Recycling and Precycling
Adapted from Earth Day 1990: Lesson Plan and Home Survey - K-6, Stanford University, CA
 
Back to Trash Goes to School

GRADE LEVELS: 7-8
 
SUBJECT AREAS: social studies, home economics
 
CONCEPT: Recycling saves energy and raw materials, and reduces pollution.
 
OBJECTIVE: To get students to think about the benefits of recycling and the ways that our buying habits influence the amount of garbage we produce.
 
MATERIALS:
Examples of household garbage items
Handout: Home Recycling Survey
 
KEYWORDS: precycling, disposable, durable
 
BACKGROUND: When we throw away garbage, it usually ends up in a landfill. Landfill space is getting increasingly scarce, and every time we throw something away we throw with it the energy, the money, the raw materials, and the water it took to make it.
 
The average American throws away 4 pounds of garbage per day. In 1990, it is estimated that Americans will throw away over 1 million tons of aluminum cans and foil, more than 11 million tons of glass bottles and jars, over 4 and a half million tons of office paper and nearly 10 million tons of newspaper. Almost all of this material could be recycled.
 
Recycling saves large amounts of energy. Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. Recycling one soda can saves as much energy as if the can were half full of gasoline. Recycling an aluminum can results in 85% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution than creating an aluminum can from raw materials.
 
When waste products are recycled, fewer raw materials must be used. Americans threw away 35 billion aluminum cans last year, enough aluminum to build an entire air fleet four times over. Recycling paper reduces the pressure on our forests for wood pulp, so that less logging is needed.
 
PROCEDURE:
 
1. Display the household items and ask students what characteristics the items have in common and whether the items might be found in their homes. Tell students that over the next two days they will be thinking about garbage and ways that people can reduce the amount of garbage they produce.
 
Ask students if any of the items could be used again, either in the same way they were used originally or in a different way. Introduce the terms "reduce," "reuse," and "recycle."

Hand out the survey and explain that the survey is not a test, and there are no right or wrong answers.
 
Divide the students into groups of four. Have each group discuss what their answers would be to the survey questions. Then have them discuss the following questions:
What three items on the list do you think are found in the garbage of most of your homes?
 
Where do you think our garbage goes once it leaves our homes?
 
Have the group share their discussion with the class. Discuss with the students why it is difficult for some people to recycle (their town may not have recycling facilities, their lifestyle is reliant upon disposable products, etc.) Point out that everyone must define a starting point that makes sense for their own lifestyle. They can gradually work on more ways to reduce the amount of garbage they produce.
 
Introduce the term "precycling" which means to reduce waste by not buying a product in the first place, buying an alternative product that produces less garbage, or buying a product that can be recycled once it is used. Precycling involves selecting a product carefully after considering the manner in which it is produced and packaged, whether it can be reused or recycled, and its overall impact on the environment once it is discarded.
 
2. Discussion questions:
 
- What did we find out from the results of the survey?
 
- Does it appear that most of the people in our survey recycle some household items?
 
- What ideas did the people surveyed have for precycling? (What alternative products did people list in question six?)
 
- Why is it important to think about ways to reduce the amount of garbage we produce?
 
- What might happen if we continue to use disposable products such as disposable diapers, razors, cups, etc.?
 
- What would it take to convince more people to recycle in our town?
 
- Agree upon one way that everyone in your group could reduce the amount of garbage in his/her home. Make sure your choice is realistic for each group member (i.e., it is a product that every person now uses, it is re-usable, recyclable and/or replaceable with another product).

HOME RECYCLING SURVEY
 
1. Put an X by the items that typically go into your garbage.
___ cans (aluminum and/or tin)
___ glass bottles
___ paper
___ aluminum foil
___ styrofoam (containers and packaging materials)
___ cardboard
___ disposable diapers
___ plastic containers
___ newspapers
___ grocery bags (paper or plastic)
___ egg cartons
___ batteries
___ old clothing
 
2. Which items (of those listed above) could be recycled - by you or someone else?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
 
3. Does your town or city have a place to recycle any of these items?
___ Yes ___ No ___ I don't know
 
4. Where does your garbage go once it leaves your house?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
5. What are the benefits and drawbacks of recycling to your family?
Benefits Drawbacks
____________________________ ____________________________
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6. List five products that your family purchases which produce "instant garbage".
They may come packaged in such a way that you throw away packaging as soon as you open them or they may be disposable so that you throw them away after using them only once or a few times. Can you think of any alternatives to these products?
Instant garbage Possible alternative
____________________________ ____________________________
____________________________ ____________________________
____________________________ ____________________________
____________________________ ____________________________
____________________________ ____________________________
 
7. How does it help the environment to reuse things?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
 
8. If you use batteries, how can you reduce the amount you use?
_____________________________________________________________
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