TWe (vu^sV ky L&& ’ AiCinuiti^s snX fkiwu/ua Vt>v RatiM^ /c-s 00 A sao a-cs <305 THE QUEST FOR LESS Illinois Waste Management & Research Center Library One East Hazelwood Dr. Champaign, IL 61820-7465 DEMCO A Teacher’s Guide to Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling PROPERTY OF WMRC LIBRARY Activities and Resources for Teaching K-8 H'ium 4 1 ' *//»/• United States Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (5305W) Washington, DC 20460 EPA530-R-05-005 June 2005 www.epa.gov/osw Recycled/Recyclable-Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% (Minimum 50% postconsumer) Recycled Paper. - rf f *T r or contacting NAAEE at 2000 P Street, NW, Suite 540, Washington, DC 20036 or (202) 419-0412 or . Facts presented throughout this resource derive from a variety of governmental, educational, and trade association sources. While all have been evaluated by EPA, they have not been independ¬ ently verified and might become out of date over time or with changes in the solid waste industry or individual/community behaviors. Some facts are specifically attributed to Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2001 Facts and Figures , Executive Summary (document number EPA530-S-03-011), published October 2003. This resource updates and replaces OSW's pre¬ vious solid waste teacher's guide, Let's Reduce and Recycle: Curriculum for Solid Waste Awareness , August 1990 (EPA530-SW-90-005). Some activity ideas were based on existing solid waste educational materials. These documents can also serve as excellent sources of additional activities for use in the classroom. EPA credits the following publications as sources of infor¬ mation and provides ordering information when available: iv Welcome The Quest for Less A-W ay With Waste, Fourth Edition, Washington State Department of Ecology, Air Quality Program. Available online: . Phone 360 407-6826. No cost. Closing the Loop: Integrated Waste Management Activities For School and Home, K-12, The Institute for Environmental Education and the California Integrated Waste Management Board, 1993. To order: Office of Education and the Environment, 1001 I Street MS-14A, Sacramento, California 95814. Phone: (916) 341-6769. No cost. "Luscious Layered Landfill" activity, Delaware Solid Waste Authority. To order: 1 128 S. Bradford Street, RO. Box 455, Dover Delaware 19903-0455. Phone: (800) 404-7080. No cost. Environmental Education: Compendium for Integrated Waste Management and Oil, The Institute for Environmental Education and the California Integrated Waste Management Board, 1993. To order: Office of Education and the Environment, 1001 I Street MS-1 4A, Sacramento, California 95814. Phone: (916) 341 -6769. No cost. Environmental Pathways (formerly Air, Land & Water Teachers' Manual), Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Public Information, 1021 North Grand Avenue East, RO. Box 19276, Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276. To order: Phone: (217) 558-7198. No cost. Environmental Protection: Native American Lands, Grades 1-12, Second Edition, The Center for Indian-Community Development, Humboldt State University, Areata, California 95521. Available online: . No cost. Forever Green: A Recycling Education Program for Grade 3, Fort Howard Corporation, Green Bay, Wisconsin. (No longer available.) 4th R Recycling Curriculum, San Francisco Recycling Program, 1 1 Grove Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. (No longer available.) 4Rs Project: A Solid Waste Management Curriculum for Florida Schools, The Florida Department of Education. Available online: . Phone: (239) 649-2212. No cost. Here Today, Here Tomorrow (Revisited): A Teacher's Guide to Solid Waste Management, State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy, Information Resource Center, 432 E. State Street, CN 409, Trenton, New Jersey 08625. (No longer available.) LifeLab Science Program Web site, Santa Cruz, California, . Mister Rogers: Activities for Young Children About the Environment and Recycling, Family Communications, Inc., 1990. Phone: (203) 323-8987. (No longer available.) Mystery of the Cast Off Caper: 4-H Solid Waste Leader's Curriculum Guide, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, 1992. Phone: (919) 515-8479. (No longer available.) Nature's Recyclers Activity Guide, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 1991. Bureaus of Solid Waste and Information and Education. RO. Box 7921, Madison Wisconsin 53707. Available online: . Planet Patrol: An Environmental Unit on Solid Waste Solutions for Grades 4-6 The Proctor & Gamble Company. To order: P&G Educational Services, 2 P&G Plaza, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Phone: (513) 983-2139. No cost. The Quest for Less Welcome Recycling Study Guide and K-3 Supplement to the Recycling Study Guide, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 1993, 1990. Bureaus of Solid Waste and Information and Education. RO. Box 7921, Madison Wisconsin 53707. Available online: Rethinking Recycling: An Oregon Waste Reduction Curriculum/Teacher Resource Guide, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 1993. To order: Department of Environmental Quality's Solid Waste Policy and Program Development Section, 81 1 SW Sixth Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204. (503) 229-591 3. Available on CD or online at: . No cost. The No Waste Anthology: A Teacher's Guide to Environmental Activities K-12, California Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxic Substances Control. To order: Dept, of Toxic Substances Control; Education and Outreach Unit; 400 P Street, RO. Box 806; Sacramento, CA 95812-0806. Phone: (916) 324-1826. No cost. Trash Today, Treasure Tomorrow University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, 1990. To order: Northeast Resource Recovery Association, 9 Bailey Road, Chichester, NH 03258. Phone: (603) 798-03258. Cost: $ 20 . r ^ Visit 0$W's Educational Resources Page EPA continually adds new resources and Internet activities to the Office of Solid Waste Educational Resources . This page features interactive activities, documents, and other materials for kids in grades K-5, students in grades 6-8, teens in grades 9-12, and teachers. Check the site periodically for new enrich¬ ments for your students. www.epa.gov/epaoswer/education/index.htm L A Welcome The Quest for Less AT don ten t£ -- '■ * o UNIT 1 AT THE SOURCE: WHERE PRODUCTS COME FROM, HOW THEY'RE MADE, AND THE WASTE THEY PRODUCE . . 1 Chapter 1.1: Natural Resources .3 Teacher Fact Sheet: Natural Resources.5 Nature Romp (Grades K-l) . 11 An Ecosystem Escapade (Grades 1-3).13 Dr. Seuss and Resource Use (Grades 2-3).15 Sources of Resources (Grades 5-6).17 How Many People Does It Take to Ruin an Ecosystem? (Grades 5-6).19 Chapter 1.2: Products .23 Teacher Fact Sheet: Products.25 A Matching Match (Grades K-l) .29 Tracing Trash Back to Its Roots (Grades 3-4).31 Putting Products Under the Microscope (Grades 5-6).35 Let's Go Eco-Shopping (Grades 4-8).39 A Product's Life (Grades 7-8).43 Chapter 1.3: Waste .45 Teacher Fact Sheet: Solid Waste.47 Teacher Fact Sheet: Hazardous Waste.51 Beware of Mr. Yuk (Grades K-l) .55 Trash Art (Grades K-3).59 Weigh Your Waste! (Grades 4-6).63 Trash Time Travelers (Grades 4-6).67 (Hazardous) Waste Not (Grades 5-6).71 UNIT 2 WASTE MANAGEMENT: SOURCE REDUCTION, RECYCLING, COMPOSTING, LANDFILLING, OR COMBUSTION. 75 Chapter 2.1: Source Reduction .77 Teacher Fact Sheet: Source Reduction.79 Discovering Nature's Packaging (Grades K-l) .83 Reuse: Not Just for the Birds (Grades K-4).85 Source Reduction Roundup (Grades 3-6).87 Ecological Picnic (Grades 3-4).91 How Much Lunch Is Left Over? (Grades 5-6).95 > The Quest for Less Contents VII Con tents UNIT 3 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: A REVIEW OF LESSONS AND OPTIONS.197 Chapter 2.2: Recycling .99 Teacher Fact Sheet: Recycling. Teacher Fact Sheet: Buying Recycled. Recycling Rangers (Grades K-2). Follow That Bottle! (Grades K-2). Take-Home Recycling Kit (Grades 2-3). Making Glass from Scratch (Grades 2-3). Handmade Recycled Paper Planters (Grades 2-6). Recycling...Sorting It All Out (Grades 3-6). Designing the Ultimate Can Crusher (Grades 4-6) Learn to Recycle (Grades 7-8). Recycling Includes e-Cycling (Grades 4-8). 101 107 1 1 1 113 117 121 123 125 129 131 135 Chapter 2.3: Composting . Teacher Fact Sheet: Composting Compost Critters (Grades K-l). . Compost Chefs (Grades 3-8) . . Compost Crops (Grades 3-8) . . Worms at Work (Grades 4-8) . . 139 141 145 149 155 159 Chapter 2.4: Landfills and Combustion Teacher Fact Sheet: Landfills. Teacher Fact Sheet: Combustion.. . . Luscious Layered Landfill (Grades 1-4). A Landfill Is No Dump! (Grades 3-6). Energy Expedition (Grades 4-6). The Great Disposal Debate (Grades 5-8) . . . Greenhouse Gases Be Gone (Grades 6-8) . . 163 165 169 173 177 181 187 191 Waste Race (Grades 2-3). Join the Planet Protectors Club! (Grades 3-6) Trash Town (Grades 4-6). Locker Leftovers (Grades 7-8). Memorable Media Messages (Grades 6-8) . 201 203 209 213 215 Glossary of Terms Glossary of Skills. 221 229 Contents The Quest for Less 3&t th.e Source Where Products Come From, How They're Made, and the Waste They Produce In this unit, teachers and students will develop a foundation for under¬ standing the importance of managing waste properly. Students will learn where the products they use every day come from and how much and what kind of waste these products create. They also will learn that waste is not only created by throwing things away, but it also can be produced by human activities such as mining raw materials from the ground and manufacturing goods in factories. This part of the resource will help stu¬ dents understand why it is important to prevent waste in the first place, recycle, compost, and reuse—activities they will learn more about in the next unit. ftp' Natural Resources Products Waste a Grade • Subject • Skills Index +» * > 6 L. Nature Romp An Ecosystem Escapade Dr. Seuss and Sources of Resource Use Resources How Many People Does It Take to Ruin an * Ecosystem? . f 0) d K ✓ 1 ✓ ✓ 2 ✓ ✓ - ■ . - ' 1 fli 3 ✓ ✓ nj S tJJ 4 L_ 5 ✓ ✓ 6 ✓ ✓ F TS & Math Science ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ? 0 \J Language Arts ✓ VL +» u • U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste composting site: • World Resources Institute: • Natural Resources Defense Council: • United States Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory: • United States Department of Energy's Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development: To order the following item on municipal solid waste, call EPA toll-free at (800) 490-9198 or look on the EPA Web site . • A Collection of Solid Waste Resources on CD-ROM The Quest for Less Unit 1, Chapter 1.1. Natural Resources ■ Grades K-l Nature Bomp Objective ) To gain an appreciation of nature and the environment. Activity Description" 1 ) Students will take a nature walk, make observations, and collect natural objects for an art activity. Materials Needed^ Bags (e.g., old lunch or grocery bags) Paint Smocks Crayons Glue Scissors Pens or pencils Construction paper Large sheet of paper Science Key Vocabulary Words ) Nature Environment Habitat Art Duration 2 hours Skills Used ) Communication Observation/classification Motor skills Activity J Step 1 : Draw a chart on a large piece of cardboard or poster board with headings that describe several types of natural objects that students could find outdoors. Headings might include rocks, leaves, flowers, bugs, animals, nuts (see below). Attach a sample of each of these objects (e.g., for flower, it can be a flower petal or seed). Discuss each of the objects and tell students their mission will be to find evidence of these items in the out¬ doors. Examples of the types of evidence students might bring back that would fit into the category headings could include pebbles, leaves or needles, seeds, acorns, feathers, and twigs. Step 2 : Bring students outdoors into the school yard, a field, a patch of woods, a gar¬ den, or other natural area, no matter how Rocks Leaves Flowers Bcqs Animals Nats The Quest for Less Unit 1, Chapter 1.1, Natural Resources 11 small. Distribute a bag to students, and tell them they are on a scavenger hunt to find evidence of the items discussed in class. Please ensure that students only collect items that have fallen to the ground or are dead; no live plants, flowers, insects, or other organisms should be collected, nor should bark be peeled off trees. Teachers might have to work closely with students to help them locate and identify appropriate items. Assessment 1. Ask students if they found anything outside that they had never seen before. If so, can they explain what it is? 2. Review some of the specific items found and what their purpose is. Step 3 : While students are collecting objects, ask them for their observations. You might want to talk about their discoveries, focusing on col¬ ors, senses, seasons, or animal lives (e.g., hibernation, food). Step 4 : Regroup in the classroom and help students spread everything they've collected on a table. Ask the students to categorize their items into the headings on the chart you pre¬ pared earlier. Compare the different colors, sizes, and shapes of each of the items. Group everyone's objects together and attach them to the posterboard, or let students keep their own pile and proceed to Step 5. Step 5 : Prepare for painting and gluing by putting on smocks and gathering the art sup¬ plies (e.g., paper or cardboard, glue, crayons, paint, construction paper, and scissors). Ask stu¬ dents to create artwork, using objects they collected, that depicts the natural environment they just explored. Students can glue natural objects directly onto the paper, or they can cre¬ ate a sculpture. Students could also create cut-outs of animals or plants that they observed. Step 6 : Allow the artwork to dry and hang posters around the classroom to bring a little of the environment indoors! Teachers: Please note that many federal and state land management agencies prohibit or discourage collecting living or non-living items in a natural environment. Depending on your situation, you might want to consider directing students to draw or paint the live organisms they find as a substitute for the real thing. 3. Ask students to share what they like best in nature. 1. Schedule a day trip to a local nature center where students can participate in further out¬ door education. 2. Adopt a specific tree in your schoolyard and observe how it changes through the seasons. Have students draw the tree during different seasons. 3. Participate in an environmental education workshop and obtain copies of the conserva¬ tion/environmental education activity guides entitled Project WILD K-12, Project WILD Aquatic Education, or Project Learning Tree. Project WILD's state coordinators and their facilitators conduct workshops (usually 6 hours long) for educators within their state. The activity guides are provided to those who participate in the workshops. They include numerous indoor and outdoor hands-on activities related to the environment, with a focus on wildlife. Other classroom materials are available without participating in the workshops. For more information, and to find out how to get information in your state, visit the Web site . You can also contact the Project WILD National Office at (713) 520-1936 or < info@projectwild.org >. 12 Unit 1. Chapter 1.1, Natural Resources The Quest for Less Grades 1-3 jin fico$y$tem. Escapade Objective^ To learn how animals and plants depend on each other in ecosystems. Activity Description^ Students will role-play elements of a food web to illus¬ trate the connections in ecosystems. Materials Needed J Paper or cardboard Crayons or markers Scissors and string Hole-punch Subjects Covered J Food chain Food web Ecosystem Duration J 1 hour Skills Used j Communications Motor skills science art Activity j Step 1 I If possible, take the students out¬ side into a natural environment, such as woods (otherwise, ask them to use their imaginations and conduct the lesson indoors). Explain what an ecosystem is and what types of ecosystems are in your area. Ask them to identify different animals and plants that they see when they go outside. Discuss in a group what all animals and plants have in common (i.e., that they need to eat). Explain how some animals eat plants, some plants eat animals (e.g., a Venus Fly Trap), and some animals eat other animals. Ask the students what they eat. Step 2 : Explain that animals and plants rely on each other for food and for survival. All of the plants and animals working together, eating each other and being eaten, is part of nature and can be Sample Food Chain: (in an Eastern U.S. deciduous wooded ecosystem) *©«r©#«ff Sample Food Web: (in an Eastern deciduous wooded ecosystem) raspberries phytoplankton *— Mm • i *••... 5 * • • white footed mouse V Arrows indicate the direction that energy is transferred. The Quest for Less Unit 1, Chapter 1.1, Natural Resources 13 described as "food chains" or "food webs." Show the students an example on the board (see sidebar for examples of food chains and food webs). Step 6 : Facilitate an exercise with the stu¬ dents in which they find the animal or plant that they eat and link hands with that person. If the food web is created properly, many people should be holding hands. Step 3 : Based on the animals and plants that are named by the students, create a food web on the board and have students help you decide which animals and plants eat each other. Assessment Step 4 : Have each student pick one animal or plant in the ecosystem described on the board. Instruct each student to draw a picture on a piece of paper or cardboard of their animal or plant and write its name near the picture. 1. As Step 6 is being conducted, ask students to remember what eats what. If there is more than one option, acknowledge students when they say a correct answer, even if no one in the class is role-playing that particular plant or animal. 2. Ask students why animals eat other animals or plants. 3. Ask students what would happen to the plants and animals in the food web if one plant or animal disappeared. Explore with students reasons why an animal or plant would disappear. Enrichment Step 5 l Using a hole-punch and string, help students create a placard to identify them as a particular animal or plant. 1. Create illustrations and placards exemplify¬ ing a chain of foods that the students eat. Then link hands to create one or more chains (for example, people eat hamburger, which is made from cows, which eat grass). 2. Teach the students the words to "This Land Is Your Land" and sing it as a class. Discuss some of the lyrics that describe particular ecosystems (e.g., redwood forests). 3. Tell students the different types of ecosystems that exist in your geographic location, such as streams, ponds, forests, deserts, and mead¬ ows. Have each student pick one and draw a picture of it, including animals and plants that live in it. If possible, have students collect items in nature, such as leaves, acorns, bones, bark, to include in their artwork. V J IH Unit 1, Chapter 1.1. Natural Resources The Quest for Less Grades 2-3 4 Dr. $eu$$ and "Resource 11$e Objective) To learn about resources and the potential negative impacts humans can have on the environment through overconsumption. Students will listen to the teacher read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. The teacher will then show the class products that exemplify reduced resource consumption. Materials Needed ) The Lorax by Dr. Seuss Key Vocabulary Words ) Natural resources Pollution Ecosystem Consumption Duration 2 hou rs Skills Used ) Reading Problem solving science language arts Activity ) Listening Exercise Step 1 : Introduce and discuss the concept of natural resources and product consumption with students (refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Natural Resources on page 5). Review vocabulary words above. Note how humans continue to consume more and more prod¬ ucts, which takes a toll on the environment. Explain that ecosystems are comprised of many different interrelated components, such as different plant and animal species. Add that when one part of an ecosystem is dis¬ turbed, it impacts the entire ecosystem. Step 2 : Take students to a quiet area out¬ side where they can sit comfortably and listen without distractions. Have students sit in a cir¬ cle. Once settled, ask students to close their eyes and take three long deep breaths to help them relax. Step 3 : Once students are calm and atten¬ tive, read The Lorax out loud. In this story, a character called the "Once-ler" cuts down "Truffula" trees for their valuable silk tufts and uses them to make "thneeds." Due to increas¬ ing thneeds sales, the Once-ler builds a factory and invents an axe that can cut down four trees at once. The Lorax, a wise creature of the forest, recognizes the potential harm this could have on the Truffula tree forest ecosystem. He speaks up to defend the trees, animals, air, and water that the Once-ler is destroying in pursuit of more money and to satisfy those who want thneeds. Eventually all the Truffula trees are depleted, and the Once- ler can no longer produce thneeds. The once beautiful site is left contaminated with polluted air and water. V 15 The Quest for Less (Jnit 1, Chapter 1.1. Natural Resources /H|. . »A* V.-iVIr*" •• !, m.’ < t - • • i *1 » ■ - v ,J 4 fh^ 4', ■ Y\. « I Journal Activity ) Remind students that the Lorax spoke for the trees, "for the trees have no tongues." Ask students to choose one thing in the environ¬ ment that is in jeopardy and cannot speak for itself and defend it Why is it in jeopardy? Assessment j 1. Ask the students why the Once-ler cut down the Truffula trees. 2. Ask the students why the Brown Bar-ba-loots have to leave the forest after the Once-ler starts his thneed production. Could some¬ thing like this happen in real life? How? 3. Have students list three ways the Thneed fac¬ tory caused problems for the Truffula Tree forest and its residents. Step 4 : Discuss the story with the students. Begin by asking them why the Once-ler is called the "Once-ler." Evaluate why the Once-ler had to use all the Truffula trees and ask the students to speculate why he would not listen to the Lorax. Ask the students if they can suggest a way for the Once-ler to make thneeds without destroying the ecosystem in which the Lorax lived. 4. Have students explain what the Lorax's mes¬ sage "Unless" means (answers should include the need for future generations to protect and care for the Earth). Enrichment j Step 5 : Have students suggest "thneeds" that Instruct students to go home that night and think about how they can consume less resources while still using their thneeds. One example is buying used clothing instead of new clothing. Instruct students to bring in their thneed for a "show and tell" activity the following day. Break students into groups of approximately so that the Truffula tree forest and its inhabi¬ tants are saved. Students can use this to develop a script and act out their own story in front of the class. 2. Instruct students to create a collage of their needs and wants, labeling them "thneeds" and "thwants," by cutting pictures out of magazines. Once the collages are complete, ask the students to tell the class about opportunities to use less resources with the thneeds and thwants. ( w Grades 5-6 Source# of “Resource# science Objective) To identify natural resources as renewable or nonrenew¬ able; to learn where resources come from; and to understand how overconsumption of limited supplies can be problematic. Activity Description ) Students will research resources, investigating their sources and uses. They will present conclusions to the class and identify on a map where the resource is most often found. \JL _ y T1 Materials Needed <■ . Wool sweater Plastic milk jug Metal can Glass bottle Plastic boot or raincoat Fruit and/or vegetables Wood object (chair, ruler, etc.) Cotton T-shirt Paper Dairy product (egg, cheese, milk, etc.) Leather (belt, shoe, purse, etc.) Pushpins Paper (used to make small labels/tags) Scissors Pens World map Subjects Covered J Natural resources Renewable Nonrenewable Raw materials Consumption social studies Duration ) 1 hour Skills Used ) Communication Research Observation/classification Problem solving Activity ) Step 1 : Display all of the materials from the "Materials Needed" list above except for the last five items. Discuss the concept of natural resources with the students and ask them to identify what each of the objects on display are made from (refer to Teacher Fact Sheet titled Natural Resources on page 5). List their answers on the board. Use the list to define and explain the key vocabulary words. Valuable Natural Resources Aluminum Chromium Coal Cobalt Corn Diamonds Fish Fresh Water Gold Nickel Oil Petroleum Platinum Silver Tin Wheat Wool Zinc > The Quest for Less Unit 1, Chapter 1.1, Natural Resources 17 Journal Activity ) Ask students to list the kinds of natural resources they use fre¬ quently. Are they renewable or nonrenewable? Ask students to write about what they would do if the world supply of the resource ran out w Step 2 : Have a brainstorming session with students to identify well-known resources such as those listed in the "Valuable Natural Resources" sidebar. Try to come up with at least as many resources as there are students in the class. Write the list on the chalkboard. Step 3 : Have each student choose a natural resource from the list. Step 4 : Instruct students to research their cho¬ sen resource. They should use library and Internet resources to investigate the dominant sources and uses for their resource. Students should also research consumption of their resource and analyze whether their resource might become depleted in the near future. Step 5 : Display a large map of the world in the front of the classroom. Step 6 : Have students write the name of their resource on several small pieces of paper. Step 7 : Have students present information about their resource to the class, discussing their research conclusions. Students should begin their presentation by telling the class what their resource is and where it is most typically found. Students should pin the paper that labels their resource on the map at the appropriate regions. Additionally, students should discuss whether the resource is renewable or nonrenewable and tell the class some of the resource uses and any associated consumption issues. Assessment ) 1. Ask students to identify the natural resources used to make items, other than those previ¬ ously studied. Have students think about their house, family car, room, school, or other familiar objects in their lives. 2. Test students' memory of where some of the assigned resources come from. Take the pins out of the map and have students place the pins at the proper geographic locations as you call out the resources. 3. Ask students to explain and discuss the importance of monitoring resource consump¬ tion. Also, discuss why it is important to develop and discover alternatives to certain resources. Enrichment ) 1. Have students research, via the Internet or the school library, information on our global population and specific resource quantities. Have them calculate and record figures to determine the approximate future supply of particular resources. 2. Have students pick their favorite resource and identify ways to conserve it. With this information, have students write and act out a skit that exemplifies resource conservation practices. 3. Conduct a geology lesson that incorporates a discussion of the formation of some com¬ mon natural resources (e.g., coal, petroleum, diamonds). Ask students why all resources are not located right in their backyards. Discuss what this means in terms of resource availability (e.g., how we get resources from other countries). 18 Unit 1, Chapter 1.1, Natural Resources The Quest for Less Grades 5-6 Haw Kany "People Poes Hake to "Ruin an "Ecosystem.? ObjectiveJ To learn how animals and plants depend on each other in ecosystems and how human activities can impact ecosystems. Activity DescriptionJ Students will role-play elements of a food web to illus¬ trate the connections in ecosystems and will respond to real-life scenarios that impact ecosystems. Materials NeededJ Red stickers Green stickers Black stickers Cardboard String Subjects Covered Food chain Food web Ecosystem Duration J 1 to 2 hours Skills Used j Communications Motor skills science social studies Activity J Step 1 : Discuss ecosystems with stu¬ dents and identify the types of ecosystems that exist in your geographical area. Select an ecosystem to study (e.g., forest, meadow, stream, pond). Step 2 : As an in-class exercise with students, brainstorm some of the animals and plants that make up that ecosystem. Flave a student write everything on the board and have the class create links between the items that plants and ani¬ mals eat and those that eat them. The result should be a complex food web (see example in the side bar). Leave the food web on the board until the next day. Step 3 : Assign each student to a partic¬ ular plant or animal that exists in a Sample Food Web: (in an Eastern U.S. deciduous wooded ecosystem) raspberries phytoplankton ..V I • • • • white footed mouse Arrows indicate the direction that energy is transferred. The Quest for Less (Jnit 1. Chapter 1.1. Natural Resources 19 Ask students to describe a natu¬ ral place that is special to them. Have them write about what lives there and why it is so magical. Or ask them to write a poem that is in the shape of something in nature. tin specified ecosystem. Have them research (either at the school library or on the Internet) what the plant eats, what eats it, and any factors that are necessary in its habitat for survival. Have students tell the class what they found, in 5 minutes or less, modifying the existing food web as you go. Step 4 I Have students create a placard to identify themselves as a certain plant or animal. All students should start off with a green sticker on their placard, indicating that the population of their plant or animal species is healthy. Step 5 : Facilitate an exercise in which each person holds hands with the person wearing a sign of the animal or plant that they eat. The result should be a tangled web of students, holding several people's hands. Step 6 : Now, introduce some human-created scenarios that would affect this ecosystem (see examples below). When an animal or plant is affected, a red or black sticker must be placed on the person's placard. For example, in a meadow ecosystem, a scenario might be that a farmer applies pesticides to the meadow, which kills off the Monarch Butterflies. Whomever is playing the role of the Monarch Butterfly would put a black sticker over top of the green sticker (and should be removed from the web). Students should be asked to identify what other species are affected by the disappearance of the Monarchs in this ecosystem. Those that are affected (that depend on the Monarch for food or that serve as prey for the Monarch) should place a red sticker over top of the green sticker, indicating the species is in trouble. Sample Scenarios of Human Activities That Could Affect Ecosystems: • Pesticide-containing runoff makes its way into a stream from which animals drink. • A household dumps used oil in the storm drain, which empties out into a bay. • An old-growth forest is clear-cut. • Hazardous waste from a factory is dumped into the river. • Acid rain from factories kills off trees in a forest 200 miles away. Step 7 : Introduce several detrimental scenar¬ ios until the students decide that the ecosystem is no longer viable and should be considered destroyed. 