Start Recycling Today Lesson PlanAges: 6th-12th gradeSuggested time: 45 minutes

Part 1- How Important is Recycling?Most middle school and high school students today know what it means to recycle and that it’s the right

thing to do. Since teenagers are now the first generation to grow up in a world where recycling is discussed

regularly, they are some of our most savvy and informed citizens. They are also the nation’s largest

consumer demographic, so it’s of utmost importance that they’re informed and inspired to be part of the

solution. The purpose of this lesson is to:

• Illustrate the volume of garbage created in America each year.

• Educate students about which items can be recycled

• Instill students with a sense of responsibility, regarding the way they dispose of their resources

• Increase students’ understanding about the process that materials go through during the recycling process.

Section 1: How bad is the problem?We all know what it means to recycle, right? We know that when old water bottles, soda cans and notebook

paper are recycled, they are made into new products. But when we toss a plastic water bottle in the

trashcan, versus the recycling bin, no alarms sound; the water bottle disappears and everything in our world

seems to remain the same. How bad could the trash problem really be? Where does that water bottle

actually end up?

Let’s take a look at the trash epidemic…• The average American creates more than four pounds of trash each day. Multiply this by the number of

students in the classroom, then by seven days a week and, lastly, by 52 weeks in a year to model the

volume of trash the classroom creates in a year. That’s more than any other country in the world- not a

good contest to be winning (Japan is closely behind the U.S. in 2nd place).

• Every three months, Americans throw out enough aluminum to build a fleet of commercial airplanes.

Sadly, aluminum can sit in landfills for 200 years before decomposing and it’s one of the most easily

recyclable materials in the world.

• Americans throw away 25,000,000,000 Styrofoam coffee cups each year. Styrofoam never breaks down

in a landfill.

• Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. Glass takes thou

sands of years to break down and all of those jars could have been recycled.

• Nearly 250,000 plastic bottles are dumped every hour. This explains why plastics comprise approximately

50% of recyclable waste in the dumps.

• A plastic bottle can sit for 8,000 years before it decomposes in a landfill.

• A typical family consumes 182 gallons of soda, 29 gallons of juice, 104 gallons of milk, and 26 gallons of

bottled water a year.

• The average household throws away 13,000 separate pieces of paper each year. Most is packaging and

junk mail that could be recycled.

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Recommunity > education Station> Teacher Resources> Lesson Plan 1

More Recycling facts are available at: http://www.recommunity.com/education/

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Section 2: Why is there so much trash?The trash we create has increased because our dependence on packaging has increased. For example,

think about when you go through the drive-thru. With one meal, you get a bag, napkins, a cup, sandwich

wrapping, a receipt and plastic utensils. That’s a lot of trash for one meal and that amount can be multiplied

millions of time over with the number of people eating fast food daily.

As if that wasn’t enough, there’s packaging materials used for shipping, retail, and medical supplies. In fact,

one-third of the trash in landfills is made up of plastic, glass, paper and aluminum packaging materials. The

crazy thing is, almost all packaging materials can be recycled.

Section 3: can it be recycled?Have the class name packaging products that can be recycled. Here are a few examples to get them started:

• Water bottles

• Cardboard boxes

• Soda Cans

• Aluminum food cans (including pet food)

• Cereal Boxes

There are very few packaging materials that can’t be recycled but it’s important to be aware of them:

• Styrofoam

• Packaging with liquid left in the container

• Batteries

• Plastic wrap

• Tires

Print out this list of other items that can be recycled and the “Dirty Dozen”, which can’t:

Recommunity > education Station> Teacher Resources> Lesson Plan 1

NO Plastic BagsPlastic bags are the WORST contaminant in the recycling bin. When placed in a curbside bin, they get wet and dirty and cannot be recycled. Plastic bags with a #2 or #4 can be recycled at the CHaRM (Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials ) if they are clean, dry and empty. They may also be recycled at participating grocery stores; find a list of participating stores.

NO Materials in Plastic BagsWorkers have to slow the conveyor belts to rip open bags that contain recyclables and then add the bag to the heap of bags bound for the landfill. These inefficiencies waste time and money.

NO Shredded PaperShredded paper is too small to sort. The pieces fall through the cracks of the sorting machines, stick to the belts and end up all over the floor. Please avoid shredding when possible because it destroys the potential for recycling. Compost shredded materials in your curbside compost bin (if you have one) or recycle at your local Recycling Drop-off Center.

NO Scrap MetalScrap metal items of any size should not go into your curbside bin. These items cause excessive damage to the recycling equipment.

