Most living organisms produce waste products that are safely recycled by the ecosphere. Humans are the only species that produce unnatural waste (and we produce it in huge quantities)! Basically, this means that humans create LOTS of trash. Paper is the largest category of trash; as paper and other trash like plastics break down and begin to rot, there can be many negative effects to the environment; a dangerous gas — methane — can be released into the air, chemicals that are in or on the garbage might leak out into the ground during rainstorms, and germs, flies, vultures and other nuisances are often attracted to the continual build up of waste.
Wealthy countries, in general, produce more trash and garbage than other countries because the people in those countries can "afford" to consume more products. Oftentimes, developed countries try to export their trash to poorer countries in exchange for money to store their trash. Those poorer countries often take the waste because they need the money, even though they actually have no safe way to dispose of the waste.
Per capita, the United States is one of the worst producers of trash in the world. Americans use a lot of disposable products and products with abundant — and wasteful — packaging. For example, 1.6 billion writing pens go into the trash and 7 million automobiles are junked in the U.S. each year!
Excessive product packaging materials add to the solid-waste (trash) problem. Packaging engineers use smaller amounts of materials, and find more creative and efficient ways to safely package consumer products. Engineers determine what materials (paper, paperboard, plastics, glass, metal and wood) to use and if protective packaging is needed. If possible, they also use environmentally-friendly and recyclable materials, such as plastics, rather than non-recyclable materials. Please see the Recycle Now web site for more information. You can also view this video, What is Engineering, for more information about what engineers do.
Consumers — us! — need to help engineers by knowing how to sort the items in our garbage that are recyclable and reusable. Once we have sorted out the recyclable items, we need to make sure they get to the proper recycling facility, either by being picked up by a recycling service or by being dropped off at a recycling center. We also can help engineers by producing less waste and re-using items, such as wrapping paper and plastic eating utensils. By helping engineers as they try to develop technologies for dealing with waste, we are also helping our communities from having to find places to store extra trash.
Did you know?
- More than 1/3 (about 40%) of our trash is paper.
- About 1/3 of the items we throw into the trash originally started out as packaging. Most of this is unnecessary; it is just used to attract consumers' attention so that they will buy the product.
- Americans throw away enough plastic bottles every year to circle the planet four times. Only 1/3 of the plastic bottles we use are recycled.
Comments
Interesting Lesson
This is a great idea! I have found that most students have no idea just how much trash they go through on a daily basis. They do not care very much about it and some still throw their litter on the ground no matter how many times I have told them not to, which drives me Nuts!!! A lesson like this shows them just how much they are going through and all the different types of trash that they go through as well as the effect it has on the environment.
The Talkin' trash worksheet activity is a clear way to show the data that has been collected and to then help them to analyze that data.
This is a great STEM lesson as it is very hands on and incorporates each element of STEM in some way. I think students would have fun collecting the garbage throughout the week and they would get really into it, they will probably be surprised just how much they are going through in just 1 week. Hopefully, that will make them think twice about trash and just how much they are creating.
Interdisciplinary Connections
I loved this lesson. I used it as a catalyst to further spark my students' interest in community service and environmental issues. Having the students complete the writing project at the end of this lesson helped to make their writing pieces more meaningful.
Persuasive Writing Assessment
Writing across the curriculum is so important, and your persuasive writing assessment really inspires me to incorporate more writing into my chemistry curriculum. I imagine that your assessment, in particular, is very engaging for your students, and it gives them an opportunity to connect to their community using their newfound knowledge.
Recommended Reading
The list of recommended reading is really great. Thanks for this!
Recommended Reading
The list of recommended reading is really great. Thanks for this!
rubrics for the persuasive essay
The rubrics are very clear and specific. i especially like the use of the pronoun 'i" It really focuses the student's attention to what they are doing or what they should be doing. I also like the comments section on the bottom. I wonder if it would instead be better to have that section on the right side or on the top so that the eye catches it quicker?
Persuasive Writing Rubric
Excellent literacy component. There is a need to emphasize nonfiction writing. I especially enjoyed the comment section on the rubrics.
I implemented this lesson to
Trash Talking
I implemented this lesson to a group of fourth grade girls who had experiences with inquiry, whether it was guided or full inquiry. Overall the lesson was engaging and effective at many levels, and the objectives were met. What was effective about the lesson? The lesson's format, organization and the sequence. What was needed to enhance the lesson? Opening activator: video clip on where garbage go, an opportunity for the students to decide how to record the sorted trash, and a section or area where the students can write questions they generated as they experience the lesson. During the lesson, the students sorted trash and through discussion talked about what was recyclable and what was not. Then, they determined what could be recycled and what could be reused. At the end of the lesson, all the groups agreed that there was a need to begin a campaign of educating their peers on recycling. Tips for implementation: if your students have not have a lot of experiences weighing objects or trash using a scale, you may want to front load them with a mini-lesson on scale use and data recording. Another tip, show the students images of trash and population and what happens to animals, plants, or people when there is an abundance of trash as an activator for a turn and talk discussion point. Last tip, provide several opportunities to plan, design, and implement a recycling campaign as an extension to the lesson.
Hola es muy importante el
Hola es muy importante el cuidado del medio ambiente e ir concientizando a las nuevas generaciones , ya es una cultura, es un tema que nos compete a todos e ir educando al niño (a) referente a este tema que es muy interesante ,como aportación yo haría dinámicas de juegos al separar la basura , crear contenedores coloridos , no solamente contenedores ordinarios , se puede utilizar cartón , garrafones dándoles un toque artístico y sea mas de su agrado, muy educativa y alentadora su Unidad Pedagógica Papalote STEAM.
Hola es un tema muy
Me parece bastante claro como
Nice lesson on environmental
El tema es actual y de suma
- No creo que guardar los residuos orgánicos dentro del aula sea una buena idea, ya que esto generaría malos olores y la creación de mosquitos. Yo buscaría un lugar dentro del jardín y con ello, al final de la semana que los chicos hagan una composta.
- La actividad 6: práctica ya no sería necesario separar la basura, porque durante la semana se hizo de manera habitual.
- Después de hacer el calculo del peso de la basura,con los materiales reciclables y reutilizables organizaría con mis alumnos un museo en dónde se exhiba ante toda la comunidad una "obra de arte" o un "invento funcional" que ayude y motive a todos a hacer los mismo: cuidar el ambiente
- Un invovenciente es que no todas las escuelas cuentan con un editor de periodico, esto lo sustituiría con una investigación
- Desgraciadamente no pude ver la rúbrica ni los enlaces de las tablas en formato PDF que se describían, lo elaboraría rúbricas de evaluación:
- actitudinal
- Procidamental
- conceptual.
Gracias por compartir tan buena estrategía... Pues ¡Manos a la obra!!