20 Unit 1, Chapter 1.1, Natural Resources The Quest for Less 1. Have students define and describe a food web. 2. Ask students to describe the characteristics of an ecosystem. 3. Ask students to explain how several elements of an ecosystem can be harmed even if only one element is initially affected. 1. Repeat the exercise described in Step 6, but this time use examples of recent human actions and efforts to make a positive impact on an ecosystem. For example, through the work of biologists and naturalists, the fox is reintroduced into an ecosystem and environ¬ mental groups help Congress to pass and enforce laws to protect its habitat. 2. Present the class with a scenario that pits human activities against an ecosystem. Break the class into groups and assign different roles to the different groups. For example, one group could represent a developer that wants to fill in a wetland to build a shopping mall. Another group could represent a group of citizens of that community that want to save the wetland. Another group could rep¬ resent the new workers who could benefit from jobs at the new mall. Students should be instructed to think of all the reasons why they would support or oppose the mall from their perspective and have a mini-debate about the issue. 3. Take the students on a field trip to a local park, stream, pond, or wooded area, and take an inventory of all the common birds and plants that are observed in that ecosys¬ tem. Students could learn how to use field guides and identify the species observed. 4. Give the students a list of species that have become extinct in the last 100 years and ask them to research how they became extinct (e.g., overharvesting, habitat destruction) and present the information to the class, along with a description of the species and/or a photograph. This will help the class appreci¬ ate the beauty of many of the extinct species and gain an understanding of the human activities that caused their demise. The Quest for Less Unit 1. Chapter 1.1. Natural Resources 21 Skills TT$ed* Subjects Covered tirade “Range Activity Grade • Subject • Skills Index A Matching Tracing Trash Putting Products Let's Go Eco- A Product's Match Back to Its Roots Under the Shopping Life Microscope 1 K ✓ 1 ✓ 2 3 ✓ 4 ✓ ✓ 5 ✓ ✓ 6 ✓ ✓ 7 ✓ ✓ 8 ✓ ✓ Math • Science ✓ ✓ ✓ Language Arts ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Social Studies ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Art ✓ ✓ Health Communication ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Reading ✓ Research ✓ ✓ Computation Observation/ Classification ✓ ✓ ✓ Problem Solving ✓ ✓ ✓ Motor Skills ✓ ✓ r See Glossary of Skills for more details. Unit 1, Chapter 1.2, Products The Quest for Less iKi®*' •'- :; Ax y >&.i^ •vv\ ;v/;.. * , } \ A 4 ,;v^‘ Y:>y. *wU'5 » _ ‘ M •'. 1 ! • • ” *; ^ ;> '-;Ki ^ t vsv) • _ Products How Are Products Made? Everyone uses a variety of products each day— from toothbrushes to notebooks to lunch boxes to video games. Each of these products has an effect on the environment in one way or another. Sometimes merely using (or misusing) a product can affect the health of people and the environ¬ ment. Some products can affect the environment through the way they are made or disposed of. For example, products made from virgin natural resources have different effects on the environ¬ ment than those made from recovered resources. By understanding a product's life cycle —the development, use, and disposal of a product— people can make better decisions about what products to buy and how to use them wisely. A product's life cycle generally includes design; exploration, extraction, and processing of resources (raw materials); manufacturing; distri¬ bution and use; and retirement. If a product is made from 100 percent recovered materials, exploration and extraction of virgin materials is not necessary. If a product is recycled, compost¬ ed, or reused, people do not have to throw it away. By altering the product life cycle in these ways, people can save energy and resources, and therefore, prevent waste and pollution. The Product Life Cycle The following sections describe each stage in the product life cycle, as well as the challenges, benefits, and emerging trends associated with each step. Design Product design can involve research, testing, and development. This includes development of synthetic materials, such as plastics, which derive from natural sources. Some products are designed to be used only once (disposable), while others are designed to be used many times (durable). Engineering and material choices can determine whether a The Quest for Less Treacher fact Sheet Key "Points • Product life cycle includes design. extraction of natural resources, manu¬ facture. use. and disposal or recycling. If a product is made with recovered materials, raw materials do not have to be extracted from the Earth. If a prod¬ uct is recycled or reused, its life cycle begins anew and has less effect on the environment. The extraction of raw materials and the manufacture and disposal of a product can create pollution and waste and can reqpire a great deal of energy resources. Durable products can be used many times and create less waste, while dis¬ posable products are usually used only once. Product manufacturers are beginning to make more products that have environ¬ mentally preferable attributes. product is durable, disposable, or recyclable, or a combination. Over the last few decades, as people's lives have become more complicated and technology more advanced, many consumers have come to desire the convenience of disposable items over the durability of reusable ones. Also, it is sometimes easier to replace items rather than fix them. Thus, more and more items end up as trash in landfills or incinerators. Products are often conceived and designed with a focus simply on how they will be used and with less concern about the other stages in their life cycle. In the past decade, however, con¬ sumers have begun to demand more environmentally preferable products or "green" products—products that have fewer negative Unit 1. Chapter 1.2. Products 25 VXf* effects on human health and the environment when compared to traditional products. Manufacturers have responded by offering products that are made from recycled-content materials, low in toxicity, and high in energy-effi¬ ciency. Other products have been designed to conserve water, minimize air pollution or, through a combination of factors, have fewer negative impacts on the environment. Exploration, Extraction, and Processing Manufacturers must obtain the materials needed to make their products. If a manufacturer uses recovered materials, the company can obtain them from recycling processors or other similar sources. Virgin resources, however, must be mined (for metals and minerals) or harvested (for wood and other biobased materials) from the Earth. Once they are extracted, they must be processed for use in manufacturing. The extraction of raw materials generates waste and pollution and requires a great deal of energy. In many cases, the natural resources used in manufacturing are nonrenewable. This means that, eventually, the natural resource will be depleted. As more and more communities offer recycling programs and people participate in them, manufacturers may be able to use increased recovered materi¬ als instead of virgin materials to make products. Manufacturing Whether a product is made from virgin or recov¬ ered materials, often the factories that manufacture the product are specially designed to use a consistent form of material. If a product is made in a plant designed to process virgin materials, changing to recycled materials might not be easy. Changing the kinds of materials used in manufacturing, such as using recycled paper instead of virgin paper, can require changes in technology and equipment and can slow down the pace of production. In the past decade, however, many manufacturing plants have begun retooling and learning to use recov¬ ered materials rather than virgin materials, and thus, the variety of recycled-content products has been growing. (See the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Recycling on page 101 for more information.) Manufacturing products generates pollution and usually requires a great deal of energy. Using recovered materials can often save energy and reduce pollution. The manufacturing process also generates waste, but at some manufacturing plants, this waste can be reused. Distribution and Use People rely on various products to live in a modern society. Most people pur¬ chase and use some type of manufactured product every day because it is easier and more con¬ venient than making the same items from scratch (for example, going to a store and buying a box or bag of rice is much simpler, and more practical, than trying to grow rice in a paddy in the backyard). After products are manufactured, many must be packaged for trans¬ portation and distribution. Often, products are transported long dis¬ tances across the nation or even internationally before people can purchase and use those items. Product Facts • Most glass bottles and jars contain at least 25 to 30 per¬ cent recycled glass. • Making 2,000 pounds of paper from trees requires 3,700 pounds of wood, 200 pounds of lime, 360 pounds of salt cake, 76 pounds of soda ash, 24,000 gallons of water, and 28 million BTUs of energy. • Making an aluminum can from recycled material requires 95 percent less energy than making one from the natural resource raw material, bauxite ore. • For every 100 pounds of products made, over 3,000 pounds of waste is generated. (Sources: Glass Packing Institute; Can Manufacturers Institute; Weyerhaeuser Company.) 26 Unit 1, Chapter 1.2, Products The Quest for Less Products often require packaging to protect them from spoilage, damage, contamination, and tam¬ pering during transportation, storage, and sale. Sometimes packaging is necessary to inform con¬ sumers about product benefits, proper use, and other information. While some products might appear to have excessive packaging, in many cases the packaging serves several purposes, without which the products might not be available as widely or as frequently. Packaging—when it is discarded—can create a great deal of waste. In communities where com¬ mon packaging materials are not recyclable, these items must be thrown away, wasting precious resources and potential recovered materials. Product Retirement After use, many items or packaging are dis¬ posed of in landfills or incinerators. Others are recovered for recycling. If products are disposed of in landfills or incinerators, they can no longer provide any benefit. Emissions to air and water from these disposal methods can affect human health and the environment. A Additional Information Resources: Visit the following Web sites for more information on designing and purchasing products with the environment in mind: • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): • U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste product stewardship site: • U.S. EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Design for the Environment Program: • U.S. EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmentally Preferable Purchasing: To order the following additional documents on municipal solid waste and product life cycle, call EPA toll-free at (800) 490-9198 or look on the EPA Web site . • WasteWise Update—Extended Product Responsibility (EPA530-N-98-007) • Puzzled About Recycling's Value? Look Beyond the Bin (EPA530-K-97-008) • A Collection of Solid Waste Resources on CD-ROM Think Globally, Buy Locally One way consumers can help eliminate the need for excessive packaging is to buy products locally. This concept, known as bioregionalism, works on the idea that if consumers buy prod¬ ucts made within their own communities, packaging that would otherwise be needed to protect the products during transportation and storage could be eliminated or reduced. If products are recycled, composted, or reused, they continue to serve a purpose, either as a raw material or for the same use they were orig¬ inally intended. Extending a product's life is a way to save natural resources, prevent waste reduce pollution, and conserve energy. The more people recycle and buy recycled products, the more incentive manufacturers will have to make products with recovered content. The Quest for Less Unit 1. Chapter 1 . 2 , Products 27 tVv The Quest for Less Unit 1. Chapter 1.2. Products 31 Journal Activity Ask students to write about what natural resources mean to them. Ask them to pick a natural resource and describe why it is special or important to them. Or Have students write about their favorite toy or game. Have them write a history of where it came from, starting from when it was < natural resource. tainers, household product containers, and household items (furniture, books, appliances). See suggestions in box if the list is deficient. Step 3 : Explain the rules for bingo, and hand out bingo cards. Step 4 : Select words from the students' prod¬ uct list (or the list of suggestions) and call out words one at a time. Instruct students to find the category or categories that each item belongs in on their bingo sheet and write the name of the product. There may be more than one natural resource for each product (for example, a pair of tennis shoes might fill three categories: plant, fossil fuel, and metal). Step 5 : The first student to fill the card wins. Use the T-R-A-S-H letters as free spaces. Be sure to check the student's bingo sheet to see if all answers are correct! Step 6 : After the bingo game, have each stu¬ dent circle the items that are made from renewable resources. Assessment 1. What are natural resources? 2. What's the difference between renewable and nonrenewable natural resources? 1. Additional questions include asking students what happens if we keep using more and more natural resources? How can we stop using so many natural resources? How can we use more renewable resources and less nonrenewable resources? 2. Play show and tell. Have students bring in one of their favorite "things" and tell the class where it came from, including the resources used in producing it and how it came to be in their house. Have them describe what they will do with it when it is broken, old, used up, or no longer needed. 3. Conduct a scavenger hunt. Make a list of common items found inside or outside of the classroom that are derived from animals, plants, metals/minerals, fossil fuels, or sand. Have students find 1 5 of 30 items and iden¬ tify which category they belong in. Give the students 1 5 minutes to look for the items, then call them together and discuss their answers. 32 Unit 1, Chapter 1.2, Products The Quest for Less Name: %>«*$**■ £ Animals o Fossil Fuels Metals 0 Sand Plants/Tnees Metals Metals Sand 1 Fossil Fuels 1 1 L-®—Fossil Fuels © $ Plants/Tnees Sand 1 | Animals Sand Plants/Tnees nr y iPlants/Tnees Fossil Fuels Fossil Fuels Metals Metals g ■0 ■mHHB Animals Sand Plants/Tnees Animals Metals m Plants/Tnees Sand Fossil Fuels Metals Metals Sand Plants/Tnees Fossil Fuels Metals Fossil Fuels Fossil Fuels Fossil Fuels Sand Plants/Tnees n 9o Plants/Tneee L O Name: The Quest for Less Unit 1, Chapter 1.2, Products 33 Grades 5-6 Putting Product? TTnder the Microscope Objective) To have students evaluate a product to determine its resource use and overall impacts on the environment. Activity Description ) Students select a product manufactured in their com¬ munity and discuss the raw materials and resources required to make the product. Materials Needed ) Copies of Product Inspector worksheet for students. Key Vocabulary Words ) Products Manufacturing process Raw materials Resources Ecosystems [5^ 30 minutes Skills Used ) Communication Observation/classification Problem solving science language arts social studies Activity Step 1 : Explain that everyone uses a variety of products every day. Note that there is a manufacturing process involved in creating a new product and that any new product requires raw materials. (Refer to the Teacher Fact Sheets titled Natural Resources on page 5 and Products on page 25 for background information.) Step 2 : Have students select a product that is made in their community or state. Products might include bicycles, batteries, pens, milk, shoes, ships, plastic toys, glass bottles, or paper. Step 3 : Ask the students to draw a picture of the product. Then ask them to label all of the product's different parts and write both the raw materials used to make each part as well as the original resources used to make the raw material on the Product Inspector work¬ sheet. If a student draws a car, for example, he or she would label the dashboard and note that plastic is derived from petroleum. Step 4 : Discuss whether there are more raw materials required to make the product than expected. Ask where the raw materials come from—your town, state, country, or another nation. Discuss what happens to the environ¬ ment when the raw materials are extracted from the Earth or harvested. Does this process produce pollutants or harm land or ecosys¬ tems? Discuss ecosystems in your geographical area that might be affected by the removal of raw materials. How might people living in the area be affected? The Quest for Less Unit 1, Chapter 1.2, Products 35 Journal Activity ) Ask the students to name some products they could give up for a day, a month, or longer. Ask them to describe how giving up these items would affect other people and the environment Step 5 : Ask students to describe what hap¬ pens to the product after they use it. Can it be used up or will it wear out? Can the product or its parts be reused or recycled in some way? How? Will the product or its parts decompose if buried in a landfill? What effects does disposing of this product have on the environment? Who pays for disposing of the product? Who is responsible for disposing of it? 1. Ask students how products are created. 2. Ask students how this process impacts the environment. 3. Have students explain what happens to prod¬ ucts after we are finished with them. 4. Ask students if they think we really need all of the products we use. Why or why not? 1. Contact or visit the manufacturer with your class to learn more about the process and materials used to make the product. 2. Ask students to name the different products they use during the course of a day (e.g., toothbrush, shoes). Make a list of these items on the blackboard. Then, ask students to cat¬ egorize the product as essential to survival, necessary for living in today's society, or a lux¬ ury. Ask students if they are surprised how few products we really need and how many prod¬ ucts are a luxury. Explain to students that all products create waste and that they should keep this in mind when they buy products. 3. Check books, articles, and magazines, or write to agencies or organizations to learn about the types of natural resources (e.g., wood, oil) that the United States obtains from other countries. Research whether these are renewable or nonrenewable resources. Describe what might happen if we begin to use up these resources. What can we do to conserve these resources? 36 Unit 1. Chapter 1.2. Products The Quest for Less i‘/» HP.iW-! n "Product Inspector Name: Name of Prodacf:_ \ Product Parts Raw Materials Used Original Resources The Quest for Less (Jnit 1, Chapter 1.2, Products 37 To teach students how to identify and evaluate the envi¬ ronmental attributes of products and assess their environmental impacts. Activity Description ) Research products that students buy and discuss their environmental attributes. Materials Needed ) Key Vocabulary Words ) Postconsumer- recovered material content Life cycle Environmental attribute Duration D 2 hours over two class¬ room periods social studies Five products with environmental claims on labels (e.g., a cereal box made with recycled content, an aluminum can with a recy¬ clable symbol, a cleaning product marked "biodegradable"). Product Review Worksheet (one for each student). ERA'S Let's Go Green Shopping brochure located at . To order copies of this brochure, please visit or call EPA at (800) 490-9198 and reference document number EPA530-K-04-003. EPA and the Federal Trade Commission's Environmental Marketing Claims brochure at . Skills UsecT^ Communication Research Observation/classification Problem solving Activity Step 1 : Bring in at least five products with environmental claims (e.g., aluminum cans, newspapers, paper towels) and examine them with the class. List the attributes on the chalk¬ board and discuss them (refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Buying Recycled on page 1 07). For example, many paper products are manufactured with environmental attributes such as those listed in the "Environmental Environmental Attributes for Paper Preconsumer content Postconsumer content Recyclability of packaging Recyclability of product Reusability of item Attributes for Paper" sidebar. Use the EPA/FTC Environmental Marketing Claims brochure to teach students what different labels mean The Quest for Less Unit 1. Chapter 1.2. Products 39 Journal Activity Have students keep a journal of everything they buy in a week or on one trip to the mall (including food). Ask them to examine the purchases and think of ways to reduce waste on future shopping trips (e.g., take a reusable bag for carrying purchases, buy in bulk to reduce packaging waste). Assessment ) 1. Ask students to think about their shopping habits. Before today's lesson, ask them if they consider environmental attributes when purchasing products. After the lesson, ask them if they will in the future. Discuss what kinds of attributes they will pay the most attention to and why. 2. Ask students to suggest environmental attrib¬ utes to consider when purchasing some products other than those already researched (e.g., beverages, paint, food items). (e.g., all natural, recycled-content percentages, biodegradable). Discuss product manufacturing (refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Products on page 25 and its potential impact on the environment. Discuss how changing some of the practices involved in product manufacturing can increase or diminish a product's environmental impact over its life cycle (refer to A Product's Life on page 43). Step 2 : Divide into groups or have each stu¬ dent choose one product (from home or school) that could possess environmental attributes (e.g., binders with recycled-content plastic cov¬ ers, paper clips with recovered plastic, energy-efficient computer). Have the students research his or her product (e.g., read product literature/labels, contact the company, Web research, visit a store that sells the product). Give students copies of the Product Review Worksheet and instruct them to answer the questions while researching. Step 3 : After students conduct and compile their research, have a class discussion where students report their results (discuss more than one product at a time if several students chose similar items. On the chalkboard, list the envi¬ ronmental attributes each person discovered. Discuss which products are the most environ¬ mentally sound and why. Point out that attributes can vary depending on local, personal, and other circumstances. For instance, if the students live in a desert community, products that con¬ serve water might be most important to them. 1. Have students conduct a "mall scavenger hunt" to search for "green" products and/or the sustainable practices of stores or the mall (e.g., recycling bins). While on the scavenger hunt, students can take note of: • Stores that sell products with environmental attributes (e.g., bags with recycled content, biodegradable beauty products). • Recycling containers available for mall cus¬ tomers. • Store and/or mall managers who are knowl¬ edgeable about recycling, waste reduction, and green products. 2. Instruct students to select one of the products examined in this activity and create a detailed lifecycle flow chart of the steps involved in manufacturing, use, or disposal of the item (refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Products on page 25 and A Product's Life on page 43). 3. Have students write and design a marketing brochure or public service announcement (refer to the Memorable Media Messages activity on page 215) that emphasizes a product's environmental attributes. Instruct students to develop the brochure targeting consumers. The brochures should explain why a consumer might purchase this item over a competing company's product. Students should pay special attention to the (Jnit 1. Chapter 1.2, Products The Quest for Less Pant of an eco-fashion show of reused clothing from thrift shops at a Pennsylvania middle school. guidelines outlined by EPA and the FTC in the Environmental Marketing Claims brochure. 4. Students can hold an open house to showcase the items they purchased. They can cre¬ ate a display of the "green" products and set it up either in the classroom or elsewhere in the school. Suggest placing an index card or small piece of posterboard next to each prod¬ uct explaining the environmental attributes it con¬ tains. 5. Students can hold an "eco" fashion show for their class¬ mates or the whole school. They can create outfits by sup¬ plementing the items they found while shopping with used cloth¬ ing from thrift shops. Suggest that they present the clothing and accessories in a live fashion show format or museum-type display (e.g., using mannequins, hangers). 6. Have students conduct research and write a report about a "green" company or a specif¬ ic "green" product. 7. Have students write letters to companies. They can either write to ask a company why they do not sell/design green products, or they can thank a company for selling sustain¬ able products. 8. All toilet paper contains a percentage of recycled paper, but only some companies advertise this fact. Have students compare packaging for five different toilet paper brands to determine how many advertise that the paper is made from recycled content and how many do not. Write a letter to the com¬ panies that do not advertise the recycled content of their toilet paper, asking them why they choose not to promote this fact. The Quest for Less Unit 1. Chapter 1.2, Products Name: Product Review Worksheet 1. List the environmental attrib¬ utes of your product. 2. Are there any brands of your product that advertise environ¬ mental attribute claims? If so, how many different brands are available? 3. Which brand offers more environmental attributes? 4. What are the costs different brands? If 1 ferences are substantial think that is? SUYru yunn / 6 . Why did you choose to pur¬ chase your product? Iter 1 . 2 , Products t attributes do you / the most important [fo, products have those attributes? t f 7. Whether your product is an electronic or not, list some actions 1 you can take to recycle electronics. The Quest for Less Grades 7-8 "Product's Life Objective^ To teach students the concept of product life cycles, including the various steps and related environmen¬ tal issues involved. Activity Description^ Using the Life Cycle of a CD or DVD and/or Life Cycle of a Cell Phone or other life cycle posters as an example of a product life cycle, students research the steps involved in a product's life cycle and present their findings to the class. Materials Needed The Life Cycle of a CD or DVD poster and/or The Life Cycle of a Cell Phone poster located at . To order copies of these materi¬ als, please visit or call EPA at (800) 490-9198 and reference document numbers EPA530-H-03-002 and EPA530-H-04-002. Index cards. Library, computer/Internet access, EPA's Let's Go Green Shopping Guide (available at or order online at ), or other sources of research. For enrichment activity: • Scissors • Markers • Heavy-duty (cardstock) paper language arts Key Vocabulary Words ) "Cradle to Grave" Extraction Life cycle Manufacturing Processing Remanufactured products Recovered materials Virgin resources (natural resources) art science Duration J Day 1: 1.5 hours Day 2: 1 hour Skills Used ) Research Reading Communications Motor Skills Activity Step 1 : Introduce the concept of product life cycles. (Refer to the Teacher Fact Sheets, titled Products on page 25 and Natural Resources on page 5; the Let's Go Eco-Shopping activity on page 39; the information on the Life Cycle of a CD or DVD and/or Life Cycle of a Cell Phone poster; and EPA's Let's go Green Shopping Guide.) Start by giving a general overview of life cycles, and relate this concept to something familiar to the students (e.g., our own lives, the life cycle of a tree). Continue by explaining that all products are made of some¬ thing that ultimately comes from nature; and The Quest for Less (Jnit 1, Chapter 1.2, Products H3 that all products end up somewhere after we are finished using them. Step 2 : Move on to more in-depth discus¬ sions of the various steps of a product's life cycle. Be sure to define each step: raw materials acquisition/extraction, materials processing, manufacturing, product packaging, distribution, use (lifespan), and end use (reuse, recycling, disposal). Discuss how each of these steps can have environmental consequences. Step 3 : Investigate the life cycle of an every¬ day item. Have the class select one or two products whose life cycles they would like to research. Choose a common product, such as one used often in class or at home. (For exam¬ ple: calculator, radio, remote control, light bulb, pencil sharpener, computer keyboard or mouse.) Step 4 : Divide the class into research teams for each item chosen. As a homework assign¬ ment or an in- class activity, have students work in groups of three or four individuals to research an individual step of the chosen product's life cycle. Students can use the library, Internet, and other resources, including those listed on the Teacher Fact Sheets in this binder. Step 5 : Direct the students to use their find¬ ings to organize a short presentation to the class. Give each group a handful of index cards on which they can write down notes. Have each group give an oral presentation to the entire class on what they discovered through their research. Be sure to only discuss one product's life cycle at a time and have the groups present in the proper order of the steps of a life cycle (i.e., materials extraction, then processing, then manufacturing, etc.). Encourage the students to be creative, including using props or other visu¬ al means of presenting their information. Assessment ) 1. Oral presentations can be judged and grad¬ ed on the following criteria: • Comprehension of life cycle concept and comprehension of individual step in the life cycle. • Effectiveness of presentation • Creativity • Completeness • Research method and sources • Ability to work in a group 2. Ask the students if knowing more about a product's life cycle might affect their decision to buy the product. Discuss the choices we have as consumers. (Refer to the Let's Go Eco-Shopping activity on page 39 for more information.) Enrichment 1. Compare the lifespan of various products and how this relates to product life cycles. For example, compare the environmental impacts of various types of cameras (dispos¬ able vs. traditional film vs. digital) as they relate to product life cycles. Include a discus¬ sion of the advantages/disadvantages of each product option. 