NO Hazardous WasteHazardous waste such as paint, automotive fluids, car batteries and pesticides must be taken to your local Hazardous Waste Facility, not to the Recycling Center.

NO Diapers or Bio-Hazardous WasteSyringes and needles, diapers and other sanitary products are not recyclable.

THE RECYCLING BIN’S DIRTY DOZEN

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List of Recyclables

http://www.recommunity.com/wp-content/

uploads/2012/05/re_acceptable_materials_

resedential_print.pdf

dirty dozen

http://www.recommunity.com/wp-content/

uploads/2012/05/dirtydozen.pdf

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RECYCLE WELL

Plastics 1-7 (Jugs, Bottles,

Bulky Rigids,etc)

Aluminum & Metal Cans

Glass Bottles & Jars

MagazinesCardboard & Food Boxes

Paper(Office Paper, Junk Mail

& Newspaper, etc)

These categories are acceptable for recycling. Study carefully and recycle well.

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Recommunity > education Station> Teacher Resources> Lesson Plan 1

Section 4: How recycling helps…The trash in landfills not only takes up space but it poisons the air we breathe and wastes precious natural

resources to create new products. Recycling is one of the best solutions to all of these problems. By simply

understanding what can be recycled and placing garbage in the proper bin (recycling or trash), we can keep

most items out of landfills and in the product chain for years to come. Recycled materials are sometimes

used to make the same item and sometimes they are used to make an entirely different item. For instance,

plastic from water bottles can be processed into tiny threads that are used to make clothes or rugs.

Recycling Facts:• Recycling a single run of the Sunday New York Times would save 75,000 trees.

• Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours. In spite of this, Americans

throw out 1,500 aluminum cans per second!

• When you recycle an aluminum can, it can be back on the grocery store shelf as a new product in as little as 60 days

• The power saved by recycling one glass bottle can power a computer for 30 minutes

• Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it in an incinerator

• Half of the polyester carpet manufactured in the US is made from recycled soda bottles

Part 2 - What happens to our recycling?VideosThe videos explain how products go from the bin, through the recycling process and back on store

shelves to be enjoyed again.

Interactive MRFDemonstrate what happens behind the scenes at a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Take an interactive

tour with students, revealing each step of the separation process through descriptions and video clips of

each piece of equipment. Material is sorted through a combination of human and technological interactions,

creating a baled product of each commodity.

View the Interactive online at: http://www.recommunity.com/interactive-mrf/3

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recommunity > education Station> teacher resources> lesson Plan 1

Homework IdeaRecycling Investigation: Ask students to go home and review their family’s recycling plan. Interview at

least one family member as to why or why not the family recycles. If not, explain why the household does

not recycle, and how it could recycle in the future. If the household recycles, explain the family’s recycling

process, and how they might improve the process to recycle more. Take photos and/or devise a chart to

document the process.

Alternative Homework AssignmentRecycling Math: Ask students to go home and document 25 different items in their kitchen. Mark down

each item and determine if it is recyclable or not. If it is not recyclable, write down what should be done

with that item (reused, garbage, compost, etc.). If it is recyclable, mark down the commodity type (plastic

#1, glass, tin, aluminum, etc.). Once finished, have the students determine an approximate % of products

in their kitchen that are recyclable (e.g. 75% are recyclable).

extra credit IdeaWith this extra credit project, students can put the lesson into practice at home, share it with their social

network and contribute a visual keep the class focused on recycling for weeks. Give extra credit to the

students who participate or make this a mandatory project.

Steps:1. Outside of class, have someone take a picture of you recycling.

2. Post the picture, with recycling fact relating to that type of material in the caption (many of these facts

can be accessed at ReCommunity.com), to your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account.

3. Take a screenshot of the post with the picture and bring the printed picture to class the next day. To take

a screenshot hit: Shift+Command+3 on a Mac, Alt+Print and open in Paint for Windows.

Create a “Wall of Recycling” with the pictures students brought to class. The wall will serve as a con

stant reminder to recycle and recognize students for being part of the solution.

*Consider an alternative assignment for students who don’t have a social networking account (some par

ents don’t allow it). You may want to have them bring two pictures of them recycling, instead of one.

read About It!Consider using these books to supplement your classroom lesson about recycling.

They are written for and about teens

generation green,

by linda and tosh Sivertsen

garbage and recycling

(opposing Viewpoints),

by Mitchell young

recycling

(Issues that concern you),

by Viqi Wagner

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