- Math
Problems: Aluminum Recycling
- Adapted from Classroom Activities,
by Dept of Economic & Community Development, State of Maine
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- Back to Trash Goes To School
- GRADE LEVELS:
7-8
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- SUBJECT AREAS:
math, economics
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- CONCEPT:
Recycling aluminum makes sense economically as well as environmentally.
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- OBJECTIVE:
To become aware of the economics involved in recycling aluminum.
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- MATERIALS:
pen or pencil
handout: Math Problems: Aluminum
Recycling
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- KEYWORDS:
recycling
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- BACKGROUND:
Compared with creating an aluminum can from raw materials, recycling
one soda can results in 85% less air pollution and 97% less water
pollution and uses 90% less energy.
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- New York State, like several other
states, has a bottle deposit law. The bottle bill gives people
an incentive to keep litter off the streets and bottles and cans
out of the landfill. For each deposit container you bring to
the store you receive 5 cents and the container usually is recycled
by the company. In other states, cans may be taken to recycling
centers which pay by the pound. The following exercise takes
place in such a recycling center.
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- PROCEDURE:
Discuss the advantages of recycling aluminum, and have the students
complete the problems on the following page.
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- Answers:
- 1. 24 cans/lb x 15,000 lb/trailer =
360,000 cans/trailer
- 2. Answer will depend on your price
per can or per pound. For example, if price is 60 cents per
pound: $0.60/lb x 15,000 lb = $9,000
- 3. 15,000 lbs/trailer / 30 lbs/collector
= 500 can collectors/trailer
- 4. 15,000 lbs/trailer / 800 lbs/bale
= 18 complete bales (and 3/4 of another bale)/trailer
- 5. 24 cans/lb x 800 lb/bale = 19,200
cans / bale
- 6. 100 bales/boxcar x 800 lbs/bale
= 80,000 lb. cans / boxcar
- 7. 100 bales/boxcar x 19,200 cans/bale
= 1,920,000 cans / boxcar
- 8. Answer will depend on your price
per can or per pound. For example, if price is 60 cents per
pound: $0.60/lb x 80,000 lb/boxcar = $48,000/boxcar
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- Math Problems: Aluminum Recycling
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- Recycling centers store the used cans
they buy from can collectors in trailers. A full trailer holds
15,000 pounds of loose cans. There are about 24 aluminum cans
in a pound. When the trailer is full, it is hauled to a processing
plant where the loose cans are pressed into huge 800-pound bales.
Bales are loaded into rail boxcars for a trip to an aluminum
company remelting plant. Remelted cans are rolled into new aluminum
for new cans.
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- If you are in a state with a bottle
bill, the value of each container is five or ten cents. If your
state does not have a bottle bill, find out how much per pound
your nearest recycling center pays for aluminum. If you have
no recycling center near you, ask a local scrap metal dealer
for the price paid for aluminum scrap. Use a price of 60 cents
per pound if you cannot get a local figure.
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- 1. Suppose you own a recycling center.
If you want to fill your trailer full of used beverage cans,
how many cans will you need?
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- ____________________________________________
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- 2. How much cash can you collect for
the cans in a full trailer?
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- ____________________________________________
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- 3. If each can collector brings 30
pounds, how many collectors must visit the center before a trailer
is full?
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- _____________________________________________
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- 4. When the trailer is hauled to a
processing plant (where loose cans are baled), how many complete
bales can be made from one trailer load?
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- _____________________________________________
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- 5. How many cans are in one bale?
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- _____________________________________________
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- 6. The bales are loaded in railroad
boxcars. A boxcar holds 100 bales. How many pounds of cans are
in a full boxcar?
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- _____________________________________________
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- 7. How many cans are in a full boxcar?
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- _____________________________________________
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- 8. How much were can collectors paid
for the cans in a boxcar?
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- _____________________________________________
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