2. Using the same groups created for the main activity, create a graphic display of the cho¬ sen product's life cycle. a. Have each group of students create a graphic display of their step of the life cycle. Encourage the students to be cre¬ ative but ask that each display indicates movement from one step of the life cycle to the next. b. After each team gives their oral presenta¬ tion, have the class work together to display the final product in sequential order along the walls of the room, in the hallway, or a similar appropriate space. (The end result may look similar to The Life Cycle of a CD or DVD poster when completed.) Unit 1, Chapter 1.2, Products The Quest for Less Grade • Subject • Skills Index r. +J 0 a> i g +» >5 L e of k Trash Art Weigh Your Waste Trash Time Travelers Waste Not F VJ Ql Social Studies ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ? XA Art ✓ ✓ Health ✓ F * TJ Communication ✓ Reading ✓ Research ✓ 0) sS VI Computation ✓ T—i r-i ^5 XA Observation/ Classification ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Problem Solving ✓ Motor Skills ✓ ✓ ✓ *See Glossary of Skills for more details. t6 Unit 1. Chapter 1.3. Waste The Quest for Less Solid Waste What Is Solid Waste? Everyone produces solid waste (otherwise known as trash or garbage), whether it is old newspapers, potato chip bags, shampoo bot¬ tles, cut grass, food scraps from the dinner table, old appliances, or even the kitchen sink. Each person in the United States generates 4.4 pounds (EPA, 2003) of solid waste each day, which is often collected by a municipality and is known as municipal solid waste. This kind of waste primarily comes from people's homes, but it also comes from some factories, busi¬ nesses, and schools. As our population has grown, so has the num¬ ber of products we use and the total amount of solid waste we generate. Consequently, the composition of garbage continues to change with more plastics, more office paper, and less glass filling up trash cans around the country. The chart below illustrates the different compo¬ nents of municipal solid waste. How Do We Manage Solid Waste? No single method can manage all our nation's garbage. The U.S. Environmental Protection Municipal Solid Waste Composition Glass: 5.5% Other: 3.4% (12.6 million tons) (4.2 million tons) Metals: 7.9% (1 8.1 million tons) Wood: 5.7% - (13.2 million tons) r Paper and A Cardboard: j 35.7% (81.9 million tons)J Plastics: 11.1% — (25.4 million tons) Rubber, leather, and tpvtilp<;- / 7.1% (16.3 million tons) Yard Trimmings: 12.2% (27.7 million tons) EPA, 2003; Note: This chart represents waste generation before recycling Key Voint$ • Americans generate about t.5 pounds of garbage per person each day. which amounts to more than 220 million tons per year. • EPA advocates a solid waste hierarchy, organizing waste management options in order of preference: source reduc¬ tion. recycling and composting, and combustion and landfilling. • Facing a variety of challenges-from rising waste generation rates and costs to closing disposal facilities-community lead¬ ers and businesses are devising ways to prevent waste and increase efficiency. Agency (EPA) recommends the use of a "waste management hierarchy," which ranks methods of waste management in order of preference. Although mentioned briefly here, each method is explained in separate fact sheets. Please refer to these other fact sheets for more information regarding the benefits, challenges, trends, and opportunities of each waste management system. EPA's waste management hierarchy includes: • Source Reduction. Source reduction, also known as waste prevention, is the preferred method of waste management because the best way to manage garbage is to prevent it in the first place. As the name implies, this method prevents waste at the source by decreasing consumption and reusing products. For example, using a durable cloth lunch bag or reusing the same brown paper bag instead of a new brown paper bag each day prevents waste. It also includes using nonhazardous substitutes as an alternative to toxic products that could end up in the waste stream. For example, using baking soda to clean kitchen and bathroom counters rather than a chemical detergent prevents the disposal of toxins. The Quest for Less Unit 1. Chapter 1.3, Waste Household Hazardous Waste Leftover household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients are considered "household hazardous waste." Examples of products that could become household hazardous waste include certain cleaning products, pesticides, motor oil, oil paints, adhesives, and batteries. can be used as a plant fertilizer supplement. Both of these process¬ es use waste as a raw material to create new and valuable products. Unlike municipal solid waste, special care must be taken in disposing of household hazardous waste to minimize the impact on human health and the environment. The best ways to reduce the amound of household hazardous waste being disposed of are to use up all of the products or share them with someone else until they are used up or prop¬ erly recycle them. If you are unsure of what to do with these products, contact your local environmental or solid waste agency. • Recycling , including !m Composting. If waste can¬ not be prevented, the next best way to reduce the vol¬ ume of it that must be disposed is to recycle or compost it. Recycling refers to a series of activities where discarded materials are collected, sorted, processed, converted into raw materials, and used to make new products. Composting is the decomposition of organic materials such as yard trimmings and food scraps by microorganisms. The byproduct of this process is compost—a soil¬ like material rich in nitrogen and carbon that • Disposal: Combustion and Landfills. Trash that cannot be reduced, recycled, or composted must be disposed of. Combustion is the burning of waste in specially designed facilities often called incinerators. It reduces the bulk of waste, and some facilities provide the added benefit of energy recov¬ ery ("waste-to-energy" facilities). Landfills are also major compo¬ nents of waste management. A landfill is a large area of land or _ an excavated site that receives waste. Combustion facilities and landfills are subject to environmental controls that require them to be properly maintained so there is no waste run-off that might contaminate drinking water supplies. The portion of waste requiring combustion and land disposal can be significantly reduced by reducing, reusing, or recycling— the "3 Rs" of solid waste management. What Are the Benefits of Waste Management? It might seem hard to believe now, but people once dumped trash out windows onto the streets, left it in local ravines or quarries, or burned it in fields and open dumps. In fact, throughout time, people have made garbage "go away" in different ways, regardless of envi¬ ronmental or aesthetic impacts. As one can imagine, these activities created serious sanita¬ tion problems for a community. Open dumps produced noxious odors, attracted rodents and pests that spread disease, and polluted drinking water supplies. Federal, state, and local laws now control how solid waste is managed and disposed of. These regulations set standards for trash disposal. As a result of regulations, many communities have state-of-the-art landfills and combustion facilities that minimize ground- and surface-water con¬ tamination and air pollution. At the same time, HS Unit 1. Chapter 1.3, Waste The Quest for Less they provide a safe and convenient way to remove trash from homes and neighborhoods. Waste management can also create jobs and provide an economic boost to some cities and counties. Whether workers are collecting garbage, constructing disposal facilities, managing recycling programs, or developing new technologies, the waste management industry employs hundreds of thousands of people nationwide. What Are the Challenges of Solid Waste Management? Despite the improvements that have been made to solid waste landfills and combustion facilities over the years, the general public still does not want to live near a disposal facility. With varying public opinion and the Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) mentality, community leaders often find it difficult to find new sites for waste manage¬ ment facilities. Balancing all of the management options in the solid waste hierarchy can be a major challenge. Many communities have invested resources in source reduction and recycling in an effort to reduce the amount of trash that must be land- filled or combusted. Yet reducing waste ultimately involves changing behaviors— purchasing environmentally friendly products HHW Facts • The average home may have up to 100 pounds of household hazardous waste stored throughout the house. • Americans generate 1.6 million tons of household hazardous waste each year. when possible, and participating in recycling and composting programs. What Are Some Emerging Trends? Communities continue to seek ways to reduce waste. One recent trend is to charge residents for garbage collection services based on the amount of trash they throw away, known as "Pay-As-You- Throw" (PAYT). By paying for garbage services in the same way as electricity, water, and other utili¬ ties, residents have a direct incentive to reduce the amount of trash they generate and to recycle more. Additional Information Resources: Visit the following Web sites for more information on municipal solid waste: • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): • U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste site on municipal solid waste: • U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste publications on household hazardous waste: To order the following additional documents on municipal solid waste, call EPA toll-free at (800) 490-9198 or look on the EPA Web site . • Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States • Sites for our Solid Waste: A Guidebook for Public Involvement (EPA530-SW-90-01 9) • A Collection of Solid Waste Resources on CD-ROM The Quest for Less Unit 1. Chapter 1.3. Waste Hazardous Waste What Is Hazardous Waste? Many of the appliances, products, and materials used in everyday life are manufactured using processes that create hazardous waste. From the paint on your walls, to the components of your car, to the shingles on your house, it is likely that when these products were made, some haz¬ ardous waste was generated. Hazardous wastes are substances that exhibit one or more of the following characteristics: • Toxicity —harmful or fatal when ingested or absorbed. • Ignitability —creates fire under certain condi¬ tions or spontaneously combusts. • Corrosivity —contains acids or bases that can corrode metal. • Reactivity —is unstable under "normal" condi¬ tions and can cause explosions, toxic fumes, or vapors when mixed with water. Hazardous waste is created by a variety of different industries, such as petroleum refining and pesticide, chemical, ink, paint, and paper manufacturing. It also is created by the activities of certain smaller businesses found in many communities, such as dry cleaners, vehicle maintenance shops, vocational schools, and photoprocessing stores. In addition, hazardous waste is created when businesses or facilities dispose of certain unused products. Hazardous waste is an inevitable product of a thriving industrial society. It is important to be aware that the choices consumers make when selecting products, services, and materials have hidden environmental effects. Consumers also should realize that the management of hazardous waste is regulated by law and that facilities that produce, transport, or dispose of it must follow very specific rules to minimize environmental and human health problems. The primary law that Key “Points • Hazardous waste can be produced in the manufacturing process of many common products people use every day. as well as many common services. • To protect human health and the envi¬ ronment hazardous waste is regulated from the time it is produced to the time it is disposed of. governs the proper management of hazardous waste is known as the Resource Conversation and Recovery Act (RCRA). How Do We Manage Hazardous Waste? The RCRA regulations cover all aspects of haz¬ ardous waste—from the time it is generated at a factory or plant until the time it is discarded. This is known as "cradle to grave." This regu¬ latory system includes many detailed rules that require hazardous waste to be tracked as it The Quest for Less (Jnit 1. Chapter 1.3. Waste "Hazardous Waste" Versus "Household Hazardous Waste" "Hazardous waste" is regulated by EPA. Businesses, institutions, or other facilities (sometimes including schools) that generate it must comply with certain rules regarding generation, management, trans¬ portation, and disposal. When individuals dispose of household products from their home that contain hazardous ingredients, such as pesticides, cleaners, batteries, or used oil, they create what is known as household hazardous waste. Individuals usually produce much less hazardous waste than businesses and other facilities, and they are not regulated by EPA. Even so, many communities require or prefer that household haz¬ ardous waste is handled separately from the regular garbage to prevent any potential risks to the environment or human health. When disposing of household hazardous waste from your home, remember the following: • Sharing leftover household products is a great way for people to use all of a product and avoid disposal. If you cannot share or donate leftover products, check with your local environmental or solid waste agency to see if your community has a facility that collects household hazardous wastes year-round or offers opportunities for exchanging products with other residents. • If your community doesn't have a collection program for household hazardous waste, contact your local environmental or solid waste agency to see if there are any designated days in your area for collecting these materials. On such days, qualified professionals collect household hazardous waste at a central location to ensure safe management and disposal. • If your community has neither a permanent collection site nor a special collection day, you might be able to drop off certain products, such as batteries, paint, or automotive supplies, at local businesses for recycling or proper disposal. Call your local environmental or solid waste agency or Chamber of Commerce for information. • Some communities allow disposal of household hazardous waste in trash as a last resort. Call your local environmental or solid waste agency for instructions on proper disposal. Be sure to read the product label for disposal directions to reduce the risk of products exploding, igniting, leaking, mixing with other chemicals, or posing other hazards on the way to a disposal facility. Even empty containers of household hazardous waste can pose hazards due to residue. _„_J moves from place to place; one of the rules requires the use of a tracking paper known as a "manifest." This paper must travel with the waste wherever it goes (e.g., wherever it is stored, shipped, recycled, or disposed of). Depending on how much waste a facility gener¬ ates, it is regulated differently; bigger facilities that produce a large amount of hazardous waste each month have more rules than those that produce a small amount of waste. After a company or factory generates hazardous waste, the waste must be packaged and labeled in special containers, and it must be transported by a regulated hazardous transportation compa¬ ny in special packages with specific labels. These trucks often can be identified on the high¬ way by multicolored placards and symbols that indicate the type of hazardous waste they carry. The Department of Transportation is responsible for regulating these trucks. Hazardous waste is usually transported to a facil¬ ity that treats, stores, and/or disposes of it. Most hazardous waste must be specially treated with certain processes to alter its hazardous composi¬ tion before it can safely be recovered, reused, or disposed of. Sometimes waste is stored tem¬ porarily in a regulated unit. When the waste is 52 Unit 1, Chapter 1.3, Waste The Quest for Less ultimately disposed of, it is transported either to a landfill or special combustion facility (see Teacher Fact Sheets titled Landfills on page 1 65 and Combustion on page 169). Combustion facilities must take special precautions to prevent air pollution, and they must ensure that only appropriate wastes are burned. Sometimes hazardous waste is transported to a facility that recycles hazardous waste. Certain hazardous wastes can be recycled and used again. For example, many solvents can be recovered, some metals can be reclaimed, and certain fuels can be re-blended. Hazardous waste recycling is regulated under RCRA to ensure the protection of human health and the environment. To keep track of all of the facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste and ensure that they follow the rules, EPA and many states have a permitting system. Each company must obtain a permit, which tells companies what they are allowed and not allowed to do. Inspectors check these facilities regularly by reviewing company records, observing operating procedures, and sometimes collecting haz¬ ardous waste samples. For further tracking purposes, EPA also requires all companies that generate hazardous waste to register and obtain an EPA identification number. What Are the Benefits of Hazardous Waste Management? Before RCRA took effect in 1 970, companies could—and did—dispose of hazardous waste in rivers, streams, and other inappropriate places. By enforcing strict rules about the way waste is handled, EPA and other agencies can better control the effects of hazardous waste on the environment and human health. These controls, while not always perfect, allow the industrial production on which we all depend to continue in as safe a manner as possible. In addition, EPA has made waste minimization practices and pollution prevention activities key requirements for companies that produce haz¬ ardous waste. Any company that creates a Hazardous Waste Facts • In 2001, companies produced 40.8 million tons of hazardous waste. • Nearly 20,000 large facilities generated hazardous waste in 2001. • Many hazardous wastes can be generated in schools, such as solvents from cleaning, chemicals from chemistry labs, fluorescent light bulbs, computer monitors, and chemi¬ cal residues from woodshops. (Source: EPA National Biennial RCRA Hazardous certain amount of hazardous waste each month must sign a statement indicating that it has a program in place to reduce both the amount and toxicity of its hazardous waste. These companies also must indicate that they have chosen a method of hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal that minimizes the present and future threat to human health and the environment. It can be difficult for individuals to identify com¬ panies that have taken substantial measures to minimize hazardous waste and prevent pollu¬ tion, and thus, it is not always possible to lend support for these activities by patronizing those companies. When information of this sort is available, however, consumer demand can make a difference. PROPERTY OF WMRC LIBRARY Unit 1, Chapter 1.3. Waste The Quest for Less What Are the Challenges of Hazardous Waste Management? Just as people and communities generally do not want municipal solid waste facilities in their neighborhoods, they often do not want haz¬ ardous waste facilities near their homes and schools (the NIMBY mentality). When new haz¬ ardous waste generation or treatment facilities are sited near communities, the public can become involved in the process, but it can be a challenge for companies and communities to achieve mutually acceptable solutions. The RCRA regulations allow the public to have an opportunity to participate in decisions about hazardous waste management. Through public meetings and other open forums, people can express their concerns about a new facility. Additional Information Resources: Visit the following Web sites for more information on hazardous waste: • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): • U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste site on hazardous waste: To order the following additional documents on hazardous waste, call EPA toll-free at (800) 490-9198 or look on the EPA Web site . • The RCRA Public Participation Manual (EPA530-R-96-007) • RCRA Orientation Manual: 1998 Edition (EPA530-R-98-004) • RCRA: Reducing Risk From Waste (EPA530-K-97-004) 5 <{ Unit 1, Chapter 1.3, Waste The Quest for Less Grades K-1 Objective To teach students to recognize the "Mr. Yuk" symbol; to help students understand that this symbol designates hazardous household products that should not be han¬ dled by children without adult supervision and without reading labels properly. Activity DescriptionJ Students will identify Mr. Yuk stickers in the hidden picture and color them in bright green to signify hazard/poison. ML pri Materials NeededJ • One copy of the Beware of Mr. Yuk worksheet per student • One red or green crayon for each student (Preferably from the fluorescent color box) Key Vocabulary Words ^ Product Poison Danger Duration 30 minutes j Observation/classification Motor skills health Activity Step 1 : Put an enlarged picture of Mr. Yuk on the blackboard and ask students if they've seen it before. Elicit from students how they would describe Mr. Yuk. Step 3 : Distribute crayons and worksheets to students and ask them to color only the Mr. Yuk stickers on the products they see. Students can work individually or in groups. Step 4 : After coloring the Mr. Yuk stickers, students can color the entire scene. Step 2 : Tell the students they will be given a drawing of a house. In the picture are many products commonly found in homes, and they will have to find the ones with a Mr. Yuk face on them. Explain that if they were to find a real product in their real home with a Mr. Yuk face on it, they should not touch it; they should tell an adult about it. Ask them where Mr. Yuk products are sometimes located in a home (e.g., kitchen, bathroom, garage). Mr. Yuk Stickers Teachers who wish to promote the use of Mr. Yuk stickers at home could consider sending a note to parents indicating where stickers can be obtained. Most local poison control centers have Mr. Yuk stickers available. The Quest for Less Unit 1. Chapter 1.3, Waste 55 1. Collect the Beware of Mr. Yuk worksheets and assess whether students correctly identi¬ fied products labeled with Mr. Yuk. 2. Ask students what they would do if they found a Mr. Yuk sticker in their homes. 3. Ask students why certain products get labeled with Mr. Yuk stickers. 1. Conduct a role-playing game by putting a Mr. Yuk sticker on an empty product contain¬ er and asking students to pretend they come upon it in their homes. Have one or more students pretend that they are parents and are telling the "kids" about the Mr. Yuk stick¬ er and its importance. 2. Ask students to draw places in their homes where Mr. Yuk products might be found (kitchen, bathroom, garage, etc.) Mr. Yuk is reprinted with permission, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. Unit 1. Chapter 1.3. Waste The Quest for Less Beware of Mr. Yuk 1— 1 -c i ■ -O O- 1 1 > basement The Quest for Less Unit 1, Chapter 1.3. Waste t \£& Source Reduction Recycling Composting Landfilling and Combustion Grade • Subject • Skills Index r. £ * > 6 L. Discovering Nature's Packaging Reuse: Not Just for the Birds Source Reduction Roundup Ecological Picnic 1 How Much Lunch Is Left Over? w Q> O' ri K ✓ ✓ 1 1 ✓ ✓ 2 ✓ 0 Language Arts ✓ VI u 0) Social Studies ✓ ¥ VI Art ✓ ✓ Health F * ns Communication ✓ ✓ Reading Research • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste site on source reduction: • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste site on global climate change and waste reduction: • Reuse Development Organization: To order the following additional documents on source reduction and municipal solid waste, call EPA toll-free at (800) 490-9198 or look on the EPA Web site . • Planet Protector's Club Kit (EPA530-E-98-002) • A Collection of Solid Waste Resources on CD-ROM • Reusable News newsletters • National Source Reduction Characterization Report for Municipal Solid Waste in the United States (EPA530-R-99-034) • EPA's WasteWise program puts out Bulletins and Updates that deal with source reduction. To obtain applicable issues, call the WasteWise helpline at 800 EPA-WISE (372-9473) or visit the Web site at . Unit 2. Chapter 2.1. Source Reduction The Quest for Less Grades K-1 Objective To teach students that some food items come in their own natural packaging. Key Vocabulary Words ) Packaging Compost Art Activity Description Circle and color the items that have their own natural packaging. Materials Needed • Copies of the Find Nature's Packaging worksheet for each member of the class • Crayons or markers 1 hour Skills Usee ) Observation/classification Motor skills Activity Step 1 : Discuss how some food products have their own natural packaging that protects the part people eat. If possible, bring in exam¬ ples of items that have natural packaging (e.g., bananas, unshelled nuts, oranges) and others that do not (e.g., cheese, crackers, soda). Discuss how nature's packaging can be used in compost, which returns materials to the earth. Refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Composting on page 141 for background information on the composting process. Step 2 : Distribute the Find Nature's Packaging worksheet and pass out crayons or markers. Ask the students to circle the items that have natural packaging. Step 3 : Ask the students to color the items on the worksheet. Assessment 1. Ask students what items have their own packaging. 2. Ask students what we can do with natural packaging instead of throwing it away. ) Enrichment 1. Start a vermicomposting bin in the class to demonstrate how nature's packaging can be recycled rather than thrown away. (See the activity Worms at Work on page 1 59 in the Compost chapter for instructions on how to start a vermicomposting bin.) 2. Bring in a variety of unshelled nuts (e.g., pistachios, walnuts, peanuts). Draw or find a sketch of a face, animal, or a fun object. Photocopy it and give one to each student. Have the students shell the nuts and then glue the shells to the sketch. Use paints to color the picture once the glue has dried. 33 The Quest for Less Unit 2 , Chapter 2.1, Source Reduction art Objective To teach students that, with some creativity, we can make useful things from items we might ordinarily dis¬ card in the trash or recycling bin. Activity Description Students will bring in plastic milk jugs to create bird feeders. Materials Needed • Extra plastic milk jugs (with caps) for students that do not bring in one from home • Glue • Scissors • Paint • Colored markers • Two 1-foot long pieces of wood approximately 1/4- to 3/4-inch in diameter (per bird feeder) • Bird feed for students to put in their finished feeders Key Vocabulary Words ^ Reuse Recycle Source reduction 1 Duration } 1 hour f Skills Used J Motor skills Activity Instruct students ahead of time to bring in an empty plastic milk jug from home. Step 1 I Introduce the concept of source reduction to the class. Explain that reusing items is a great way to achieve source reduc¬ tion. (Refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Source Reduction on page 79 for background information.) Step 2: With an adult's supervision or help, instruct students to cut out two large holes on different sides of their milk jug for birds to enter. (Jnit 2. Chapter 2.1. Source Reduction 85 The Quest for Less Journal Activity Have students write a story from the point of view of a bird. What does the bird think of all of the trash it sees from the sky? Step 3 I Provide each student with two 1 -foot- long pieces of wood. These could be sticks from a nearby park or even the school grounds. Explain that these wooden pieces will cut through the bird feeder and stick out on either end so that birds can perch on the feeder. With an adult's supervision or help, instruct students to trace a circle below each of the large holes on the milk jug to match the diameter of the stick. Then, cut out the tracing and insert the wooden pieces through the milk jug. Step 4 : Punch small holes in the bottom of the jug to allow rain water to drain out. Tell students to make sure the holes are not too large, or else the feed might fall through. Step 5 : With markers and/or paints, work with the students to decorate the feeders. Step 6 : Have each student put bird seed in their feeders. Tell the students they can take their feeders home or hang them outside the school. Assessment 1. Have students name items that can be reused without any alterations. Ask them to list items that can be changed to create a new product (like the bird feeder just created from the milk jug). 2. Ask students to explain why reuse is good for the environment. 3. Ask students what would have happened to the milk jug if it hadn't been used to make the feeder. Enrichment ) 1. Organize a waste exchange—with just the class or the entire school. Ask students to bring in something from home they no longer need (e.g., a toy, game, piece of clothing). With teacher facilitation, students can then trade one item for another. Donate unwanted items to a local charity or thrift store. 2. Have students bring in small pieces of "junk" they think look interesting or colorful (e.g., bottle caps, colorful pieces of paper, wood scraps, toy parts, lids, old keys, pieces of old clothing). Then, have the class work together gluing them onto a large piece of wood cre¬ ating a colorful, attractive mosaic. When the "junk" mosaic is finished, hang it on the wall of the classroom. 