after collection and
processing, to prepare a secondary material that meets market specifications. For example,
composting, the production of recycled plastic pellets, recyled paper or clean glass cullet.
Reduce – to reduce the actual amount of waste produced.
Residue – materials sent for final disposal after collection and processing. Residues comprise
both contaminants and targeted materials that have been either missed during sorting, or
contaminated so they cannot be sorted to the specification.
Reuse – involves products designed to be used a number of times in the same form, such as glass
milk bottles or returnable plastic crates.
Special waste – defined under the Special Waste Regulations 1996. In broad terms, any wastes
on the European Hazardous Waste list that have one or more of 14 defined hazardous
properties. Controlled waste, which consists of, or contains, substances, which are ‘dangerous to
life’ as defined in UK regulations.
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Glossary 4 (Secondary)
Sustainable development – development which meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Waste (rubbish) – products which have been discarded by the householder, commercial outlet,
institution, industry or other waste generator, as having no further use.
Waste management – management of the collection, recovery and disposal of wastes, including
options for waste reduction.
Waste minimisation – the reduction of waste at source, by understanding and changing processes
to reduce and prevent waste. This is also known as process or resource efficiency. Waste
minimisation can include the substitution of less environmentally harmful materials in the
production process.
Further sources of information:
- Waste not, want not – A strategy for tackling the waste problem in England (November 2002)
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/su/waste/report/01.html
- Review of environmental & health effects of waste management (May 2004)
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/health-effects/index.htm
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Useful websites
www.eastriding.gov.uk/environment
www.ollierecycles.com
www.ciwm.org.uk
www.othas.org.uk/ccn
www.compost.org.uk
www.recoup.org
www.crn.org.uk
www.recycle.net
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste
www.recyclingglass.co.uk
www.encams.org
www.remarkable.co.uk
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
www.rethinkrubbish.com
www.esauk.org
www.scrib.org
www.foe.co.uk
www.standards.dfes.gov.uk
www.globalactionplan.org.uk
www.textile-recycling.org.uk
www.letsrecycle.com
www.wastewatch.org.uk
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