3. Instruct students to bring items from home that their families are reusing. Have the stu¬ dents present these items to the class as a "show and tell." Unit 2, Chapter 2.1. Source Reduction The Quest for Less Grades 3-6 Source 'Reduction Roundup Objective To teach students the various ways to create less waste in the first place. Activity Description Students form teams and work together to answer ques¬ tions on source reduction. Materials NeededJ • Source Reduction Questions and Answers sheet • Chalk board or flip chart • Clock or timer Key Vocabulary Words ) Reuse Source reduction Disposable Pollution Natural resources Duration D 1 hour Communication Observation/classification J| Activity Step 1 : Discuss source reduction and reuse and how it relates to a clean and healthy envi¬ ronment. Explain what individuals can do to make a difference in the amount of waste that is created. (Refer to the Teacher Fact Sheets titled Source Reduction on page 79 and Products on page 25 for background information.) Step 2 l Divide the class into two teams. Bring the two teams to the front of the class¬ room and have them face each other. You might want to line up a row of desks on each side to create a "game show" setting. Flip a coin to decide which team will go first. Step 3: In preparation for this activity, write the questions on a flip chart, or simply write them one at a time on the board. Present the first question to Team 1. Inform students there are a certain number of answers to this ques¬ tion. The number of correct answers is provid¬ ed on the attached Questions and Answers sheet. Instruct Team 1 that they can consult for 2 minutes before they must try and provide as many of the six answers as possible. Step 4 : As the students in Team 1 state their answers, write them on the board below the question. Step 5 : Team 1 gets a point for every cor¬ rect answer. If Team 1 was unable to get all six answers referred to on the Questions and Answers sheet, then Team 2 gets an opportu¬ nity to guess the rest of the answers for that same question. Write Team 2's answers on the board next to Team 1 's answers. If Team 1 was able to provide all of the correct answers, then Team 2 doesn't get a chance to answer that question. Step 6 : Go over the answers with the class and discuss any answers that neither team could provide. language arts The Quest for Less Unit 2 , Chapter 2.1. Source Reduction 87 Ask students to make a list of all the things they currently do that create less waste. Then ask them to list other things they could do to further reduce the amount of waste they produce in their daily routines. Step 7 : Start the process over again with question #2, but this time, allow Team 2 to answer first. Keep track of the score and work through all of the questions, alternating which team gets to answer first. After all of the questions have been answered, the team with the most points wins. For extra credit, see if students can name even more cor¬ rect answers. 1. Ask students what kinds of activities are involved in source reduction. 2. Have students list some things each of us can do to create less waste and reuse more. 3. Ask students to explain why source reduction is important. Enrichment 1. Have each team of students devise its own questions and answers for the opposing team, and play again. 2. Organize a clothing drive with the class or the entire school. Donate the used clothing to a local charity or thrift store. 88 Unit 2. Chapter 2.1, Source Reduction The Quest for Less / Source 'Reduction. Roundup Question? and jLn$vrer$ Sheet (Note: Students should be encouraged to think of additional responses that are not are not on these lists.) What are 6 ways you can reuse a jelly jar? 1. Pen and pencil holder 2. Cookie cutter 3. Storage container for leftovers 4. Drinking glass 5. Vase for flowers 6. Container for nonfood items such as paper clips, buttons, marbles, or any other small item What are 6 commonly used items that are often thrown away but could be reused? (Note that some items have both reusable and disposable parts.) 1. Cups 2. Eating utensils (e.g., forks, knives, spoons) 3. Plates 4. Cloth Napkins 5. Lunch bags 6. Batteries What are 6 benefits of source reduction? 1. Reduces waste 2. Conserves natural resources 3. Reduces pollution 4. Reduces disposal costs 5. Reduces toxic waste in the waste stream 6. Saves money What are 6 ways you and your family can reduce waste? 1. Use a reusable bag when shopping 2. Bring your lunch in a reusable bag 3. Buy or make your own nontoxic cleaners 4. Make sure you only buy what you need 5. Donate items you don't need anymore instead of throwing them away 6. Use both sides of paper before recycling it The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2.1, Source Reduction 8 9 room. *4v. Grades 3-4 Ecological Picnic Objective^ To show students that choices they make about prod¬ ucts and packaging can have an impact on the amount of waste they generate. Activity Description j Plan a picnic with students that produces as little waste as possible. Key Vocabulary Words ) Source reduction Durable Nondurable Duration Day 1: 1 hour Day 2: 1 hour, 30 minutes | Materials Needed ] 1 « Q Skills Used ) Lunch Durable or reusable plates, silverware, cups, napkins, etc. Recyclables container Garbage container Food waste container, if your school composts Large scale Communication Computation Observation/classification math science social studies Activity ) Step 1 : Select a location to hold your eco¬ logical picnic, preferably outdoors with an indoor alternative in case of inclement weath¬ er. Find three containers the children can use to separate their recyclables, trash, and food scraps after they have finished their picnic lunch. Check with your cafeteria manager to see if your class can use nondisposable silver ware, cups, and plates and if arrangements can be made to provide bag lunches for stu¬ dents who forget or are unable to bring a lunch from home. Step 2 : Explain to students that you will be taking them on an ecological picnic where they will learn how to create less garbage, recycle more, and compost their leftover food items. Introduce the concepts of durable and dispos¬ able items and source reduction to the class (refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Source Reduction on page 79 for background informa¬ tion). Note how students will put these concepts into practice during the picnic. Step 3 I With students, compile a list of items on the blackboard that people usually bring to a picnic (e.g., paper plates, plastic utensils, paper napkins, chips, drinks, sandwiches). Working through the list on the blackboard, discuss items that can replace the disposable The Quest for Less Ask students if they saw any litter where they had their picnic. Ask them how it made them feel to see litter. How could it affect the plants, animals, and other people that use the space? instead of paper napkins or washable plastic plates instead of paper plates. Explain the bene¬ fits of buying in bulk by describing how one large bag of popcorn, for example, leaves less garbage than many smaller bags. You can also discuss picnic games and activities and their impact on the environment. Note that tossing a frisbee or flying kites doesn't create any waste, but having a water balloon fight does. Step 4 : Send a note home with the children explaining how to prepare for the picnic. The note should explain that your class is having an ecological picnic and is trying to limit the amount of garbage left over. Encourage students to dis¬ cuss what they've learned about source reduction with their parents and to help make preparations by placing food in reusable containers or includ¬ ing as little packaging as possible. Parents can also be invited to volunteer for the picnic. You can conduct the picnic in two ways: A) Children can bring their own lunch. B) Children can bring "potluck" items. This may require more time and effort from the par¬ ents to provide and transport the items. In class, have the children draw up a list of the things they need and have each of them select something to bring. If your cafeteria is unable to provide silverware, cups, and plates, these will need to be provided by stu¬ dents. In the note to the parents, list the item the student has chosen to bring. Step 1 : Before the picnic, explain to the stu¬ dents that they will be weighing the amounts of recyclables, trash, and food scraps left over from the picnic. Ask them to guess approximately how many pounds of material they think will be left over in each of the containers after the picnic. Draw the Eco-Picnic Table shown below on the blackboard and enter their guesses in the first ^co-Picnic 'Table Recyclables Food Scraps Trash Total Guess Guess Actual Weight (with container) Subtract Weight of Empty Container Total of Each 92 (Jnit 2. Chapter 2.1. Source Reduction The Quest for Less row. Show students which container you want them to use for recyclables, trash, and food scraps and then weigh each of the empty con¬ tainers on the large scale. Record these numbers on the Eco-Picnic Table. Encourage the students to pick up any litter they find at the picnic site. Step 2 : Go to the picnic site and have the picnic. Step 3 : After lunch, discuss the types of garbage that are left over, as well as the garbage prevented because of the choices stu¬ dents made. Have the students look at the leftover garbage and come up with ways they could have reduced it further. Step 4 : Return to the classroom with the con¬ tainers. Weigh the three containers to determine the amount of material that must be disposed of, recycled, or composted. How close was the students' original guess? Multiplied by 7 days, how much waste would your classroom dispose of in 1 week? How much would it recycle? How much could be composted? Ask your students to discuss, generally speaking, what would happen if the whole school (or even America as a whole) practiced source reduction as they did for the picnic. Assessment 1. Ask students why people use disposable items even if they know they make more garbage. 2. Ask students to provide an example of a dis¬ posable item that they or their family use regularly. Are there other alternatives that could create less waste? Would they or their family be willing to switch products or change their lifestyles to produce less waste and have less of an impact on the environment? 3. Ask students to think of other ways, beyond a picnic, that they can practice source reduc¬ tion. Examples might include using cloth napkins and wipes instead of paper towels, buying juice in large bottles or concentrate rather than separate single-serving bottles, using their imagination for games rather than toys, or taking cloth bags when shopping. Enrichment 1. You could consider conducting this activity by measuring the recyclables, trash, and compostables from a regular day's lunch compared to the ecological picnic lunch. 2. Collect the food scraps left over from the picnic and put them in a vermicomposting bin or compost pile. (Refer to the composting activities section and the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Composting on page 141 for more information.) 3. Make fun lunch bags out of an old pair of jeans or shorts. Cut off the legs, sew the bot¬ tom closed just under the pockets, and tie thick ribbon through the belt loops for han¬ dles. Help students decorate their bags with objects such as buttons, small toys, scrap cloth and ribbon, and fabric paints. The Quest for Less Unit 2 , Chapter 2.1. Source Reduction 93 = \ t \. The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2.2, Recycling 105 higher than the cost of disposing of these mate¬ rials as waste. The average cost to process a ton of recyclables is $50, while the average value of those recyclables on the market is only $30. Processors often compensate for this dis¬ crepancy by charging a set fee for each ton of material they receive or by establishing ongoing contracts with communities or haulers. Efforts to better manage waste and recycling programs are under development. Many communities across the country implement financial incen¬ tives to encourage people to recycle. Residents are charged a fee based on the amount of solid waste they throw away. The more a household recycles, the less garbage it throw outs, and the lower the collection fee it pays. Finally, recycling facilities are not always a wel¬ come addition to a community. As with other waste management operations, recycling facili¬ ties are often accompanied by increased traffic, noise, and even pollution. Community leaders proposing the location for a recycling facility can encourage the NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) sentiment. Additional Information Resources: Visit the following Web sites for more information on recycling and solid waste: • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste site on recycling: • Plug-in To e-Cycling: • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste WasteWise Program site: • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste site on global climate change and recycling: • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste, Kid's Page: • U.S. EPA, Region 9 Office's Recycling Site for Kids: • National Recycling Coalition: • Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries: • American Plastics Council: • Steel Recycling Institute: • Aluminum Association: • Glass Packaging Institute: • American Forestand Paper Association: • Institute for Local Self-Reliance: • Rechargeable Battery Recycling: • Polystyrene Packaging Council: • Electronic Industries Alliance: To order the following additional documents on municipal solid waste and recycling, call EPA toll-free at (800) 490-91 98 or look on the EPA Web site < www.epa .gov/e pa oswer/ osw/pu bl icat. htm >. • Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States • Planet Protectors Club Kit (EPA530-E-98-002) • A Collection of Solid Waste Resources —CD-ROM Unit 2, Chapter 2.2, Recycling The Quest for Less Buying Recycled Teacher fact Sheet What Is "Buying Recycled?" "Buying recycled" means purchasing items that are made from postconsumer recycled content— in other words, materials that were used once and then recycled into something else. This process is also known as "closing the loop." Consumers "close the loop" when they pur¬ chase products made from recycled materials. After an item has been collected for recycling, sorted and processed, and remanufactured into a new product, it still has one more critical step to undergo: purchase and reuse. If no one buys recycled-content products, the entire recycling process is ineffective. How Can People "Close the Loop?' Consumers hold the key to making recycling work. Many manufacturers are already making the use of recycled materials a part of |/7 Key "Points • Buying recycled-content products encourages manufacturers to purchase and use recycled materials. • Buying products with “postconsumer" content closes the recycling loop. • Not all recyclable products can be recycled in every community. • Buying recycled products saves energy, conserves natural resources, creates jobs, and reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators. • Today’s recycled-content products perform just as well, cost the same or less, and are just as available as their nonrecycled counterparts. • New products containing recycled materials, from construction materials to playground equipment to computers, are constantly being developed. A Recycled Product Shopping List More than 4,500 recycled-content products are already available in stores, and their numbers are rapidly growing. Some of the everyday products people regularly purchase contain recycled-content. Here are some items that are typically made with recycled materials: Aluminum cans Cereal boxes Egg cartons Motor oil • Trash bags • Comic books • Newspapers Paper towels Carpeting Car bumpers Anything made from steel Glass containers Laundry detergent bottles their official company policy. Through buying recycled-content products, consumers can encourage this trend, making each purchase count toward "closing the loop." Purchasing recy¬ cled-content goods ensures continued availability of our natural resources for the future. The first step in buying recycled-con¬ tent products is to correctly identify them. As consumers demand more environmentally sound products, manufacturers are encouraged to highlight these aspects of their mer¬ chandise. While this trend is good, shoppers should be aware of the vari¬ ous uses of "recycled" terminology. To help consumers understand product claims about recycled content, the The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2.2. Recycling • Recyclable products can be collected, sepa¬ rated, or otherwise recovered from the solid waste stream for use in the form of raw materials in the manufacture of a new prod¬ uct. This includes products that can be reused, reconditioned, or remanufactured. These products do not necessarily contain recycled materials and only benefit the envi¬ ronment if people recycle them after use. Not all communities collect all types of prod¬ ucts for recycling, so it is really only recyclable if your community accepts it. • Products wrapped in recycled or recyclable packaging do not necessarily contain recy¬ cled content. They can be wrapped in paper or plastic als, which is a good start, but the most environmentally preferable packaging is none at all. Consumers must remember to read further than the recycling symbol or the vague language to find specific and verifiable claims. When in doubt about the recycled content of an item, contact the manufacturer for information; this will also raise the company's awareness Buy-Recycled Facts • Aluminum cans contain an average of 50 percent recy¬ cled postconsumer content, while glass bottles contain an average of 30 percent. • How many recycled plastic soda bottles does it take to make...? 1 XL T-shirt.5 bottles 1 Ski jacket filler.5 bottles 1 Sweater .27 bottles 1 Sleeping bag ....35 bottles • Manufacturers in the United States bought $5 billion worth of recycled materials in 1995. • One 6-foot-long plastic park bench can be made from about 1,000 plastic milk jugs. (Sources: Aluminum Association, 2000; Glass Packaging Institute; Recyclers' Handbook by Earthworks Group, 1997; Anchorage Recycling Center, 2000; American Plastics Council, 1999; National Recycling Coalition) ¥ of shoppers' interest in environmen¬ tally preferable products. What Are the Benefits of Buying Recycled? Important advantages to buying recycled content products include: • Waste and Pollution Prevention: Manufacturing products with recycled-content generally cre¬ ates less waste and pollution, ranging from truck emissions to raw material scraps. • Resource and Energy Conservation: Making a new product from recycled-content materials generally reduces the amount of energy and virgin materials needed to manufac¬ ture the product. made from recycled materi- Federal Trade Commission has issued guidelines to ensure that products are properly and clearly labeled. Here are some basic definitions: • Recycled-content products are made from materials that have been recovered or oth¬ erwise diverted from the solid waste stream, either during the manufacturing process or after consumer use. Recycled- content products also include products made from used, reconditioned, and remanufactured components. • Postconsumer content indicates that materi¬ als used to make a product were recovered or otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream after consumer use. If this term is not noted, or if the package indicates a total recycled content with a percentage of post¬ consumer content (e.g., 100 percent recycled, 10 percent postconsumer), the rest of the material probably came from excess material generated during normal manufac¬ turing processes. These materials were not used by a consumer or collected through a local recycling program. (Jnit 2, Chapter 2.2, Recycling The Quest for Less • Economic Development: The Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Washington, DC, esti¬ mates that nine jobs are created for every 1 5,000 tons of solid waste recycled into a new product. These jobs range from low- to high-skilled positions, including materials sorters, dispatchers, truck drivers, brokers, sales representatives, process engineers, and chemists. • Money Savings: Products such as re-refined motor oil, retreaded tires, and remanufac¬ tured automotive batteries will often cost less than their virgin material counterparts. What Are Some Emerging Trends? A wider variety of recycled-content products are being produced every day. Some newly avail¬ able items include electronic equipment, such as computers and printers, made from recycled parts; tape measures made from reconditioned and recycled parts; kitty litter made from recy¬ cled drywall; recycled-content plastic office products; and innovative clothing and acces¬ sories made from recycled tire inner tubes. Buying Recycled in Action Consumers hold the power in their wallets and on their shopping lists. Whether buying items for home, school, or work, consumers must think about the environment and the future as they consider products and brands. Below are activi¬ ties that will help promote buying recycled: • Buying recycled-content products personally and encouraging the use of recycled prod¬ ucts at school. • Teaching children about "closing the recy¬ cling loop" by organizing a tour of a local facility that manufactures recycled-content products, such as steel products. • Organizing an exhibit of recycled-content products. • Asking local stores to stock more recycled- content products that you or the children can use in the classroom. The Quest for Less (Jnit 2, Chapter 2.2. Recycling 109 Buying "Green" In addition to buying recycled products, consumers can help protect the environment by buying "green": Green shopping can mean: • Not buying things you don't need • Buying energy-efficient products • Buying used or reusable products • Buying products that have no packaging or reduced packaging • Buying recycled products or recyclable products • Buying durable products that will last a long time A Visit the following Web sites for more information on buying recycled products and solid waste: • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste site on buying recycled: • King County, Washington Environmental Links: • Green Seal: • The American Plastics Council: • The Official Recycled Products Guide: • The Global Recycling Network: • Buy Recycled Business Alliance: To order the following additional documents on buying recycled and "green" shopping, call EPA toll-free at (800) 490-9198 or look on the EPA Web site • The Consumer's Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste (EPA530-K-96-003) • A Collection of Solid Waste Resources on CD-ROM • Let's Co Green Shopping (EPA530-K-04-003) EPA's WasteWise Program helpline (800 EPA-WISE) has additional resources available. These resources include information on the following: • State Buy-Recycled Contacts • Buy Recycled Guidebook Unit 2, Chapter 2.2. Recycling The Quest for Less • 1 * Grades K-2 Recycling 'Rangers To help children recognize the similarities and differ¬ ences among common recyclable items. Activity DescriptionJ Students play a sorting game and put different recy- clables into the appropriate bin. Materials Needed ZW j Four recycling bins Recyclable materials listed in the box below Key Vocabulary Words ) Paper Plastic Glass Metals Duration d 1 hour Communication Observation/classification social studies Activity j Step 1 : Set up the four bins in the class¬ room and label them "Paper," "Glass," "Plastic," and "Metals." Make a pile of all of the recyclable items on the floor and ask the students to gather around them in a circle. Step 2 : Explain to students that by the end of the lesson they will become "Recycling Rangers" and learn how to recycle different items. Discuss with the students how different "garbage" items can be recycled into new products. Note that it is important to separate these items into differ¬ ent categories before they are used to make new products. Refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Recycling on page 101 for background information on the recycling process. Step 3 : Ask the students to look at the differ¬ ent recyclable materials and discuss how they are alike and how they are different. Ask them Recyclable Materials — Cardboard — Newspapers — Magazines — Plastic soda bottles — Plastic milk containers — Glass jars or bottles — Aluminum cans — Steel food cans — Other materials recycled in your community Note: All materials should be cleaned and all sharp lids or edges should be removed or taped over to avoid injury. The Quest for Less (Jnit 2, Chapter 2.2. Recycling 111 to compare the colors, textures, and weight of the different objects. When handling the glass bottles, take great care not to accidentally break the containers. Also, note that some metal con¬ tainers have sharp edges that can cause injury to the children. Step 4 : Moving through the pile one item at a time, ask the students to identify the material that each item is made from. Then, choose a student volunteer to place the item in the appro¬ priate bin. For the older children, ask the student volunteer to also name another product that is made from that same material. If a stu¬ dent, for example, is holding a glass jelly jar, he or she could note that soda bottles are also made of glass. Step 5 : After the lesson is concluded, encour¬ age students to go home that night and share what they learned with their parents. Assessment 1. Ask students to name some examples of recyclable items. 2. Have students explain why it is important to sort the different recyclable items. 3. Ask students what kinds of materials recyclable items are made from. 1. Select a few objects from the lesson, ensur¬ ing a good mix of shapes and sizes. Ask the children to trace outlines of the objects and then color them in. Put the pictures up on the classroom wall to create a recycling art gallery. 2. Organize the class into teams of four chil¬ dren and give each group a different recyclable item. Ask the students to make a new object from the recycled items such as a crayon holder or paper plane. 112 Unit 2, Chapter 2.2, Recycling The Quest for Less Grades K-2 6 \** room ■u ’follow *fhat Battle/ Objective J To show students the various steps involved in recycling. Activity Description ) While coloring, students will follow the path of the bottle in the Follow That Bottle! worksheet. Materials Needed J Copies of the Follow That Bottle! worksheet for each member of the class Crayons Key Vocabulary Words ^ Recycling Processing Manufacturing Factory Duration 1 houi Skills Used ) Motor skills art Activity ) Step 1 : Using the storyline in the Follow That Bottle! worksheet, discuss the life of a recycla¬ ble item, such as a plastic bottle, after it is placed in the recycling bin. Explain that items such as bottles, cans, and newspapers can be made into a new product—either the same kind of product or a completely different prod¬ uct—if they are recycled and not thrown away. (Refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Recycling on page 101 for background information.) Step 2 : Read and then distribute the Follow That Bottlel worksheet and instruct the stu¬ dents to follow the bottle by coloring it with crayons as it is used, recycled, remanufac¬ tured, and made into a new product. As the students color, ask them what they think is happening in each section of the picture. Ask them, for example, if anyone has been to a factory or if they recycle at home. Step 3 : After talking about the life of the bottle, students can color the rest of the story board. Assessment 1. Have students explain what happens to a plastic bottle, or other recyclable, after it is placed in a recycling bin. 2. Ask students to describe their own recycling experiences. Do they use a bin? 1. Instruct the students to draw a picture of themselves as they recycle common products. 2. Have students sort and separate recyclables from lunch for one week to get a sense of the items that can be recycled in your community. Prepare separate bins for each recyclable. 3. Ask students what happens to the plastic bottle if it does not go in the recycling bin. The Quest for Less Unit 2 . Chapter 2 . 2 , Recycling 113 Name: Billy drinks a soda When he is finished, he pats the empty bottle in the recycling bin. A track comes to pick ap the recycled bottles. The track takes the recycled bottles to a factory. The bottles get separated by color. The bottles are groand ap into little pieces. The little plastic pieces are ...and made into pieces of thread, melted... Unit 2, Chapter 2.2, Recycling The Quest for Less ...and are sold in stones. The Quest for Less Suggestion for Teachers: You might want to find out what materials are collected for recycling in your community before beginning this activity. Objective^ To teach students the value of recycling and encourage them to discuss recycling with their families. Recycling Processing Activity Description j Students will assemble a take-home recycling kit Duration 2 hou rs Materials NeededJ Recycling Facts handout for each member of the class Old magazines and newspapers Used cardboard Construction paper Markers and/or paint Glue Scissors Any other arts and crafts supplies available Skills Used ) Communication Motor skills Activity J Step 1 : Explain how recycling works and the important role we all can play by recycling items instead of throwing them away. (Refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Recycling on page 101 for more information.) Review the information on the following Recycling Facts handouts with the students, pointing out the economic and environmental benefits of recy¬ cling. Connect each piece of cardboard with tape to form a placard that can stand on a table. Instruct the students to label each cardboard piece with one of the following recyclables: aluminum, glass, plastic, and paper (see examples below). Step 3 : Instruct the class to cut out or draw the appropriate recyclable for each cardboard Step 2 : Have each student cut the old card¬ board boxes into four 8 V 2 - by 1 1 -inch pieces and glue different colored sheets of construc¬ tion paper to each side of the cardboard. Momin, OM fi 0 GLASS The Quest for Less (Jnit 2, Chapter 2 . 2 , Recycling ■ir < jL mm mamthib IliPi Journal Activity Ask students to interview their family members about recycling practices and views on recycling. Ask students to write a short article on their families’ current views and how their recycling kit changed those views or practices. placard using the magazines, newspapers, markers, and paints. Ask students to write infor¬ mation about recycling on each placard. Optional recycling facts are included on the attached handout and might assist students in this task. Step 4 : When the students are finished deco¬ rating their placards, ask them to take them home and affix them where their family keeps its recyclables or its trash to encourage families that don't already recycle to start. Ask students to share the information they learned about recycling with their parents. Explain how the placards serve as friendly reminders of the importance and benefits of recycling. Assessment 1. Ask students to list the ways recycling helps the environment and why these benefits are important. 2. Ask students what role each of us can play in recycling. Enrichment 1. If your community recycles, but the majority of the class' families do not recycle at home, have the students practice a "recycling pitch" to their parents using their placards and other facts about the benefits of recycling. Also, students could develop a commercial using their placards and draw a story board of it or create a skit that is then videotaped. 2. Make signs for the classroom or school recy¬ cling bin. Ask students to put cans, bottles, or other items from their lunches in the recy¬ cling bins in the classroom or school. When the bins are full, take them to a collection facility and use the money to buy treats for the class. 3. Organize a tour of a recyclables processing facility or a manufacturing plant that uses recycled materials. 118 Unit 2, Chapter 2.2, Recycling The Quest for Less ' vs! ire MW 1 -:#• 'V: } ' :^$}!/?$$!*/! ftfraro v i;| C is & O 'Recycling fac t$ Paper The average amount of recycled fiber in newspapers increased from 10 percent in the late 1 980s to more than 30 percent today. By recycling or reusing 1 ton of paper, we save 1 7 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, and enough energy to heat an average home for 6 months. Americans recycled 36.7 million tons of paper and paperboard in 2001. Vlastic Using fewer than five recycled plastic soda bot¬ tles, manufacturers can make one extra-large T-shirt. Milk jugs can be made into all different types of plastic objects, from park benches to boardwalks. Recycled plastic soda bottles can be made into "fleece" sweaters, long underwear, stuff¬ ing for sleeping bags, and other items. Americans recycled 1.4 million tons of plastics in 2001 . o v-AA jUummum Recycling aluminum cans saves 95 percent of the energy required to make aluminum cans from scratch. Americans earn about $1 billion from recy¬ cling aluminum cans each year. Every minute, an average of 127,093 alu¬ minum beverage cans are recycled in the United States. The amount of aluminum recycled in 2001 could have built 14 aircraft carriers. American's recycled 800,000 tons of alu¬ minum in 2001. , , , , , , and . List the facts in the worksheet and use it as the basis for a class discussion. 2. Use the information gathered to create a brochure, fact sheet, or video explaining "How to Recycle" in your community. Make copies for students of all grade levels to share with their parents or hand out at community events/locations (e.g., local library, township administration building). Coordina+e with your local recycling offi¬ cials to see samples of similar publications they may have produced or to have them check the accuracy of the information you are providing. 3. Start a school recycling club that students can join to learn about recycling and to serve as the recycling watchdog at school and within the community. 4. Let students see first hand what happens to trash and recyclables by taking a field trip to the local landfill and recycling center. Unit 2, Chapter 2.2, Recycling The Quest for Less ’Recycling: Jn$t the facts Name: Assignment: Research Sources: Facts Learned: The Qaesf for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2.2, Recycling 133 Grades 4-8 Key Vocabulary Words ^ To introduce students to electronics recycling. Activity Description Assess different types of household electronics, their lifespan, and opportunities for recycling them. Recycle Demanufacture Life cycle Remanufacture Duration D Materials Needed J • Worksheet: Electronics Inventory • Life Cycle of a Cell Phone Poster (to order a free poster, call EPA at (800) 490-9198 and reference doc¬ ument number EPA530-H-04-002) Two classroom periods Skills Used ) Observation/classification Communication Activity Step 1 : Provide students with an overview of the life cycle of electronics. The "life cycle" includes all aspects of the life of the electron¬ ics—from mining raw materials to manufacturing to disposal or recycling. Use the information below as well as the Life Cycle of a Cell Phone poster as sources of informa¬ tion for this discussion. Students can complete the activities on the poster as part of the class¬ room activity. You can also consult the Web site for more background information. Ask students to think of ways they can con¬ serve the precious resources locked inside used electronics and how they can prevent pollution from disposal. Have them create a personal "to do" list addressing these issues. Electronics are made from many different resources, includ¬ ing plastic (made from petroleum) and various metals (mined from the earth). That's why recycling electronics is so important—to recover these materials to use again. Recycling electronics requires demanufacturing, or disman¬ tling, them, which is labor-intensive, but it yields valuable resources that can be used to make new electronics or other products. In 1998, more than 1 12 million pounds of materi¬ als were recovered from electronics including steel, glass, plastic, and precious metals. Electronics (especially computers) become outdated very quickly and need to be replaced often. In fact, nearly 250 million computers will become obsolete in the next 5 years. When no longer used, electronics are often thrown away, ending up in landfills and incinerators. Electronics can con¬ tain substances that can contaminate the soil and ground water. In fact, TVs and computers can contain an average of 4 pounds of lead (depending on their size, make, and vin¬ tage) as well as other potential toxics like cadmium, mercury, beryllium, nickel, zinc, and brominated flame retardants. The Quest for Less (Jnit 2. Chapter 2.2, Recycling 135 Step 2 : For homework, ask students to take stock of the electronics in their home using the Electronics Inventory worksheet. They should inventory their entire household, noting all elec¬ tronics—from computers to DVD players to calculators. They should estimate each item's life span and recyclability (e.g., computers must be replaced every few years, while calculators last longer). In addition, they should also think about where and how each item can be recy¬ cled/reused (e.g., donated to charity, sent back to the manufacturer, demanufactured). KnSJ Assessment Ask students which electronics have the longest life span and why. Is it because of technology changes or better physical design? Do the newer models have more or fewer environmen¬ tal impacts? How often do people need to buy new models of electronics? What else did stu¬ dents learn from their home inventories? How does what they learned apply to other items in their home? If time permits, students may also want to con¬ tact electronics companies or use the Internet to find out which companies offer take-back pro¬ grams for used electronics. Students can ask the companies or search the Web to find out if the products in their homes contain recycled-content materials or are designed for easier recycling. 1. Invite a local recycling official to speak to the class about electronics recycling and/or local electronics recycling events. Students may also want to contact their local government's solid waste office and ask for rec¬ ommendations about recycling or donating used electronics. Step 3 : Discuss the results of the students' electronics inventories (see Assessment for dis¬ cussion questions). 2. Take a field trip to an electronics recycling facility. 3. Ask students to think about questions they could ask electronics store employees the next time they are shopping. Do they accept used electronics for recycling? Do they know an organization that accepts them? 136 Unit 2, Chapter 2.2. Recycling The Quest for Less 139 Grade • Subject • Skills Index r 0 VJ Language Arts VI +» u v '• ’ ’ 1 . • j ! i;ir;AV^ 1 • 1 •: i’ teacher fact Sheet Composting What Is Composting? Composting is the controlled thermophilic (130°- 1 50°F) decomposition of organic materials such as leaves, grass, and food scraps by various organisms. Composting can be divided into three types: backyard, or home, composting; vermi- composting; and heat-based composting. Home composting is the natural degradation of yard trimmings, food scraps, wood ashes, shred¬ ded paper, coffee grounds, and other household organic waste by naturally occurring microscopic organisms. Vermicomposting is the natural degradation of similar household organic waste using naturally occurring microscopic organisms and the digestive process of earthworms. Heat- based composting is performed by municipal or commercial facilities that increase the rate of degradation using high temperatures. Varying amounts of heat, water, air, and food produce different qualities of compost as a final product. Heat-based compost differs from com¬ post produced at ambient temperatures (e.g., a forest floor or home com¬ posting) because high temperatures destroy both weed seeds and pathogens. Composts produced by all three systems are crumbly, earthy-smelling, soil-like materials with a variety of beneficial organisms. Key Voint$ • Composting is the controlled decompo¬ sition of organic materials. • There are three methods of composting: home or backyard composting, vermi¬ composting, and heat-based composting. • Invertebrates and microorganisms in compost are key to the breakdown of the organic materials into a rich soil-like product • Quality compost is the result of the prop¬ er mixture of carbon and nitrogen sources and adequate amounts of mois¬ ture, oxygen, and time. Certain food items should be avoided when home composting. • More than 67 percent of the waste produced in the United States (including paper) is compostable material. • Compost is a valuable product that can be used as a soil amendment, mulch, or even to decontaminate natural habitats, storm water, and brownfields. • Composting helps divert a large portion of America’s organic trash from landfills and combustion facilities. o Worms—A Composter's Best Friend Vermicomposting is a method of composting using a special kind of earthworm known as a red wig- gler (Elsenio fetido), which eats its weight in organic matter each day. Vermicomposting is typically done in a covered container with a bedding of dirt, newspaper, or leaves. Food scraps (without added fats) can then be added as food for the worms. Over time, the food will be replaced with worm droppings, a rich brown matter that is an excellent natural plant food. Vermicomposting requires less space than normal composting methods, and is therefore ideal for classrooms, apart¬ ments, and those in high-density urban areas. The Quest for Less (Jmt 2, Chapter 2.3, Composting Composting in Action An easy way to understand all the factors that go into composting is with a hands-on demon¬ stration. A school can provide the perfect medium for these demonstrations. Classes could start a composting bin using food scraps from the cafeteria and yard trimmings from ground maintenance. Depending on the scope of the project, the compost could then be sold to the community in addition to being used on the school campus. Tour a local composting facility, if composting cannot be done at school. For more information on how to start a school composting project, go to the Cornell University composting Web site at or use these suggested activities to get you started: • Start a compost pile or bin in the school or as a class experiment. • Try using compost in place of chemical fer¬ tilizers, pesticides, and fungicides. Use compost made by the school or buy it from municipalities or private companies. How Does Composting Work? Compost contains both carbon and nitrogen sources, which can be simplified as browns (e.g., leaves, straw, woody materials) and greens (e.g., grass and food scraps), respective¬ ly. Adequate sources of carbon and nitrogen are important for microorganism growth and energy. The ideal ratio is 30 parts brown to 1 part green. Odor and other problems can occur if the ratio or any of the factors discussed below are not right. The browns and greens can be mixed together to form compost in a backyard bin or in a municipal compost facility. Whether the com¬ posting is done on a small scale or large, the composting process is the same. To encourage decomposition throughout the pile, the compost should be kept moist and turned periodically. The decomposition of organic materials in com¬ posting involves both physical and chemical processes. During decomposition, organic materials are broken down through the activities and appetites of bacteria, fungi, and various invertebrates that will naturally appear in com¬ post, such as mites, millipedes, beetles, sowbugs, earwigs, earthworms, slugs, and snails. These microorganisms and insects found in decomposing matter need adequate moisture and oxygen to degrade the organic materials in the most efficient manner. What Are the Benefits of Composting? As a method of handling the large amount of organic waste created in the United States each day, composting makes good environmental sense. Instead of throwing organic materials away, they can be turned into a useful resource. In addition, many organic wastes are not ideally suited for disposal in combustion facilities or landfills. Food scraps and yard trimmings tend to make inferior fuel for combustors because of their high moisture content. Decomposition of organic wastes in landfills can create methane, a green¬ house gas that is environmentally harmful because it destroys atmospheric ozone. Because yard trimmings and food scraps make up about 24 percent of the waste U.S. house¬ holds generate (EPA, 2003), backyard or home composting can greatly reduce the amount of Unit 2, Chapter 2.3, Composting The Quest for Less n ;. •. m • i • .i t* • *\v *.** \Y*> »• «». k •!>:.4 waste that ends up in landfills or combustors. In addition, compost is a valuable product that can be used as a soil additive for backyard gardens and farm lands or in highway beautification and other landscape projects. The benefits don't end there—composting also makes good economic sense. Composting can reduce a community's solid waste transporta¬ tion, disposal, and processing costs. In many communities, residents pay for each bag or can of trash they put out for pickup. If a household is composting, it will most likely put less in trash cans and will pay a smaller trash bill. In backyards and on the community level, inter¬ est in composting has increased rapidly over the past several years. Yard trimmings programs constitute the large majority of composting operations in the United States. In these pro¬ grams, community members place their yard trimmings in a separate bag or container at the curb, which is collected and taken to a munici¬ pal composting facility. These facilities create large amounts of compost, which, in many cases, is sold back to community members. People can also purchase compost created by private composting companies. While composting increases the rate of natural organic decomposition, it still takes months for compost to mature. If compost is used while it is still "cooking," the high temperatures could kill the plant life on which it is spread. In addition, using compost before it is ready can encourage weed growth because the high temperatures of the pile have not had a chance to kill any potential weed seeds. What Are Some Emerging Trends in Composting? A large amount of organic waste is created by institutions, restaurants, and grocery stores— perfect for compost. Across the country, many of What Are the Challenges Associated With Composting? Creating quality compost requires the right mix of mate¬ rials and attention to moisture, particle size, and temperature. Too little moisture will slow the decomposition, but too much can create odor problems. To avoid attracting pests and rodents, composters should monitor the food scraps put in the compost pile. Meat scraps, fats, and oils are difficult items to compost, attract pests, and should be kept away from the compost pile, and thrown away instead. What Can Go Into a Composting Bin? This list is not meant to be all inclusive. Some food products should not be included because they can attract pests or compromise the quality of the compost. Materials to Include Fruit and vegetable scraps Tea bags Wool and cotton rags Coffee grounds with filters Grass/Yard clippings Leaves Egg shells Sawdust Fireplace ash Nonrecyclable paper Vacuum cleaner lint Fish scraps Materials to Exclude Meats Dairy foods Bones Fats Pet excrement Diseased plants Grease Oils (including peanut butter and mayonnaise) Unit 2, Chapter 2.3. Composting 1^3 The Quest for Less these businesses are participating in pilot proj¬ ects to compost their food scraps and soiled paper products. These businesses can not only provide a valuable component of compost— organic material—but also can reduce their waste disposal costs significantly. Compost is also being used as an innovative technology to clean up land contaminated by hazardous wastes, remove contaminants from storm water, facilitate reforestation, and restore wetlands and other natural habitats. Compost has been used to restore soil that is contaminat¬ ed with explosives, munitions wastes, petroleum, fuel wastes, and lead and other metals. In addition, various biodegradable tableware and dishes have been developed; in particular, cups and plates made with a cellulose-based vegetable polymer. Visit the following Web sites for more information on composting and solid waste: • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste site on composting: • Cornell University composting site: • U.S. Composting Council Web site: To order the following additional documents on municipal solid waste and composting, call EPA toll-free at (800) 490-91 98 or look on the EPA Web site . • Innovative Uses of Compost Erosion Control, Turf Remediation, and Landscaping (EPA530-F-97-043) • A Collection of Solid Waste Resources on CD-ROM m Unit 2, Chapter 2.3, Composting The Quest for Less To teach students that nature can "recycle" its own resources. Activity Description J Students will search for and observe some of nature's recyclers at work, learning what role each plant or ani¬ mal plays in the recycling process. Decay Mushroom Millipede Fungi Lichen Duration d Materials Needed ) An outdoor area, such as a yard, park, or garden, that offers access to some of the following: rocks, trees (dead and living), leaf litter, mushrooms One or two teacher's aides or parents to help facilitate the outdoor adventure (optional) Several sheets of drawing paper and pencils or crayons per student One clear viewing container with holes Outdoor expedition: 1 hour In-class follow-up: 30 minutes Skills UsedJ Observation/classification Motor skills i Activity Step 1 : Visit your chosen outdoor area prior to the class trip in order to make sure it is suit¬ able for viewing nature's recyclers. Scout out four specific "stations" for the students to visit, including a live tree, an old decomposing log, a large rock (or board) in the soil, and a leaf- covered patch of soil. To draw insects to a specific spot, you might want to plant a log or board in the soil several days in advance. Step 2 : Discuss recycling with the students and explain the following concepts (refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Composting on page 141 for background information): • Why we recycle and why nature also needs to recapture the value of its organic waste. • What kinds of "trash" get "recycled" in nature. • Who recycles these materials. Discuss the plants and animals, such as snails, slugs, beetles, millipedes, earthworms, fungi, pill- bugs, snowbugs, mushrooms, and lichen that perform nature's recycling work. Step 3: Divide the class into small groups of three to four students. Explain that the students are now adventurers on a mission to locate and study nature's recyclers at work. Remind students that it's very important to observe, but not touch or disturb the recyclers or their habitat. Step 4 : Lead the students to your predeter¬ mined outdoor area and stop at each of the four stations. At each station, first lead a dis¬ cussion (see below) and then give each group The Quest for Less (Jnit 2, Chapter 2.3, Composting of students the chance to get up close and make individual observations. A list of suggested topics and discussion questions for each station fol¬ lows: Station # 1 —Live Tree • Ask students what makes the tree grow. Where are its roots? Where does it get its food from? • Will the tree live forever? • Are its leaves falling to the ground? Station #2-Dead, Decaying Log • Ask students how this tree is different from the live one. • Have them touch and smell its bark. How is it different than the live bark? Is it dry or damp? • Do the students see evidence of the wood being eaten? By what? • Have the students look in the crevices and cracks for any of nature's recyclers at work. If they see ants, spiders, millipedes, mush¬ rooms, etc., ask them the following questions: — Is it a plant or animal? — What's its name? — How does it move? How many legs does it have? — What color is it? — Why is it living under this dead log? What does it eat? — How many of these creatures are living together? • If it's possible (and safe), capture a few of these recyclers in your clear container and let the students view them up close. You may want to impose an item limit to prevent too much disruption for the critters. Students could draw the recyclers they see in nature or wait until they return to the classroom and . draw from memory. Make a point of return¬ ing the creatures safely to their homes after the viewing is over. (Jnif 2, Chapter 2.3. Composting Station #3-Large Rock or Board • Have the students watch as you carefully lift the rock from its position. Ask students to look at what's underneath it. • What's it like under the rock? Is it dark and moist? • Can the students see any of nature's recy¬ clers at work here? If they do see life, ask them the same questions as above: — Is it a plant or animal? — What's its name? — How does it move? How many legs does it have? — What color is it? — Why is it living under this rock or board? What does it eat? — How many of these creatures are living together? Station #4-Leaf Litter and Soil • Have the students use their hands to dig through the leaves and into the soil. • Ask them to compare these leaves to the leaves still on the live tree. How are they dif¬ ferent? Are these leaves older? Are they wet or dry? • Have the students look for evidence of nature's recyclers; again, identify and discuss any animals or plants that they find. • Ask the students to feel and smell the soil. How does it compare to the dead log they visited earlier? Step 5 : Before returning to the classroom, visit the live tree station again. Ask students to think again about where this tree gets its food. Discuss how the decaying log, busy creatures, and moist, rich soil all play a role in keeping the tree alive. The Quest for Less 1. Back in the classroom, pass out paper and colored pencils or crayons to the students. Have each student draw one of the recyclers he or she saw outside. Ask each student to verbally describe to the class how this crea¬ ture moves, what it's called, and what recycling role it plays in nature. 2. Ask the students how they are like nature's recyclers. Do they recycle anything at home? How does it get reused? 3. Have the students draw a tree in different stages of its life, showing the tree 1) bud¬ ding, 2) in full growth, 3) with leaves falling, 4) as a dead tree, having fallen as a log and decaying back into the earth, and 5) as a new tree growing from the soil. 1. Engage students in a role-playing activity. Have students pretend that they are different recyclers (ants, millipedes, worms, mush¬ rooms, spiders). Ask the students how these animals or plants moved or behaved. Have the students imitate this behavior. 2. Study nature's recyclers in the winter by col¬ lecting some leaf litter, bringing it inside, and warming it with a lamp. Dormant recyclers, such as millipedes, ants, spiders, and worms will come to life under the heat. 3. Conduct another nature walk, this time giv¬ ing each student a recyclable paper bag. Have them collect dead leaves, sticks, nuts, or other teacher-approved items on their walk. When students return to the classroom, discuss what role these items have in nature and in the natural cycle of life. Is the item dead or alive, what is it called, is there any evidence of nature's recyclers at work? Help them glue or tape these items on a piece of construction paper and display them. Have the students perform leaf rubbings by placing a leaf under a piece of paper and coloring over it to reveal its shape and texture. Ask the students to explore how each leaf is simi¬ lar or different from others. The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2.3. Composting * k» Grades 3-8 Objective To teach students how composting can prevent food scraps and yard trimmings from being thrown away and how different components, such as air, moisture, and nitrogen, affect composting. Activity Description Students will create four compost bins that differ in their amounts of air, moisture, and nitrogen. Students will observe and record the differences these conditions cause in the composting process. Materials Needed • Four thin, plastic buckets (5 gallons each) or other plastic container (e.g., milk jug) • One hand drill or punch-type can opener • One copy of the Compost Chef worksheet per student • Grass clippings (shredded, if possible) • Vegetable and fruit peels • Weeds (shredded, if possible) • Hay (shredded, if possible) • Sawdust • Coffee grinds • Thermometer • Bloodmeal • One marker or pen • Tape • Four pieces of construction paper (3 by 5 inches each) • Garden trowel Key Vocabulary Words ) Compost Nitrogen Oxygen Decompose Bedding Organic Set-up: 1 hour Follow-up: 15 minutes to 1 hour on an occasional basis for up to 4 weeks Skills UseT^ Computation Observation/classification Motor skills Activity J Step 1 : Photocopy and distribute one copy of the Compost Chef worksheet to each stu¬ dent. Introduce the following concepts (refer to Teacher Fact Sheet titled Composting on page 141 for background information): Explain to the class what compost is and how it is made. Discuss why composting is important in managing and reducing trash that is sent to landfills. Explain how composting works, and how nitrogen, oxygen, and water all play a part in the creation of compost. science W The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2. Composting Journal Activity Ask students to pretend they are gardeners. Ask them if they would use compost to help their gardens grow. Why or why not? Step 2 : Pick an appropriate project space. This activity can either be conducted in an indoor area of the classroom that has been covered with a protective drop cloth or in a designated area outside of the school. If you choose to leave the compost buckets outside, make sure the chosen area will not be disturbed by recess or after-school activity. Use the hand drill and carefully poke several holes in the sides (near the bottom) of three of the buckets or milk jugs. Step 3 : Have the students sit in a circle within view of you and the compost buckets. Divide the class into four groups and assign a group of students to each bucket. Using the construction paper and marker, label the buckets "one" through "four." Step 4 : Work with each group of students to set up the buckets. As each mixture is created, discuss its ingredients and ask students to record the "recipe" on their Compost Chef worksheets. Following are directions for setting up each bucket: Bucket #1-Compost lacking nitrogen. • Place mostly "brown" carbon-containing materials in the bucket, such as dead leaves, straw, and coffee grounds. On top, add a few vegetable and fruit peels. • Moisten, but do not soak, the mixture with water. Bucket #2-Compost lacking moisture. • Place a mixture of "green" grass clippings (make sure they are dry), bloodmeal, and vegetable and fruit peels in the bucket. • Place a few layers of "brown" dead leaves, straw, and coffee grounds into the mixture. • Do not add any water. Bucket #3-Compost lacking air circulation. • Use the bucket without the holes. • Place several layers of mostly high-nitrogen grass clippings, bloodmeal, vegetable peels, and fruit peels in the bucket. • Moisten the mixture with water. Bucket #4- // Perfect" Compost. • Layer (in an alternating pattern) leaves, cof¬ fee grounds, straw, and vegetable and fruit peels, and a small amount of grass clippings in the bucket. • Moisten the mixture with water. Step 5 : Explain that, as compost chefs, the students must monitor their creations. Give each group written instructions on how to care for its compost bucket over the next few weeks. For example: Bucket #1 • Use a garden trowel to stir your compost mixture regularly: once every 3 days for the first 2 weeks, then once per week. • Add a dash of moisture to your compost mix¬ ture with a sprinkle of water every other week. 150 Unit 2, Chapter 2. Composting The Quest for Less Bucket #2 • Use the garden trowel to stir your compost mixture regularly: once every 3 days for the first 2 weeks, then once per week. • Keep your compost mixture dry. 2. Have the students explain how composting reduces the amount of waste that we send to landfills. 3. Ask students to think of places in nature where composting might occur naturally. Bucket #3 • Add a sprinkle of water to your compost mix¬ ture every week. • Make sure you don't stir your mixture. Bucket #4 • Add a sprinkle of water to your compost mix¬ ture every week. • Use the garden trowel to stir your mixture regularly: once every 3 days for the first 2 weeks, then once per week. Step 6 I At each interval of stirring or water¬ ing, have all of the groups visit each compost bucket and record their findings, including tem¬ perature, appearance, and smell. Students can use their Compost Chef worksheets for this task. Step 7 : After 4 weeks, have the students use the trowels to dig into each compost pile and examine it closely. Ask them to compare and contrast the compost in each bucket. Ask stu¬ dents which mixture decomposed the most. Step 8: Use the finished compost from Bucket #4 as soil for classroom plants or a garden. Have students explore how compost aids new vegetative growth. Assessment 1. Ask students to list the most important ingre¬ dients for a good compost pile (nitrogen, water, and air circulation). Have them explain what role each ingredient plays in decomposition. Ask each group to name the missing ingredient in its mixture (Group #4 won't have a missing ingredient). 1. Collect and evaluate the data on each stu¬ dent's Compost Chef worksheet. Have the students create charts or graphs based on the temperature data they collected. Which pile had the highest mean temperature? What does a high temperature mean in terms of decomposition? 2. Explore composting as a natural cycle. Study the nitrogen cycle and have students make diagrams of its components. (The nitrogen cycle is the continuous cyclic progression of chemical reactions in which atmospheric nitrogen is compounded, dissolved in rain, deposited in soil, assimilated, and metabo¬ lized.) Use composting as a lead-in to discuss other natural cycles. 3. Start a schoolwide compost bin using the appropriate wastes from school lunches. Have students decide which wastes can be added to the pile and have different classes watch over and stir the pile each week. Have each participating class start a small flower garden plot, using the compost as a soil amendment. The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2. Composting 1S1 Week 1 Temperature X.Appearc Week 2 Week 1 Temperature Week 3 Appearance: Smell Week 2 Temperature ranee Week 4 Temperature: Ingredients ® Bucket Compost Chef \Smeii Week 3 x. Temperature: ^^^\Ap pea ra n ce: Week 4\^s me || Temperature: x. Appearance: >v ^ Smell: Bucket Ingredients: he Quest for tes Name: Week 1 Temperature: XvAppearance Week 2 Week 3 Temperature Appearance: Temperature ranee Week 4 Temperature Week 1 Ingredients Temperature Appec Week 3 Week 2 Temperature Temperature ranee // Week 4 Temperature: ea ranee Ingredients \\r -1 To teach students how composting can prevent food scraps and yard trimmings from being thrown away and to show them the usefulness of compost in gardening. Activity DescriptionJ Students will assess the effectiveness of compost as a soil amendment by planting and comparing two garden plots—one that relies just on dirt and one that relies on their homemade compost. Materials Needed ^Compost* (See prerequisite above) Two 4- by 4-foot garden plots in the schoolyard Two packets of flower seeds (have your students vote on the type and color) Two seed packets of a vegetable that grows wel in your locale One watering can Two garden trowels One copy of the Compost Crop worksheet per student One tape measure or ruler Skills Used ) Computation Observation/classification Motor skills Activity J Step 1 : Locate and mark the two school- yard garden plots you plan to use, making sure they receive plenty of direct sunlight. Secure permission for gardening from the proper school authorities. Step 2 : Discuss composting with the stu¬ dents and explain the following concepts (refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Composting on page 141 for background information): • Recap how the students made the compost and what materials they used. The Quest for Less • Discuss how this compost can now be used in a garden. • Explain why compost can be more effective than just natural soil. Step 3 I Take the class outside to the garden plots and divide the students into two groups. Explain how the composting experiment wil work. Tell one group that they will only add water to the soil to help their plants grow. Give the other group a bucket of compost and tell them to use the trowels to mix it into their soil before watering it. Journal Activity ) Ask students to pretend they are world-famous gardeners giving an interview about the secrets of their success. How do they make their plants grow so well? . . --- - - ■ I Step 4 : Have each group plant flower seeds and vegetable seeds according to packet instructions in their respective plots. Step 5 : Ask the students to predict which plot will grow better and faster. Have them record their predictions and reasoning on their Compost Crop worksheets. Step 6 : Break each of the two groups into pairs of students and assign each pair a week during which they are gardeners. During that week, those students are responsible for visiting their group's plot each day. They should water it and use the tape measure or ruler to record any changes in plant growth on their Compost Crop worksheets. Create a gardener calendar for the classroom to remind students when it's their turn to watch over the plots. Step 7: After 4 or 5 weeks, have the entire class visit the garden plots again. Discuss which plot's plants grew faster. Ask student volunteers to gently dig up one plant from each plot. Have the students examine and compare the root structures of each plant. Have several students dig around in the plots' soil, discuss the differences in texture or moisture they find, and have them notice how many earthworms or bugs they find. Step 8: If the vegetables in the plot are ripe, pick them and have a class snack from the compost harvest. Assessment 1.. Have students list the benefits of composting, both from the standpoint of preventing waste and as a garden soil supplement. 1. Use the two garden plots as a lead-in to a more in-depth science lesson on soil and compost. Compare the relative amounts of materials in different soil samples. Have stu¬ dent volunteers collect a handful of soil from each plot. For each sample, fill a liter (or quart) jar about one-quarter full of soil, then add water to about the three-quarter level. Screw the lid on tightly and shake hard for about a minute. Let the jars stand for several minutes. The mixture will separate into lay¬ ers, with the largest particles (gravel and sand) settling on the bottom, and finer parti¬ cles (clay and silt) settling above. Organic matter—leaves, twigs, and any animal mat¬ ter—will float on top of the water. Discuss the differences between the soil and com¬ post/soil plot samples. Explore the components of your local soil and compost. 2. Have the students compile their measure¬ ments and recordings from their Compost Crop worksheets on the board. Depending on the age group, ask all of the students to make graphs charting the growth in each plot. Ask them why plants in the compost plot grew more quickly. 3. Discuss the root structures of the plants from the different plots. Ask students if the plant from the compost plot was more developed in its root structure? Why? 4. Ask the students to think about the differ¬ ences in the soil of the two plots. Did they see more earthworms in the compost plot? Why? Why would these creatures be attract¬ ed by the compost? How did the presence of earthworms affect the growth of the plants? 5. Start a schoolwide compost bin using the appropriate wastes from school lunches. Have students decide which wastes can be added to the compost pile and have different classes watch over and stir the pile each week. Have each participating class start a small flower garden plot, using the compost as a soil amendment. 156 Unit Chapter'Cornpontiriq The Quest for' Less . r '! / oJ rrA ■*#*; 0 * Name: V M v v d1 for Lem Step 2 : Place bin on top of two bricks and put tray under bin. Step 3 : Have the students tear each sheet of newspaper lengthwise into strips that are 1 to 3 inches wide and place half of the pile in the bin. Step 4 : Have the students multiply the num¬ ber of pounds of newspaper by 3 to determine the total amount of water needed (a pint of water weighs a pound, and a gallon of water Unit Chapter * 1 Comporting i c . Journal Activity Have students write a poem, such as a limerick, that describes what compost looks like and how it feels when touched. weighs 8 pounds). Then add half of the water to the bin with newspapers. ing the type of food and its weight, as well as the amount of water added. The compost bin should always remain moist. Step 8: Use food scraps that you brought from home or that you asked students to bring from home or save from school lunch, and have students add them to the bin. Food can be added daily, weekly, or monthly. Do not over¬ load the system; bury food relatively evenly amongst the different "plots." On the data sheet, instruct students to keep track of how much food they are providing the worms and where it is placed (see diagram on data sheet). Step 5 : Sprinkle two handfuls of soil and the rest of the newspaper and water. Have the stu¬ dents mix the contents well and distribute evenly in the bin. Step 9 : Place a sheet of newspaper over the top of the bin to prevent flies from circulating near the area. Store the bin in a cool place out of direct sunlight, and keep the lid tightly shut. Step 6 : Gently place the worms on top of the bedding, spreading them evenly. Keep the bin uncovered so the students will see the worms moving down into the bedding to avoid light. Step 7 : Use the attached data sheet to record all activities surrounding the worm bin, including the date the bin was set up, the number of worms (or pounds of worms) added to the bin, and the number of people contributing food scraps (number of people in the class). For the remainder of steps for this activity, have students record the date and day food is added, includ¬ Step 10 : Have students check the bin fre¬ quently as they add food scraps to see the changes that occur. After a period of 3 to 6 months, depending on the size of the container, most of the food and bedding will be trans¬ formed into worm castings, the nutrient-rich waste materials that worms excrete. Step 11 : In order to harvest the compost, or humus, for use (if you choose to), you must change the bedding and temporarily remove the worms. Spread out a tarp or drop cloth in an open area and dump out the entire contents of Step 11: How To Harvest Compost L-nviue cumpusi materials into several cone-shaped piles (larger on the bottom). Scoop off the material from the top of the piles. Put the castings into a container to carry out to the garden. 160 Unit 2, Chapter 2, Composting The Quest for Less the bin. Have students help you divide the materials into several cone-shaped piles (larger on the bottom, so the worms will burrow into it and avoid the light). Direct students to scoop off the material from the tops of the piles, and put the castings into a container to carry out to the garden (see illustration on the previous page for help). Repeat this procedure until most of the compost is harvested. Step 12 : Have students put worms back in the bin, along with any uncomposted food and old bedding. Your class can start a new stock of bedding and add in any additional worms to begin the process again. Step 13 : Create a garden in which to use the compost as a soil amendment, or use the com¬ post on the schools' beds or lawn. NOTE: Other critters may make their way into the compost bin. Many are beneficial, including mold, bacteria, sow bugs, beetle mites, white worms, snails and slugs, flies, round worms, and millipedes. You do NOT want the following in your bin, however: flat worms, ground bee¬ tles, centipedes, ants, and pseudo scorpions. If you find any of these organisms, start over. Assessment 1. Ask students to define and describe decomposition. 2. Ask students why it is beneficial to compost items instead of throwing them away. Enrichment Ask the students to make observations about the worm bin each week. Do smaller pieces of food tend to break down faster than larger ones? What does the compost smell like? What organ¬ isms do they notice? Are the worms multiplying? 1. Have students take the temperature of the worm bin once a week to determine the vari¬ ations that occur while food is composted. Use a thermometer that can measure up to 1 70°F. Have the students create bar graphs showing the increase or decrease in temper¬ ature over time. 2. Let students use a pH paper to test the acidi¬ ty of the worm bin once a week. Does the pH change based on the foods that are added? Have the students keep a record of the foods that are added and the pH and chart a graph showing the correlation. If the soil is too acidic, the worms may try to leave the bin. Try adding a little lime. 3. Give students gloves to gently examine the critters inside the bin once a week. You might also examine a sample of the soil under a microscope (at the beginning of composting, bacteria are present that help break down the food; later larger organisms such as sow- bugs and round worms play a larger role.) Obtain an identification guide to inverte¬ brates and insects and see how many you can identify. Have students draw the different kinds of critters and discuss the differences in each (number of legs, body parts, function). The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2, Composting Name: V erm.icom.po$ting "Data $heet Date bin was set up: Number of worms (or pounds of worms) added to bin:_ Number of people contributing food scraps on a regular basis: Date Day Weight of food added Type of food added Amount of water added Buried in site * Notes (If you run out of spaces, get an extra copy of this sheet from your teacher.) On the back of this paper, draw the worm bin, including its dimensions, and assign plots to cer¬ tain sections so you can track decomposition of food placed in each numbered area. Harvest date: _ Total days:_ Total weight of food buried: _ Weight of uneaten food left over:_ Average weight buried per day:_ Example: ^ |-36"-| T to ± CHAPTER Landfills and Combustion m 1 A *oc'^ e v 6 Vo"*' . • • ■ ' 0°"" VOl e e ,r A \2P \ 9 ^ G Ae^ «>^ \G'° d Skills V$ed* Subjects Covered Gxra.de "Range Activity Grade • Subject • Skills Index Luscious Layered Landfill A Landfill Is No Dump! Energy Expedition The Great Disposal Debate Greenhouse Gases Be Gone K 1 ✓ 2 ✓ 3 ✓ ✓ 4 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 5 ✓ ✓ ✓ 6 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 7 ✓ ✓ 8 ✓ ✓ Math j/ Science ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 1 Language Arts ✓ ✓ Social Studies ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Art Health Communication ✓ Reading ✓ ✓ ✓ Research ✓ ■ , Computation ✓ Observation/ Classification ✓ ✓ Problem Solving ✓ ✓ ✓ * ✓ Motor Skills ✓ *See Glossary of Skills for more details. 16V Unit 2. Chapter 2.H. Landfills and Combustion The Quest for Less Treacher fact Sheet landfills x What Is a Landfill? A landfill is a large area of land or an excavated site that is specifically designed and built to receive wastes. Today, about 56 percent of our country's trash is disposed of in landfills (EPA, 2003). Items such as appliances, newspapers, books, magazines, plastic containers, packag¬ ing, food scraps, yard trimmings, and other wastes from residential, commercial, and some industrial sources can be disposed of in munici¬ pal solid waste landfills. Municipal solid waste landfills can also accept some types of haz¬ ardous waste, such as cleaning products, paint, and chemicals, as well as some industrial wastes from certain businesses. Many states and com¬ munities, however, promote the safe collection of these hazardous wastes through local programs. (See "Are There Landfills for Hazardous Waste?" on page 1 66 for more information.) In the past, garbage was collected in open dumps. These uncovered and uniined sites allowed leachate, a liquid formed by decompos¬ ing waste, to soak into the soil and ground water. Cross Section of a Landfill Vegetative Cover A Final earth cover plus synthetic liner and compacted clay Compacted solid waste Daily earth cover Compacted solid waste Daily earth cover Compacted solid waste Daily earth cover Compacted solid waste Leachate collection and removal system Protective liner Compacted soil (clay) Key Voints • Landfills are the most common form of waste disposal and are an important component of an integrated waste man¬ agement system. • Federal landfill regulations have eliminat¬ ed the open dumps of the past Today’s landfills must meet stringent design, operation, and closure requirements. • Landfills that handle hazardous wastes are specially designed with two sets of liners and two leachate detection systems. • After a landfill is capped, the land may be used for recreation sites such as parks, golf courses, and ski slopes. • Methane gas, a byproduct of decom¬ posing waste, can be collected and used as fuel to generate electricity. Open dumps also attracted rodents and insects, emitted odors, and created fire hazards. Most of these small and unsanitary dumps have been replaced by large, modern facilities that are designed, operated, and monitored according to strict federal and state regulations. Today's land¬ fills eliminate the harmful and undesirable characteristics of dumps to help protect public health and the environment. In addition to being safer for the environment and neighboring communities, these larger land¬ fills hold more trash than the dumps of the past. In 2001, about 1,850 municipal solid waste landfills were operating in the United States (EPA, 2003). While this number is significantly smaller than the number of landfills 25 years ago, new landfills—often called megafills due to their size—can accommodate significantly more garbage. This greater capacity is necessary to keep up with the steady growth of municipal solid waste. The Quest for Less Unit 2. Chapter 2.H. Landfills and Comoustion Are There Landfills for Hazardous Waste? In 2001, more than 1 million tons of hazardous waste was dis¬ posed of in landfills or surface impoundments. Hazardous waste is toxic, ignitable, corrosive, or reactive, or generated from cer¬ tain industries or manufacturing processes. When it comes to disposing of hazardous waste in landfills, EPA takes additional steps to ensure environmental safety and human health. While landfills that accept solid waste have a clay and plastic liner and a leachate system to prevent leakage, landfill owners that accept hazardous waste must take extra precautions. For example, a hazardous waste landfill must have two sets of lin¬ ers, one consisting of a special plastic, and the other composed of both plastic and a thick layer of soil material. In addition, a landfill accepting hazardous waste must have two leachate detection systems instead of just one. Before hazardous waste even reaches a landfill, however, it must be treated differently than solid waste. If hazardous waste is bound for disposal in a landfill, it is regulated under EPA's Land Disposal Restrictions program. Through this program, haz¬ ardous waste must undergo treatment that will destroy or immobilize its hazardous components before it is sent to a land¬ fill. For example, when a business generates hazardous waste, it must either treat that waste itself, or send it to a special facility for treatment, before sending the waste to a landfill. r be lined and have a leachate col¬ lection system. In addition, landfill owners must monitor and collect explosive gases; regularly test nearby ground water; and com¬ pact and cover waste with a layer of soil on a daily basis. In addition to federal regulations, each state has its own landfill requirements, which are often more stringent than the federal laws. Many states require landfill opera¬ tors to obtain a license and present a plan for how the site will be safe¬ ly closed, even though the closing date might be 50 years in the future. Furthermore, federal law requires landfill owners to set aside the money to close the landfill properly and support ongoing monitoring activities. Once a land¬ fill is capped (closed), the operator must monitor the site for gas and leachate for a minimum of 30 years after the closing date. How Does a Landfill Work? Atypical modern landfill is lined with a layer of clay and protective plastic to prevent the waste and leachate from leaking into the ground or ground water. The lined unit is then divided into disposal cells. Only one cell is open at a time to receive waste. After a day's activity, the garbage is compacted and covered with a layer of soil to minimize odor, pests, and wind disturbances. A network of drains at the bottom of the landfill collects the leachate that flows through the decomposing waste. The leachate is sent to a leachate recovery facility to be treated. Methane gas, carbon dioxide, and other gases produced by the decomposing waste are monitored and collected to reduce their effects on air quality. Landfills are regulated by federal and state laws. The federal laws dictate where landfills can be located, such as away from unstable land prone to earthquakes or flooding, and require them to What Are the Benefits of Landfills? In addition to providing a cost-effective, safe method to dispose of ever-increasing amounts of trash, landfills often provide other services to the community. For example, some landfills col¬ lect methane, a gas created by decomposing 166 Unit 2, Chapter 2M. Landfills and Combustion The Quest for Less Landfill Facts • The first garbage dump was created in 500 BC by the ancient Greeks in Athens. Residents were required to take their trash at least 1 mile away from the city walls to dump. • Paper takes up as much as 50 percent of all landfill space. Recycling 1 ton of newspapers would save 3 cubic feet of that space. • In a study of waste buried for more than 1 5 years, Professor William Rathje of the University of Arizona found legible newspapers and chicken bones with meat still on them, proving that waste does not decompose completely in a landfill. (Sources: The League of Women Voters' Garbage Primer, 1 993; Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage by William Rathje, 1990; Anchorage Recycling Center, 2000) garbage that can contribute to global climate change, and convert it into an energy source. In addition, after a landfill is capped and a certain amount of time has passed, the land might be reused for parks, ski slopes, golf courses, and other recreation areas. What Are the Challenges of Landfills? Though regulations have made landfills safer to the public and the environment, public opposi¬ tion, high land prices, and environmental concerns can make it difficult to find suitable places for new landfills. Landfills can pose other problems if not properly designed or managed. If a liner leaks, for exam¬ ple, the underlying soil and ground water can become contaminated. Additionally, since land¬ fills are often located in remote areas, waste must be hauled long distances, which might result in environmental impacts from increased truck traffic (e.g., air pollution) and noise from Putting Landfill Gas to Use 1 million tons of waste within a landfill cre¬ ates 550,00 cubic feet per day of landfill gas, or one megawatt of electricity. That is enough to power 700 homes for a year. Removing that much methane gas from the atmosphere is equal to taking 8,800 cars off the road for a year. (Source: EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program, www.epa.gov/docs/ Imop-pres-1 2-22-03.ppt) truck traffic and the use' of equipment onsite. Additionally, landfills often compete for local garbage within a given municipality. Competition can lead to reduced support for recycling and other waste reduction programs. Issues also might arise if a landfill is located close to a community. Many people do not want landfills near their homes. The NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) attitude can make finding a land¬ fill site very challenging. What Are Some Emerging Trends? Increased waste generation requires landfill operators and managers to constantly evaluate and improve current disposal methods. One strategy to speed the rate of decomposition of landfill waste is to recirculate the collected leachate by pouring it over the cells and allow¬ ing it to filter through the rotting garbage. Another trend that is becoming common for landfill operators is collecting methane gas from the landfill and using it as the energy source to power the landfill or selling it to a local utility provider, company, or even greenhouses. This process allows landfills to reduce their depend¬ ence on precious fossil fuels and save money. A new trend that is gaining attention is landfill reclamation, in which old cells are excavated to recover recyclable items. This process, in which recovered recyclables, soil, and waste can be sold, reused, or burned as fuel, is a new approach used to expand landfill capacity and avoid the cost of acquiring additional land. The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2d. Landfills and Combustion 1 Additional Information Resources Visit the following Web sites for more information on municipal solid waste landfills: • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste site on disposal: • U.S. EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program: • National Solid Waste Management Association: • Solid Waste Association of North America: For more information on the disposal of hazardous waste in landfills, visit: • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste site on Land Disposal Restrictions: • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste site on RCRA Hotline Training Modules (hazardous waste land disposal units): To order the following additional documents on municipal solid waste, call EPA toll-free at (800) 490-3198 (TDD 800 553-7672) or look on the EPA Web site . • Sites for Our Solid Waste: A Guidebook for Public Involvement (EPA530-SW-90-01 9). • Safer Disposal of Solid Waste: The Federal Regulations for Landfills (EPA530-SW-91 -092) • Decision-Makers' Guide to Solid Waste Management , Volume II (EPA530-R-95-023) • A Collection of Solid Waste Resources on CD-ROM 163 UnitChapter : : M. Laridfilb and Combust ion Fhe Quo: it for Lea ’teacher fact Sheet ® Combustion What Is Combustion? Recycling, composting, and source reduction are vital activities for effective solid waste manage¬ ment, but 1 00 percent of people's trash cannot be handled by these methods. The remaining waste must be deposited in landfills or combust¬ ed (burned). Because of limited space, landfills are not always a viable option in many cities, making combustors (commonly referred to as incinerators) an important part of a community's integrated waste management system. Burning garbage can decrease the volume of waste requiring disposal by 70 to 90 percent. Before the late 1970s, many people burned garbage in their backyards and in simple private and municipal combustors. These methods did not burn garbage completely, however, and allowed pollutants to escape into the atmosphere. With the passing of the Clean Air Act, com¬ bustor owners had to develop more effective methods of pollution control. Today's municipal waste combustors **rs i! % HI § Key Voints • Municipal waste combustors burn waste at high temperatures to reduce its volume. • Municipal waste combustors reduce the volume of garbage by 70 to 90 percent • Ash is a byproduct of combustion that must be disposed of in landfills or reused. • Air pollution control equipment helps reduce air emissions. • The heat produced by burning waste in municipal waste combustors can be recovered as useful energy. • Specially designed incinerators can be used as a means of handling hazardous waste. The burning process reduces the toxicity of organic compounds in the waste. release significantly less pollutants into the air than the "backyard burners" and simple com¬ bustors. More than 100 municipal waste combustor plants currently exist nationwide, and nearly 20 percent of the municipal solid waste generated in the United States is combusted. The Quest for Less (Jnit 2. Chapter 2M. Landfills and Combustion How Do Municipal Waste Combustors Work? Municipal waste combustors dispose of trash by burning it at high temper¬ atures. Not all municipal waste combustors are designed alike, but they function in a similar manner. Typically, a facility collects waste in a garbage receiving area or pit, where the garbage is mixed by a crane. The crane operator looks for large items that are not suitable for combustion Facts about Municipal Waste Combustors • Fire in the boiler of a combustor is often as hot as flow¬ ing lava (between 1,800 and 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit). • In 1874, a new technology called "the destructor" provided the first combustor of municipal garbage in England. • The first garbage incinerator in the United States was built on Governor's Island, New York, in 1885. (Sources: Integrated Waste Services Association, 2000; Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage by William Rathje, 1990) How Typical Combustion Facilities Work 1. Tipping area for trucks 2. Refuse pit 3. Refuse crane 4. Hopper, which sends waste to combustion zone 5. Primary combustion zone 6. Underfire air 7. Furnace 8. Heat exchanger 9. Turbine 10. Scrubber, to remove acid gases 11. Fly ash and dust collector 12. Stack 13. Bottom ash and fly ash collection and transport Hazardous Waste Combustion In addition to combustion facilities that accept municipal (nonhazardous) waste, specially designed incinerators, boilers, and industrial furnaces, can burn hazardous waste. Hazardous waste, which is toxic, ignitable, (e.g., batteries and refrigerators) and removes them from the pit. The crane operator also uses the crane to lift piles of garbage into a large chute. From the chute, garbage falls into a com¬ bustion chamber or furnace and then moves along a series of sloping grates that work like conveyer belts. The garbage is burned as it moves forward. corrosive, or reactive, can be produced by businesses or manufacturing operations. Combustion has some key advantages as a means of managing hazardous waste. First, burning hazardous waste reduces the volume of waste by converting solids and liquids to ash. Second, the burning process destroys toxic organic compounds in waste. Third, dis¬ posal of the ash in a landfill is safer and more efficient than disposal of untreated hazardous waste. The ash generated from hazardous waste combustion must be tested and, if found to be hazardous, must be treated for remain¬ ing toxicity before it is disposed of in a landfill. After garbage is burned, some matter remains in the form of ash. There are two types of ash: bot¬ tom ash and fly ash. Bottom ash is the heavier, nonburnable material, such as glass and metal, that falls through the grate after burning. Large pieces of metal accumulate in this ash and are extracted from the ash with magnets. Bottom ash accounts for about 75 to 90 percent of ash pro¬ duced by incinerators. Fly ash includes lighter particles that rise with hot gases as the garbage is burned and are captured by air pollution con¬ trol equipment in the stacks. All ash generated by combustion facilities must be tested to deter¬ mine if it is hazardous. If it is hazardous, the ash is subject to special hazardous waste disposal regulations. If the ash is nonhazardous, it may 170 Unit 2, Chapter 2M. Landfills and Combustion The Quest for Less be deposited in landfills specially designed to store it. Currently, studies are under way to inves¬ tigate ways to reuse ash; for example, to replace soil as a landfill cover (generally applied at the end of each day to minimize odor, pests, and wind disturbances). Ash might also be used in road and building construction and as part of artificial offshore reefs. Whether the leftover ash is recycled or landfilled, it takes up much less space than the same materials in their original form. What Are the Benefits of Municipal Waste Combustors? Most municipal waste incinerators in the United States generate energy in the form of electricity because certain materials, such as paper, plas¬ tics, wood, and packaging, make excellent fuels. Producing this energy has about the same environmental impact as energy produced from natural gas and less of an environmental impact than energy produced from oil or coal. In other words, generating energy from municipal waste combustors contributes no more pollution—and sometimes less—than processes generating electricity using natural gas, oil, or coal. Waste- to-energy plants also reduce the need to generate electricity from non¬ renewable natural resources such as oil and coal. Q> i The Quest for Less What Are the Challenges of Municipal Waste Combustors? Although technologies to control pollution have improved significantly, burning certain materials still produces chemicals that contribute to air pollution. To minimize emissions of air pollutants into the atmosphere, municipal waste incinera¬ tors use special equipment (e.g., scrubbers and dust collectors) to remove pollutants. To protect air quality and monitor the hazardous con¬ stituents in ash, EPA established regulations that apply to all large municipal solid waste units (those with the capacity to burn more than 250 tons of garbage per day). The regulations signif¬ icantly reduce toxic air emissions such as dioxin, acid gas, lead, cadmium, and mercury. Many people do not want incineration sites near their homes. The "NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard)" attitude makes finding appropriate sites for municipal waste combustors a challenge for many municipalities. There are, however, oppor¬ tunities for the public to participate in deciding where a combustor will be located. Officials must hold a public meeting to inform the com¬ munity about the size of the proposed combustor, as well as the amount of waste gen¬ eration and ash to be discarded. Unit 2, Chapter 2M. Landfills and Combustion i 171 Visit the following Web sites for more information on municipal and hazardous waste combustion and solid waste: • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): • U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste site on disposal: • Integrated Waste Services Association: • Solid Waste Association of North America: To order the following additional documents on combustion and solid waste, call EPA toll-free at (800) 490-9198 or look on the EPA Web site . • Decision-Makers' Guide to Solid Waste Management, Volume II (EPA530-R-95-023). • Sites for our Solid Waste: A Guidebook for Public Involvement (EPA530-SW-90-01 9) • A Collection of Solid Waste Resources on CD-ROM (EPA530-C-98-001) 172 Unit 2. Chapter 2d, Landfills and Combustion The Quest for Less c \ c CO CO _Q o CO _Q CO CD • ■ C CO : — CD g o CD 00 CL CO CD CL TcC CD O sz -*—• o o CO CD i_ CL CD CO O CO CO ““ 0 > , . CO CO O sz m 9 CD CD =5 S> § € O CD CD £ CD 3 .£ co co >> o co o CD > o o CD Act Grades 3-6 Landfill 1$ tfo Thimp! ObjectiveJ To teach students where garbage goes and explain the difference between unlined trash "dumps" of the past and today's specially designed landfills. Activity Description j Students will construct models of an old-fashioned "dump" and a modern landfill in class and observe their differences. Materials Needed Two plastic colanders (9 inches wide by 4 inches deep) Two cake pans (9 inches) One 10-pound bag of garden soil One 32-ounce bottle of distilled water Small pieces of typical home-generated garbage (see below) One package of modeling clay One roll of colored (red) crepe paper Clear tape One measuring cup One pair of scissors One package or roll of litmus (pH) paper One copy of the Landfill Log worksheet for each student Key Vocabulary Words J Organic Municipal solid waste Landfill Leachate Groundwater Turbidity pH science social studies Duration Landfill creation: 1 hour Observation over 4 weeks: 1 5 to 20 minutes each week Skills Used j Observation/classification Problem solving Activity Step 1 : Photocopy and distribute Landfill Log worksheets to each student. Bring in some small pieces of garbage from your home, such as potato peels, apple cores, newspaper, and plastic yogurt containers. Introduce the following topics or concepts (refer to the Teacher Fact Sheets titled Solid Waste on page 47 and Landfills on page 165 for background information): • Trash generation and disposal. • How trash has been disposed of in the past and how it is disposed of now. • Explain, in general terms, how a landfill works. • Define each of the key vocabulary words used in the lesson. The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2M. Landfills and Combustion 111 Journal Activity J Ask students to write a haiku or sonnet about where their garbage goes. Step 2 : Begin the exercise by asking a student volunteer to line one colander with flat¬ tened modeling clay, patting it out flat like a pie crust. Explain that this represents the liner of a sanitary, modern landfill. Do not line the second colander. Note that it represents an old-fash¬ ioned, unsanitary dump. Step 7: After every "rain" session, have the students use a measuring cup to measure the water that leaked out of the unlined colander. Have students observe and record the water's color and turbidity. Ask for volunteers to test the pH of the collected water with litmus paper. Ask students to record results and observations in their Landfill Logs. For comparison purposes, have students test and record the pH of the distilled water. Step 8: Next, have student volunteers put the "dirty" water from the unlined colander in a plastic cup. Fill another plastic cup with distilled water. Step 3 I Have several students cut the differ¬ ent garbage items you brought in from home into small pieces, about 2 inches square. Step 4 : Have a few student volunteers place this trash and the garden soil in the colanders in alternate layers until the colanders are full. For each layer, add 1 inch of garbage covered by 1/4 inch of dirt. Add several strips of red crepe paper as one layer toward the bottom of the colanders and cover them with more dirt. (The red crepe paper will emphasize the seepage of water through the unlined dump.) Step 5 : Place cake pans under the colanders to collect the seepage. Step 6 : Have students simulate "rain" on the "landfills" by pouring 1 cup of water onto each colander twice a week for 4 weeks. Ask students to observe the changes that take place. Pay par¬ ticular attention to any water that collects in the cake pans. The unlined colander's seepage should be observable and colored by the crepe paper. The lined colander should not leak. Step 9 I Ask students to pretend that the dirty water or "leachate" had escaped an unlined landfill and reached surrounding plants and ani¬ mals. Ask them what effect they think the liquid would have on animal or plant life. Ask students to predict how a piece of celery (representing a plant) would react to the leachate or "dirty" water. Step 10 : Insert two pieces of celery—one into the leachate cup and one into the distilled water cup. Point out to students how the celery stalk absorbs all of the color from the crepe paper, or dirt and toxins, of the leachate. Have students record observations about the process and the differences between the two pieces of celery. Unit 2. Chapter 2M, Landfills and Combustion The Quest for Less Assessment ) 1. Ask students to explain the differences between the mini-landfills. 2. Ask students to refer to their Landfill Logs. How did the color, turbidity, and pH of the leachate and the distilled water differ? Why? 3. Have students describe how an unlined land¬ fill or "dump" can pollute ground water and surrounding soil. 4. Ask students to decide which landfill is better for the environment and why. Which kind of disposal facility would they rather have in their neighborhood? 5. Ask students to define the key vocabulary words of this lesson. Conduct a spelling bee using these words. 1. Take a field trip to a local landfill. Have kids tour the facility and learn firsthand how it operates. When you return, have students write a paragraph about their visit, including five new facts about landfills that they learned. 2. Contact your state solid waste or environ¬ mental agency to find out how many landfills are in your state. If one is located near you, ask how many tons of. trash it accepts per day or per year and its lifetime maximum capacity. Have students use data obtained from the agency to calculate how quickly the landfill is filling up. Have students make graphs to show how much longer it can accept garbage at its current rate. The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2.H. Landfills and Combustion Landfill Log Name: Observations Amount of Leachate pH of Leachate pH of Distilled Water Color of Leachate Turbidity of Leachate Celery in Leachate (one-time observation) Celery in Distilled Water (one-time observation) Date Week 1 Rain 1 Rain 2 Vi cup 9 7 brown ond red murky and filled with particles Week 2 Rain 1 Rain 2 Week 3 Rain 1 Rain 2 Week 4 Rain 1 Rain 2 — —1 y j 180 Unit 2, Chapter 2M, Landfills and Combustion The Quest for Less ^U,VM Grades 4-6 Energy Expedition ObjectiveJ To introduce students to the concept of energy and teach them about its connection to trash. Activity Description j Students will complete the Energy Expedition worksheet individually or in pairs. Materials Needed J One photocopy of the Energy Expedition worksheet per student One pencil or pen per student Key Vocabulary Words j Potential Fossil Coal Gas Trash Combustion Methane Solar Water Oil Duration 1 hour Skills Used ) Reading Problem solving science language arts Activity Step 1 : Distribute one copy of the Energy Expedition worksheet to each student. Introduce the concept of energy—what it is, what it's used for, and where it comes from. Next, discuss the link between energy and trash; explain how we can capture methane gas from landfills to burn as energy for the community or local businesses. In addition, discuss how we can capture energy by burn¬ ing our trash in combustion facilities. Refer to the Teacher Fact Sheets titled Landfills on page 1 65 and Combustion on page 1 69 for background information. Step 2 : Depending on student ability levels, use the Teacher Answer Key to go over the key vocabulary of this activity in advance, dis¬ cussing each word and its meaning with the class. This will help them correctly complete the written activity later. Step 3 : Direct students to complete the Energy Expedition worksheet, working either individually or in pairs. The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2.H. Landfills and Combustion 181 Journal Activity J Have students keep an energy diary for one week. Ask them to record every time they use energy in a day (for example, turning on lights, using a car or bus). Where could they have saved energy (for example, rid¬ ing a bike instead of using a car)? Assessment ) 1. Collect the Energy Expedition worksheets and assess students' work. 2. Ask students to list at least four different sources of energy. Enrichment ) 1. Visit a waste-to-energy facility as a field trip. Have students write summaries that explain how the facility works. 2. Divide the class into groups and assign them each an energy concept (such as those intro¬ duced in the Energy Expedition worksheet.) Ask each group to conduct research on their topic and prepare a presentation to teach the class about their findings. 3. Conduct a spelling bee using the energy words featured on the Energy Expedition worksheet. Cro$$-word "Puzzle Key £CRQ$$ ■p 0 T E H 2 t I A L n A 3 F 4 c 0 5 M B (J s T I 0 H c H S 6 w A T E n 7 & A s H I A 8 c 9 0 A L N I E 10 S 0 L A R 1. A type of energy. The word describes something that's "possible, but not certain." potential 4. The process of burning a material or substance. It's another word for "incineration," and its letters might "bust!" combustion 6. A liquid that we can control and direct to generate energy. You might drink it or swim in it. Water 7. A substance that is neither liquid, nor solid, but can be removed from the Earth and used to generate power, gas 8. A hard, black substance that we burn for fuel. COal 10. A word describing energy from the sun. It rhymes with "polar." solan pew 2. It's another word for unwanted material that you throw out into a container every day. You might set it out on the curb or throw it in a dumpster, f Pash 3. The hard rock-like remains of prehistoric animal and plant life, such as dinosaurs, which we sometimes discover in the Earth's crust, fossil 5. A natural gas that is generated by garbage decomposing in a landfill. Live animals can produce this gas as well...such as a cow burping! The word ends in "ane," but it's not "propane. " methane 9. The liquid that we pump from the Earth's surface to burn for fuel. This work also applies to a product we often use in cooking. Oil 182 Unit 2. Chapter 2.H. Landfills and Combustion The Quest for Less Welcome iJnergy Explorer! £CRO$$ You’re about to set out on a mission to investigate ENERGY, including its uses, sources, and connection to our trash. If you accomplish your mission, you’ll be promoted to an Energy Expert-and you’ll be able to help your family and friends understand how important energy is to them and their way of life. This mission is not easy, however, and it will take all of your concentration and effort to crack the energy mystery. Good luck/ Name: irections: Your first task is to complete the Energy Crossword Puzzle below using the clues provided. Once you have filled in the crossword puzzle, you'll have a list of ten important energy vocabulary words. 1. A type of energy. The word describes something that's "possible, but not certain."___ 4. The process of burning a material or substance. It's another word for "incineration," and its letters might "bust!" 6. A liquid that we can control and direct to generate energy. You might drink it or swim in it. _ 7. A substance that is neither liquid, nor solid, but can be removed from the Earth and used to generate power. 8. A hard, black substance that we burn for fuel. _ 10. A word describing energy from the sun. It rhymes with "polar." _ DOWtf 2. It's another word for unwanted material that you throw out into a container every day. You might set it out on the curb or throw it in a dumpster.- 3. The hard rock-like remains of prehistoric animal and plant life, such as dinosaurs, which we sometimes dis¬ cover in the Earth's crust.- 5. A natural gas that is generated by garbage decomposing in a landfill. Live animals can produce this gas as well...such as a cow burping! The word ends in "ane," but it's not "propane."- 9. The liquid that we pump from the Earth's surface to burn for fuel. This word also applies to a product we often use in cooking- The Qaest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2.H. Landfills and Combcistion 183 _ . What is tiittiR&t? Energy is one of the most important parts of our world—it makes things happen. Energy means the "ability to do work." Did you know that you use energy every day? Every time you flip a light switch on; use hot water; or ride in a car, bus, train, or plane, you are using energy. Each time you watch TV or use a computer, you are using energy. All of the clothes that you wear, toys you play with, and food you eat are products made from processes that require energy. Energy Story Directions: Great job! You've now learned ten important energy vocabulary words! Read the story below to learn more about energy and become an Energy Expert. You must determine which of your ten vocabulary words goes in each blank. Remember, some words will be used more than once. After you have filled in all of the blanks, you'll have success¬ fully completed your energy mission! There are two different types of energy: • Energy that is stored is called_energy. • Energy that is moving is called kinetic energy. Let your pencil rest on your desk. Right now, if it's not moving, your pencil has_ (same as pre¬ vious blank) energy. Now, tap it lightly so that it rolls across your desk. Since it's moving, the pencil now has kinetic energy. Wkere does came from? There are many different sources of energy on Earth and there are many different ways that we can tap into those sources and make the energy work for us—creating power, electricity, and heat. One source of energy upon which we rely heavily are_fuels. How were these fuels formed? Millions of years ago, ancient plants absorbed the energy from the sun and converted it into more plants. Ancient animals, like dinosaurs, ate the plants and converted the plant's energy into body mass. When the animals and dinosaurs died, their remains collected in the ground, and, over millions of years, decomposed into a source of fuel. What are some_ (same as previous blank) fuels? Coal, oil, and natural gas are three important fuels that are derived from the Earth and the stored energy of organic remains. _started out as a spongy, brown material called "peat," which consists of the decomposed organic matter of ancient animals and plants. Geologic forces buried the peat deep under the Earth's surface, where it was further packed down by heat and pressure. The compressed peat was eventually Converted to_ (same as previous blank). We burn_ (same as previous blank) to heat our homes and run electrical machinery. About 20 percent of the energy we use comes from_ (same as previous blank). __is formed deep within the Earth's surface in rocks that are fine-grained and rich in the organic remains of once-living animals. The oldest_ (same as previous blank) -bearing rocks date back more than 600 million years._ (same as previous blank) is burned to fuel vehicles and heat homes. About 45 percent of the energy we use comes from _(same as previous blank). Unit 2, Chapter 2H. Landfills and Combustion The Quest for Less Natural is a colorless, odorless fuel produced by drilling into the Earth's crust where it was trapped hundreds of thousands of years ago. Once it is brought to the surface, it is refined and purified to remove water, other gases, and sand. Next, it's transported through large metal pipelines that span the continent. Natural_ (same as previous blank) is used for heating, cooling, and the production of electricity. How is TJin2'R6Y connected to trash.? While these sources of energy continue to serve us well, they are known as nonrenewable resources that will eventually be used up. Once we use all of our supplies, we will have to depend on new sources of energy. We're already looking for new energy sources so that we can conserve those that come from within the Earth. That's where_comes in. Did you know that you can get energy from (same as previous blank)? There are two ways that we can use our_ (same as previous blank) to make energy. In one method, burn the _(same as previous blank) is taken to a waste-to-energy facility. These facilities (same as previous blank) during a process called_. This process generates heat that can be converted to fuel and electricity. Waste-to-energy facilities take a large amount of trash and make it smaller by burning it. This reduces the amount of trash that piles up in our landfills, which is better for the environment. A second way for us to use trash for energy involves the garbage that we dispose of in landfills. As this trash decomposes, it produces_gas. Too often, this valuable source of energy is not used. Now, however, over 150 landfills in the United States are using the gas, captured by a special pipe system set up in the landfill, to generate electricity; provide fuel for factories, schools, and other facilities; and to produce natural gas for general distribution. jire there any other sources of fZfHZTMaY? In addition to using the energy we generate from our garbage, there are other ways we can harness the renewable energy sources that surround us. Here are two other important energy sources that we are just beginning to use in place of fossil fuels. The light that comes to the Earth from the sun is pure energy. Nearly all other sources of energy origi¬ nally got their energy from the sun. Organic matter, like plants, convert_energy into leaves, flowers, and fruits. We can also use energy from the sun to heat our homes and buildings with special _ (same as previous blank) panels that capture and convert the light into energy. Hydroelectric power is generated by harnessing When (same as previous blank) falls or runs downhill, it can be used to run turbines or large water wheels at mills and facto¬ ries, which generate electricity. Cors You've became an Energy Expert/ Now yoa understand how our trash can help cis generate power and electricity. In addition, you’ve learned all about our use of energy on this planet and the many different sources we can turn to for energy use in the future. The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2.H, Landfills and Combustion ' .--WA 185 fhe Great Disposal Debate Objective) To teach students about some of the environmental, social, and economic issues surrounding modern landfills, incinerators, and other forms of waste man agement. Activity Description ) Students will research and debate the pros and cons of using landfills for waste disposal and energy genera¬ tion, and then compare with other forms of waste disposal and energy generation. Materials Needed J Index or note cards for each student Internet, library, encyclopedia, or other access to research resources Background information from Teacher Fact Sheets and other resources listed below Research Reading Problem solving Communication Activity ) Step 1 : Introduce the concept of the mod¬ ern landfill and explain some of the advantages and disadvantages to this form of waste disposal. (Refer to the Teacher Fact Sheets titled Landfills on page 1 65, Combustion on page 1 69, Solid Waste on page 47, and Hazardous Waste on page 51 for background information. Teachers may also choose to use the History Channel's video, Modern Marvels: Garbage, which pro¬ vides information on sanitary landfills and the history of garbage; contact (800) 941-4007 or for more information.) Step 2 : Once the students understand the above concepts, divide the class into two groups: Pros and Cons. Step 3 : As a homework assignment or an in-class teacher-led group activity, have stu¬ dents conduct research and come up with at least three points or arguments defending their side of the debate (i.e., pros or cons associat¬ ed with landfills). Encourage students to use the school library, Internet, or other resources, such as contacting the regional solid waste agency or local recycling coordinator. Teachers may also choose to provide students with Enviroscapes' Landfill Model, which compares old garbage dumps to modern sanitary land¬ fills. For more information, email or visit . The Quest for Less Journal Activity ) Ask students to think about the advantages and disadvantages associated with landfills. Which one issue is most important to them? Why? Step 1 : On day two, have the two sides regroup to discuss what they discovered through their research. Give each group 1 5 to 20 min¬ utes to work together and prepare their side of the debate on either the pros or cons of land¬ fills. During that time, ask the students to combine their note cards and assemble them in order of importance for easy reference during the debate. Instruct students to pick four class¬ mates to represent the group as the debaters. Step 2 : Explain that each team will get 5 minutes to present their side of the debate. During that time, any of the four designated debaters for that team can speak, but they must take turns. After one side presents, the other team has 5 minutes to present their points. Step 3 : After the formal debate is over, allow each team to respond to one or more of the issues raised by the other group. The teacher may choose to serve as a moderator during this question and answer session. Step 4 : At the end of the debate ask the stu¬ dents if they were persuaded by either side and why. Assessment 1. Ask the students to discuss/explain whether or not they would want a landfill in their community. Why or why not? 2. How does the debate change if the landfill is used for electricity generation? Does this benefit outweigh some of the negatives? Does this change the students' opinions/ perceptions of landfills? 1. Have students create a survey and conduct interviews with family members or friends to determine how other people feel about land¬ fills. Compile, analyze, and discuss the results of the surveys in class. Make graphs or charts based on these results. 2. Have each student group research how garbage was disposed of in Medieval times, the 1 800s, and early 1 900s. How does this compare to today's disposal methods? Have one group of students research how garbage is disposed of today in countries other than the United States. Ask the students how they think garbage may be handled in the future. 3. Take a field trip to a local landfill to tour the facility and learn how it works. When you return, have the students write a paragraph on their visit, including five new facts. 4. Explore the issues of greenhouse gases and global climate change in more depth. Use the example of capturing methane from landfills for energy as one way to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ask the students to think of other ways we might reduce greenhouse gases. Examples include using less electricity, creating less garbage (see section on Source Reduction), improving technologies to cleanup power plants emis¬ sions, and planting trees. (See EPA's Web site on methane, , and global warming, , for reference information.) 188 Unit 2, Chapter 2.H, Landfills and Combustion The Quest for Less A Look at Landfills Pros • Gives us somewhere to put our solid waste. • Is more protective than dumps of the past. • Waste decomposition at a landfill gener¬ ates methane—a potent greenhouse gas that can be captured and used for energy. • Converting methane to energy can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions— directly, by capturing methane from the landfill, and indirectly by serving as an alternative energy to fossil fuels. • Can be properly capped and use for park land, playgrounds, or other nonres- idential purposes. • Can provide a source of jobs and income for a town or state that is willing to accept solid waste from other cities, towns, or states for a fee ("host fees"). • Using a local or nearby landfill can cut down on fuel emissions from trucks and boats carrying waste to faraway areas. Cons • Can cause noise and traffic with trucks driving to and from the landfill. • Must be designed and constructed to prevent contamination of ground water, surface water, and soil. • Can lead to bad smelling (rotten egg) or unhealthy air. • If not properly capped and managed, can attract birds and pests. • May lower the property values of the sur¬ rounding area. • Shipping waste to a landfill in another state or county may lead to dust prob¬ lems or blowing trash if not covered properly. • Loose garbage can blow around if land¬ fill is not properly capped and managed. The Quest for Less Unit 2. Chapter 2d. Landfills and Combustion * Educate students about the differences in greenhouse gas emissions as they relate to different forms of waste and waste disposal methods. Activity Description) Students will research various forms of waste disposal and use EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM) to cal¬ culate greenhouse gas emissions associated with waste and waste disposal methods. Carbon dioxide Emissions Global climate change Greenhouse gases Recycling Solid Waste Source reduction Science Duration ) Materials Needed j 3 hours (in class) EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM) (available at EPA's Global Warming Web site: http://yosemite.epa.gov/OAR/globalwarming.nsf/ content/ActionsWaste WARM.htm I Computer (with Internet access or Microsoft Excel) EPA's Web site on Climate Change and Waste: http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/ content/ActionsWaste. htm I Pencils Weekly Waste Generation Tracking Sheets Library Q Skills Used Computation Observation/Classification Research Reading Problem Solving Activity J Part 1 Step 1 : Review the various methods of han¬ dling waste (including source reduction, recycling, landfilling, composting, and inciner¬ ating) using the Teacher Fact Sheets titled Source Reduction on page 79, Recycling on page 101, Buying Recycled on page 107, Composting on page 141, Landfills on page 165, and Combustion on page 169. Define greenhouse gases and explain how the various The Quest for Less factors of waste disposal (type of waste, type of disposal, transportation) affect greenhouse gas emissions and thus global climate change. (For information on the connection between waste and climate change see EPA's Web site at .) Step 2 : Hand each student a Weekly Waste Generation Tracking Sheet and ask them to fill it out every day for one week. Have the stu¬ dents take the sheet home every evening to record their waste generation at home. Remind them to include the materials they use both in Unit 2. Chapter 2M, Landfills and Combustion school and home, such as drink cans and car¬ tons, lunch bags, and looseleaf and printer paper. Step 3 : During this same week, have students research how each type of waste (e.g., alu¬ minum, food scraps, newspaper) is normally disposed of, particularly in their town or county. (Tip: You may want to assign one specific waste to individual groups of students.) Teachers will use this information to enter data into the base¬ line scenario of EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM). Two Methods for Gathering Information Teachers may choose between two methods for gathering the necessary information to input into WARM (Part 1, Step 2): • Simpler—Students will track the amount of each material type they dispose of each day. The teacher will use this information (as directed Part 2, Step 3) as baseline data and then try different combinations of alternative waste disposal methods in WARM and discuss the results with the class. • Complex—Students will track both the amount of each material type they dispose of each day and the method of disposal (throw out, recycle, compost). The teacher will use this information as directed Part 2, Step 3 to complete the WARM spread¬ sheets. Part 2 Step 1 : The following week collect the Weekly Waste Generation Tracking Sheets from the students and tally the results into one com¬ bined tracking sheet. This represents the weekly waste generation for the class. In order for the WARM tool to give meaningful results, however, the class will need to take the weekly waste generation information and project the total waste generation (by commodity) for the class for the year. (Depending on the size of the class, teachers may need to take this one step further and project the yearly waste generation for the school.) Convert this number into tons for input into WARM. Step 2 : Review the discussion on greenhouse gases and their relationship to waste and waste disposal (as described in Part 1: Step 1). Step 3: Access EPA's WARM calculator at . Explain that this tool is often used by solid waste plan¬ ners and organizations to track, report, and estimate the effects of various waste disposal methods on greenhouse gas emissions. The model calculates greenhouse gas emissions for baseline and alternative means of waste man¬ agement. Discuss how people can use models to predict possible future scenarios, such as the effect of certain activities on air or water pollu¬ tion, or a new street layout on rush hour traffic conditions. Enter the information for baseline data as gathered by the class. (Teachers can enter data into the online spreadsheets and print out the results but cannot save them. Therefore, teachers may choose to download the Microsoft Excel file, which can be saved.) Step 4 : Working with the students, enter data into the alternative management scenario and complete the WARM spreadsheet. Review and discuss the results of various waste manage¬ ment practices on greenhouse gas emissions. Ask the class to observe whether the alternative management scenario reduced the amount of emissions. Why or why not? Try incorporating different waste management practices to view the effects on emissions and discuss the results with the class. Assessment 1. Ask the students what they learned from using the tool and how this might be appli¬ cable to the real world. How might communities use tools such as WARM to help manage their waste and minimize their impacts on global climate change? 192 Unit 2. Chapter 2M, Landfills and Combustion The Quest for Less I II 1. Contact a local solid waste planner or organization and ask them to fill out WARM. Had they heard of this tool before? How did their baseline and results compare with the class? 2. How do greenhouse gas reductions achieved with alternative waste management methods relate to real life? Equivalency cal¬ culators convert emissions or energy use reductions into more understandable terms, such as number of cars removed from the road or acres of trees planted. Use the information generated by the class and WARM to complete the Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator available at or other tools available at . Discuss the results. The Quest for Less Unit 2, Chapter 2.H. Landfills and Combustion 193 m eeklv Waste Generation Name: racking sheet @0* ' - Enter the amount of each item that you discard each day. 6 ■P & L Waste Race Join the Planet Protectors Club! Trash Town Locker Leftovers Memorable 1 Media Messages o V Language Arts ✓ ✓ VI +» u 0) Social Studies ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ f Art ✓ ✓ Health ✓ ✓ r - ♦ ) Welcome Note Planet Protectors Club Duties and Responsibilities list ru The Quest for Less Key Vocabulary Words ^ Composting Conserve Energy Incinerator Landfill Pollution Recycling' Resources Waste Reduction Duration Regularly scheduled meetings based on local needs and resources. Skills Used ) Skills will differ based on local projects, but may include: Communications Motor skills Observation/classification Problem solving Reading Research Unit 3, Putting It All Together science social studies math art health language arts 203 Activity ) Step 1 I Order and review the contents of EPA's Planet Protectors Club kit. Plan and publi¬ cize a kick-off meeting for teachers or volunteers who will lead the meetings. Use the clip art pro¬ vided to create signs and other materials. If there is an existing, relevant school-wide initia¬ tive (e.g., new beverage container recycling program) that could involve Planet Protectors Club members, discuss the members' potential roles (e.g., monitoring collection bins and edu¬ cating students). Step 2: E nlist students to join the club and schedule the first meeting. At the meeting, give each student the Welcome Note, Mission Papers folder, and Planet Protectors badge (you may want to reserve several components of the kit to hand out individually at subsequent meetings). Describe the Planet Protectors Club and the types of projects in which members will be involved (these will be unique to your school; see the list of ideas below). Have them read and sign the Planet Protectors Club Duties and Responsibilities. Step 3: If you have decided to hand out pieces of the Planet Protectors Club kit one at a time, hand out one piece at each meeting and plan activities related to it. Alternatively, or after you have handed out all the pieces, you can plan school- or community-related activities for members. Possible activities include: • Picking up litter from school grounds. • Initiating a recycling program (e.g., for cans, bottles, paper) in your school or monitoring one that already exists to make sure it is working. • Initiate a waste reduction program, such as a "materials exchange" where students and teachers bring in items (e.g., sports equip¬ ment, clothing, school supplies) for exchange and/or donation. • Plan field trips to local recycling centers. •• Invite speakers from your local government's environmental/recycling office or a nonprofit organization to give presentations. Other ideas for Planet Protectors Club activities/projects can be found in the following resources (visit or call (800) 490-91 98 for ordering information): • Reuse + Recycling = Waste Reduction: A Guide for Schools and Groups (EPA530-K- 03-001) • Service-Learning: Education Beyond the Classroom (EPA530-K-02-001) • Volunteer for Change: A Guide to Environmental Community Service (EPA530- K-01-002) Students should be individually assessed based on participation, effort, interest, or other rele¬ vant criteria. Enrichment 1. Enlist adult volunteers to administer Planet Protectors Clubs in several district schools. Prepare a volunteer agreement/code of con¬ duct for them to sign and have them fill out any paperwork required by your school. 2. Hold an "EnviroFair" or other event that brings together all Planet Protectors Club members from your district. Members can share information about their local projects and/or participate in a large-scale project. 3. Integrate Planet Protectors Club activities into the regular school curriculum, such as calculating the results of a recycling survey for a math lesson. 2CH Unit 3, Putting It All Together The Quest for Less ) •This folder contains your Mission Tapers . fhey are very important papers that include an activity book and a Planet Protector badge. ^4t each, club meeting, you will work on an activity to add to your ftission Papers. Keep them safe and bring them to every meeting. fis a Planet Protectors Club member, you will learn about environmental issues and help save the planet by performing tasks at your School, at home, and throughout the community. You will also be able to help your fellow students learn about protecting the environment by sharing the lessons you learn with them. Name: The Quest for Less Unit 3, Putting It All Together fi.S a member of the Planet Protectors Chib, 1 promise to perform the following duties and responsibilities to the best of my ability: 1. Learn how to conserve resources and reduce waste. 2. "Encourage other students and adults to conserve resources and reduce waste. 3. Always be courteous and never lose my temper or become "bossy” 4. Obey all school rules and set a good example for other students. 3. Learn and perform Planet Protectors Club duties. 6. Wear my Vianet Protector badge while performing Planet Protectors C!lub duties. 7. Vo my best in school and keep my grades and citizenship up to high standards. 1 have read and agree to all the Planet Protectors Club Vuties and "Responsibilities. Student's Signature 206 Unit 3. Putting It All Together The Quest for Less JLrt The Quest for Less Unit 3. Putting It All Together Grades 4-6 Av«ju \rr 6? r ash 'fawn Objective) To teach students about the costs involved in waste management. Activity Description^ After reading about Trash Town, students will complete math problems to assess the cost of disposal and recycling. Key Vocabulary Words ) Landfill Tipping fee Recycle Disposal Materials Needed j One copy of Trash Town worksheet per student One pencil per student One calculator per student (optional) ©\©J) 1 Duration J 1 hour > Skills Used ) Reading Computation Problem solving math social studies Activity J Step 1 : Photocopy and distribute the Trash Town worksheet to each student. Introduce the following concepts to your class (refer to the Teacher Fact Sheet titled Solid Waste on page 47 for more information): • It costs us money to dispose of our garbage. The more garbage we generate, the more money we pay for disposal. • Landfills charge a fee for accepting trash (tipping fee). • We can save money by recycling, compost¬ ing, reusing, or source reducing instead of throwing out garbage. • We can earn money by recycling because recycled materials can be sold to manufacturers. The Economics of Trash • Landfill Tipping Fee—Communities that want to dispose of their waste in a landfill must pay the landfill owners a fee, based on the number of tons of waste they discard. • Recyclables Market—Recycling can be profitable! Communities that collect recyclable items can sell those items to manufacturers for reuse. Communities can check the recyclables marketplace to find out the current, per-ton prices associated with different recyclable materials. Step 2 : Pass out calculators to each stu¬ dent. Ask the students to carefully read the Trash Town worksheet and complete the math problems related to the town's disposal and recycling practices. (Teachers can decide whether this worksheet should be completed in groups or individually.) The Quest for Less (Jnit 3, Putting It All Together 209 Journal Activity ) Ask students to pretend that they are the mayor of Trash Town. If the residents of their town com¬ plained about the price of garbage disposal, what would they tell them? 1. Collect the Trash Town worksheets and eval¬ uate the computations and answers. 2. Ask students to identify the most expensive element of garbage disposal. Ask them whether it's more costly to recycle and reuse or to throw everything away. 3. Ask students to list some of the cost consid¬ erations involved in garbage disposal. student and charge them based on the amount of trash they throw away from their lunch. (One paper bag = $100, one plastic bag = $200, one aluminum can = $500, etc.) Keep this up for a few days and see if the stu¬ dents can bring in lunches that are less costly the next day (less wasteful). See who ends up with the most fake money at the end of the week and give that person a prize for being "waste wise." You can also explain to students that more than 4,000 communities across the country have PAYT programs where citizens are charged based on the amount of garbage they throw away. 2. Contact your local solid waste agency to obtain actual waste statistics and costs for your own community. Have students use these num¬ bers to find out how much money the community spends on garbage disposal per day, per week, or per year. 3. Have students devise a plan for helping the residents of Trash Town save more money and protect the environment. Ask the students to write a speech or article explaining their new plan to the residents of Trash Town—what needs to be recycled and how, how the resi¬ dents will benefit, and how the environment will benefit. 1. Conduct a "Pay-As-You-Throw" (PAYT) exper¬ iment in the classroom or lunchroom. Hand out the same amount of fake money to each Answer Key 1. How many tons of garbage does the entire Trash Town generate per day? 11Q tons _ Per year? ^0,150 tons _ 2 . How much does it cost for Trash Town to throw all of its garbage into a landfill each year? $1.606.000 3 . If Trash Town started a recycling program and recy¬ cled 30 percent of its garbage each year, how many tons of recyclables would be collected? 12.CH5 tons 4 If Trash Town recycled 30 percent of its garbage per year, how many tons of trash would still be sent to the landfill? 28. 1QT tons _ 5 . How much money (in less tipping fees) would Trash Town save from recycling 30 percent of its garbage per year? $^81.000 _ 6 . How much money would Trash Town earn from recy¬ cling 30 percent of its garbage per year? $120. TO 7 . How much could Trash Town earn if it started recy¬ cling 50 percent of its garbage per year? $2oam What about 60 percent? $2^0.900 _ Unit 3. Patting It Ml Together The Quest for Less Greetings/ I'm Raby Rubbish, the mayor of Trash Town, and I want to thank yoa for visiting oar com- manity. Are yoa good with nambers? Do yoa know what’s best for the environment? We need yoar help! The residents of Trash Town are spending lots of money to haal id damp their garbage in the local landfill. Oar landfill is filling ap fast and we worry aboat what all this trash is doing to oar envi¬ ronment Plas, we can’t afford to keep paying so mach for oar garbage disposal. We’ve heard that other towns are helping to protect the environment by recycling and reasing items instead of throwing them away. We’ve also heard that some com- manities can make money by recycling. (Jnfortanately, the Trash Town garbage specialist is on vacation and we need someone to answer all of oar questions aboat garbage disposal immediately. If I give yoa all of the information, can yoa help? If yoa can fig- are oat the solations to oar ques¬ tions on the next page, yoa’II be the hero of Trash Town!! trash tovnx trivia Population: 50,000 Garbage generated by each Trash Town resident per day: 4.4 pounds Tipping fee for garbage dumped at local landfill: $40/ton Money earned for collecting recyclables: $10/ton Other important information 1 ton — 2,000 pounds 1 year = 365 days IM m, HSf. The Quest for Less (Jnit 3. Putting It All Together Name: Question* 1 .How many tons of garbage does the entire Trash Town generate per day? Per year? 2. How much does it cost for Trash Town to throw all of its garbage into a landfill each year? 3. If Trash Town started a recycling program and recycled 30 percent of its garbage each year, how many tons of recy- clables would be collected? 4. If Trash Town recycled 30 percent of its garbage per year, how many tons of trash would still be sent to the landfill? _ 5. How much money (in less tipping fees) would Trash Town save from recycling 30 percent of its garbage per year?_ 6 . How much money would Trash Town earn from recycling 30 percent of its garbage per year? 7. How much could Trash Town earn if it started recycling 50 percent of its garbage per year? What about 60 percent?__ ctifliitiarte comrtR Can you face the Trash Town challenge? The following information will help you solve the word problems below Different types of recycled materials earn different amounts of money in the recyclables marketplace. For example: Plastic bottles: $ 15/ton Cardboard: $ L { 0/ton Magazines.-$5/ton Steel: $*/0/ton Aluminum cans: 0/ton Newspaper: $ 15/ton Glass: $15/ton 1. How much money would Trash Town earn for recycling 250 tons of newspaper and 30 tons of steel per year? - 2. If Trash Town recycles 20 percent of its total annual garbage and 15 percent of that garbage is aluminum cans and 5 percent is magazines, how much money will it earn in total?_ 3. How many pounds of cardboard would Trash Town have to recycle in order to earn more than $39,000 per year?- Locker Leftovers Objective To help students realize the amount of trash they produce and help them recognize the difference between trash, recycled products, and reusable materials. Activity DescriptionJ Students from one class or one grade will collect items while cleaning out lockers and desks and sort them into recyclables, reusables, and trash. Materials Needed Large trash bags or containers Scale Key Vocabulary Words ) Recycling Reuse Duration 2 hours Computation Observation/classification Step 1 . Before winter break, spring break, and/or at the end of the school year, have stu¬ dents clean out their lockers and/or desks and place the contents into large bags or contain¬ ers. Have them pay close attention to items that can be reused or recycled. Before begin¬ ning the clean-out, give some examples of items that are trash and items that can be reused or recycled. For example, old papers and notebooks can be recycled. Pens and other writing implements that are in working order can be reused. Bottles and cans are recyclable, and books can be donated to a local charity. Generally, food items should be thrown away, unless they are compostable or the packaging (e.g., bottle, can, cardboard) can be recycled. Step 2. After their lockers are empty, have students take the trash bags to a large sorting area, such as the school gym. Have the stu¬ dents sort through the bags/containers for reusable and/or recyclable items, discarding trash (students can work in shifts if space is limited or if the volume to be sorted is very large). Before sorting, count the number of trash bags. When finished sorting, count the number of bags actually being disposed of. Students can also quantify recyclables by weighing or counting them. The Quest for Less Unit 3. Putting It All Together Assessment 1. Ask students how they have gone about cleaning out their lockers in the past. What was different this time? )j Enrichment ) 1. Extend the activity to your school's library or storage rooms and donate books and other materials to local organizations. (It's best to line up an organization willing to accept the reusables before beginning a clean out proj¬ ect.) Note: Chemical storage areas should not be part of this activity. Only personnel trained in chemical hazards should take on this task. 2. Expand this activity to include more classes, more grades, or the whole school. A 7 th -8 ,h grade class can coordinate the effort. They can collect and sort items for their own class¬ room to develop a baseline for estimating volunteers, bags/containers, and volumes of trash and recyclables. 3. If recyclables can be returned for deposits in your area, use this activity to raise funds for your school's band, science or environmental club or other activities. Unit 3. Putting It All Together The Quest k'l&ivrtfi Grades 6-8 r Memorable Media Me$$age$ ObjectiveJ To encourage students to develop their own envi¬ ronmental beliefs and messages by creating a public service announcement (PSA) about the topics they have covered previously in the Quest for Less curriculum. Activity Description^ Work in groups to develop a live production (a live "tel¬ evision" or "radio" PSA) promoting environmental messages from the Quest for Less curriculum to present to other students. Key Vocabulary Words ) Natural resources Products Waste Recycling Composting Source reduction Landfills Combustion language arts art Materials Needed For a televised PSA, students can create props using class¬ room materials, or items made during other Quest for Less activities. Skills Used Communication Research Step 1 : Introduce and define a public service announcement (PSA) with students. Explain to the students that successful PSAs must grab the atten¬ tion of the intended audience and present the key message effectively so that it is retained in the minds of the target audience. To do this, the PSA must use an appropriate type of appeal/incentive and be credible, understood, and considered rel¬ evant by the intended audience. Present to students examples of a television, radio, or mag¬ azine PSA (refer to PSA example on page 217) so that they understand the concept. Step 2 : Divide students into groups. Assign or allow them to choose a topic from the Quest for Less curriculum (e.g., the value of composting, recycling, reducing waste). Step 3 : Devote one classroom period for stu¬ dents to research, brainstorm, and plan their PSA. Step 4 : Give students a deadline for research homework to supplement information gleaned from Quest for Less. What Is a Public Service Announcement (PSA)? A PSA is an announcement on televi¬ sion, radio, or promotional materials (e.g. billboards, posters, brochures) serving the public interest and run by the media at no charge. PSAs differ from regular commer¬ cials because rather than selling a product, they are generally developed to prevent a behavior from starting, stop a behavior, or encourage adoption of a new behavior. The Quest for Less Unit 3, Putting It All Together 215 Step 5 : Devote a second classroom period for each group to perform their PSA for the class. Assessment 1. Ask students which PSAs were the most effec¬ tive and why. 2. Ask students why PSAs are an effective method of educating the public about envi¬ ronmental issues. 3. Ask students to discuss what other methods can be used for disseminating environmental information to the public. Enrichment 1. Have students create a survey assessing knowledge on their designated PSA topic. Allow students to administer the survey to another class, preferably a class that had not worked on the Quest for Less curriculum. Then allow students to perform their PSAs to the other class. They may also create a fol¬ low-up survey to compare to the first survey to determine how effective their PSAs were to the other class. 2. Have students create print PSAs (e.g., posters or brochures) advocating their positions. These could be displayed in the school or in a community center. 3. Allow students time to create props and cos¬ tumes for their PSAs. Videotape their commercials and have them broadcast on a school educational channel or a public access television. Radio PSAs can be record¬ ed or broadcast over the school's public address system. Examples of Public Service Announcements -Radio V. http:/Vwww.epa.gov/safewater/psa.html 2. http://www.energyhog.org/ 3. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/italladd/ television 1. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/tvads.html 2. http://www.energyhog.org/ 3. http://www.turner.com/planet/tune-in/psa.html 4. http://www.energystar.gov/ index.cfm?c=news.nr_psa 5. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/italladd/ 6. http://www.smokeybear.com/ 7. http://www.kab.org/media.asp?id = 246&rid=250 216 Unit 3. Putting It All Together The Quest for Less £lo$$ary of ferm$ Note: This glossary defines unfamiliar terms specifically related to solid waste and the environment; some words listed in the activities under "Vocabulary" will not be found in this glossary. Aerobic —with oxygen. During the composting process, certain bacteria need oxygen to break down the mix of organic materials. This is known as aerobic decomposition. Anaerobic —without oxygen. In a landfill, certain bacteria decompose organic materials without oxygen and create methane gas through a process known as anaerobic decomposition. Ash (also combustion ash) —solid residue that remains after the combustion, or burning, of waste. Backyard composting —the homeowner's prac¬ tice of collecting leftover kitchen scraps (excluding meats and fats) and yard trimmings for decomposition in a private compost pile. Backyard composters can use their compost as a soil enhancement for their gardens. Bacteria —single-celled microorganisms. Certain types of bacteria break down organic materials (using an aerobic and/or anaerobic process). Bedding —organic material, such as shredded newspaper, used to retain moisture and allow proper air circulation and drainage to provide a healthy environment for worms in a vermicom- posting container. Biodegradable —materials that can decompose , usually by bacteria or sunlight, into basic com¬ ponents. Most organic materials (paper, grass clippings, food scraps), under the right condi¬ tions, are biodegradable. Biodiversity (also biological diversity) —indicated by the numbers of different species of plants and Common Recyclable Items and Related Terms Aluminum —a lightweight, silver-white, metallic element that makes up approximately 7 percent of the Earth's crust. Aluminum is used in a variety of ways, but perhaps most familiarly in the manufacture of soft drink cans. Bauxite —a rock in which aluminum is found in high concentrations. Cardboard —a thin, stiff material made of paper pulp and used in making cartons and other forms of packag¬ ing. Cullet— clean, generally color-sorted, crushed glass used to make new glass products. Fibers —the long, thick-walled cells that give strength and support to plant tissue. The fibers of wood and cloth are used in making paper. Glass —hard, brittle, generally transparent or translucent material typically formed from the rapid cooling of liq¬ uefied minerals. Most commercial glass is made from a molten mixture of soda ash, sand, and lime. Metal —an element that usually has a shiny surface, is a good conductor of heat and electricity, and can be melted down, fused, or hammered. Metals include iron, gold, sodium, copper, magnesium, tin, and aluminum. Paper —a thin material made of pulp from wood, rags, or other fibrous materials and used for writing, printing, or wrapping. Plastic —a material made from petroleum capable of being molded, extruded, or cast into various shapes. There are many different kinds of plastic made from dif¬ ferent combinations of compounds. Pulp— a mixture of fibrous material such as wood, rags, and paper, that is ground up and moistened to be used in making paper or cardboard. Steel —a strong, durable material made of iron and car¬ bon, and often other metals, to achieve different properties. Steel is often used as a component in cans and as a structural material in construction. Tin —a soft silver-white metallic element, capable of being easily molded and having a low melting point. Tin is often used together with other metals in making cans for packaging. The Quest for Less Glossary of Terms 221 animals found in a natural environment. Many different species of plants and animals within an ecosystem is indicative of a healthy environment. Brownfields —abandoned or unused industrial and commercial land that cannot be developed or expanded because of real or perceived con¬ tamination with toxic substances. Bulk —when food or other products are sold unpackaged or in large volumes to reduce pack¬ aging waste. Consumers who buy one large bottle of juice rather than many small containers of juice, for example, are "buying in bulk." Byproduct —excess material or waste produced in addition to the primary product. Sludge is a byproduct from the manufacture of paper, for example. Many manufacturers look for innovative ways to reuse or recycle the byproducts created during the production process to reduce waste. Carbon dioxide —a naturally occuring gas in the atmosphere, released by oceans, decaying veg¬ etation, and the respiration of living creatures and plants. Also a greenhouse gas created by human activities such as fossil fuel combustion. Castings —manure from red wriggler worms that can be used as a soil conditioner to provide aeration, drainage, and nutrients to soil. Climate —the average course or condition of weather over a period of years based on condi¬ tions of heat and cold, moisture and dryness, clearness and cloudiness, wind and calm, applied to a specific location or globally. Southern Florida, for example, has a sunny, dry, warm climate. Closing the loop —purchasing products made from recycled materials. Recycling is a cycle. It is not enough simply to collect recyclables for manufacture into new products. People must then buy products made with recycled content, thus closing the loop. Combustion/Incineration —a rapid chemical process that produces heat, gas, ash, and usually light through burning. This process is one option for the disposal of municipal solid waste. It can also be used as a treatment or disposal option for hazardous waste. See combustor , waste-to-energy. Combustor/Incinerator —a facility for the con¬ trolled burning of waste. Burning municipal solid waste can reduce its volume and weight. Some facilities capture energy from the steam or heat that is produced during the burning process. (See waste-to-energy.) Burning hazardous waste can be considered a form of treatment and can reduce the hazardous components of the waste. Compaction— the act or process of pressing materials together to occupy the smallest volume possible; a common practice at a sanitary landfill. Compost —a crumbly, earthy, sweet-smelling mixture of decomposing organic matter (e.g., leaves, food scraps) created in a controlled, ther¬ mophilic environment that is often used to improve the texture, water-retaining capacity, and aeration of soil. Composting —the controlled biological decom¬ position of organic material under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Organic materials are bro¬ ken down ( decomposed by microorganisms) into compost, also known as humus. Composting can occur in a backyard bin, a pile, long windrows, or in a vermicomposting container. Conservation —the protection or wise use of natural resources that ensures their continuing availability to future generations; the intelligent use of natural resources for long-term benefits. Consumption —the amount of any product or resource (e.g., material or energy) used in a given time by a given number of consumers. Contamination —the process of adding one sub¬ stance to another substance, such as as motor oil to water, that reduces its quality; to make impure or unsafe by contact with potentially harmful substances. Corrosive —a substance capable of dissolving or breaking down other substances (especially met¬ als) or causing skin burns. A corrosive has a pH level below 2 or above 1 2.5. "Cradle-to-grave" —from generation to dispos¬ al; a term used in reference to solid or hazardous waste. 222 Glossary of Terms The Quest for Less Decompose —to break down into basic compo¬ nents, given the right conditions of light, air, and moisture; refers to materials such as food and other plant and animal matter. Deforestation —the clearing and removal of trees from a forested area. Disposable —products or materials that can be or are usually thrown away after one use or a limited amount of time. For example, used paper plates are disposable. Disposal —refers to the process of throwing away unwanted materials. These materials are placed in a landfill or combusted rather than recycled, reused, or composted. Disposal cell —a fixed area in a sanitary landfill where waste is disposed of, compacted into the smallest space possible, and then covered with soil on a daily basis. Durable —goods that can be used more than once and withstand long use, wear, and decay. Appliances are examples of durable goods. Dump —site where waste is disposed of in an unmanaged, uncovered area. Current landfill restrictions have made dumps illegal. See sani¬ tary landfill. Ecosystem —community of plants and animals that interact with one another and with the sur¬ rounding nonliving environment. Examples of ecosystems include ponds, forests, and beaches. Effluent —waste material discharged into the environment; refers to the treated liquid emitted from a manufacturing facility or municipal wastewater treatment plant. Emission —the discharge of gases or particles, such as from a smokestack or automobile engine. Energy —capacity for a system or an object to do work (i.e., cause a change by pulling, push¬ ing, or heating). Energy generated from incineration, for example, can be harnessed to provide electrical power for communities. Environment —the external conditions that influ¬ ence the development and survival of an organism or population; usually refers to air, water, land, plants, and animals. Environmental impact— the effect of an activity or substance on the environment. Environmentally preferable products —those prod¬ ucts that have a reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared to other products that serve the same purpose. For example, products that contain recycled content, require less energy or create less waste during production and manufacture, use less packaging, or are reusable or recyclable are preferable. Flammable —describes a substance that ignites and burns. Food chain —the transfer of food energy from one organism to the next. As one example of a simple food chain, an insect consumes a plant and is then consumed by a bird. Food web —the complex and interlocking net¬ works of food chains within ecosystems where plants and animals coexist and depend on one another for energy needs. Fossil fuels —fuels such as petroleum or coal formed over millions of years from the remains of ancient orqanic materials.