Selected page of Environmental Management Lesson Plan
IDEM Lesson Plan: Recycling
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Lesson Activities
A. Introduction
Recycling is one of the best ways for citizens to make a direct impact on the
environment.
It helps the environment in a number of ways. First of all, recycling reduces energy use.
For example, recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than producing it from raw
sources. Recycling also conserves the natural resources on Earth like plants, animals,
minerals, fresh air and fresh water. Recycling saves space in the landfills for future
generations of people. If we use up all the space in landfills by not recycling today, in
future there will not be any space left to store trash.
B.
Conserving Resources
There are different kinds of resources that we can help save by recycling. Natural resources are things like plants, animals, minerals, fresh air and fresh
water. These are found naturally on our planet and are not produced by humans. Renewable resources are resources that naturally replen
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Once it is determined to what degree the recyclables must be sorted, one should follow
a few small steps to complete the proper recycling process:
1. Rinse out containers to avoid attracting pests.
2. Don't put unacceptable materials into the recycling bin, including food.
3. Don't throw everything into the same bin! Instead, separate your recyclables into the
proper categories required by your recycling hauler.
F.
Other Recycling Methods
There are many other ways in which we recycle, but we may not have thought about
these activities as recycling. Composting our yard waste and food scraps (except for meat and bones) is an
excellent way of reducing the amount of garbage we make. Composted material
is really good for gardens, flower beds, or starting a worm bed. Another good way to recycle things is to give unwanted items to charity, friends
and neighbors, or to hold a garage sale to promote the reuse of your used
ma
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Taking it Further
IDEM's presentations are designed to suit both the environmental scientist with no
experience in the classroom and the experienced educator who wants to give his or her
students a fresh learning experience.
However, there are a few things that the trained teacher can offer that are not possible to
replicate in a short presentation. This section provides that teacher with additional
activities that can be used in place of or in addition to the ones in the lesson.
Additional Activity #1 2
Cookie Mining
Purpose: To introduce the concept of nonrenewable versus renewable natural
resources
Materials: 1 bag of chocolate chip cookies, box of toothpicks
Instructions: Give each student (or teams of 2-3 students) a cookie and respective
number of toothpicks. Have the students "mine" the chips out of the cookie with their
drills (toothpicks). The only rule is that they may not touch the cookie with their bar
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Additional Activity #3
Recycle Relay
Purpose: To teach students about recycling through a competitive relay race.
Materials: Two large boxes filled with various recyclable materials
Instructions:
Divide class into two competing teams for the relay race. Have students line up in their
respective team lines. Each competing pair of students (one from each team) is read a
question to which the answer is a recyclable or recycled-content item that can be found
in large boxes 10 yards in front of them. They can collaborate with their teammates to
figure out the answer if necessary. They must then run to the box, search for and
retrieve the correct product, and run back to tag their next teammate. Repeat until all
students have had a chance to participate.
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A:
Aluminum can
Q:
It takes this product 1 million years to decompose in a landfill.
A:
Anything glass
Q:
The official symbol for recycling is the 3 "chasing arrows."
A:
Find something with these arrows on it.
Q:
This product, when recycled and melted down can be used to make new carpet,
road signs, and clothing.
A:
Anything plastic
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Q:
This product is originally made from sand.
A:
Glass products
Q:
When recycled, five of these items provide enough fiberfill for a ski jacket.
A:
2-liter recycled pet bottles
Q:
Every minute 127,093 of these products are recycled in the USA.
A:
Aluminum cans
Q:
This type of product makes up 39% of the items in a landfill.
A:
Paper products
Q:
This type of product makes up 9% of the items in a landfill.
You will find more of it along shorelines than any other type of waste.
A:
Plastic products
Q:
This type of product makes up 6% of the items in a landfill. It can be found in its
original form on the beach.
A:
Glass products
Q:
This type of product makes up 8% of the items in a landfill. It doesn't always
have to be heavy.
A:
Metal products
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Additional Activity #5
How'd they do that?
Purpose: To teach students from what raw materials items are made
Materials: Bag of assorted recyclable materials.
Instructions: K-4: Dump an assortment of recyclables into a big pile and have students come
up to sort the pile into metals, plastics, paper, and glass. Next, discuss with them
where these products came from and how they are made (see information on
different products below). 5-8: Divide the students into 5 groups.. Give one item to each of the five groups:
a newspaper, an aluminum can, a steel food can, a plastic bottle #1 PETE only,
and a glass bottle. Have them examine the materials and work with their group to
answer the following questions:
How was this material manufactured or how was it made?
What can this material, in turn, be recycled into?
Give them 7-10 minutes to work. Finally, have each group report on their
recyclable item.
So, how did they d
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2.4.5 Recognize and explain that materials in nature, such as grass, twigs, sticks, and
leaves, can be recycled and used again, sometimes in different forms, such as in birds'
nests.
Third Grade
Technology and Science
3.1.8 Describe how discarded products contribute to the problem of waste disposal and
that recycling can help solve this problem.
Manipulation and Observation
3.2.5 Construct something used for performing a task out of paper, cardboard, wood,
plastic, metal, or existing objects.
Reasoning and Uncertainty
3.5.5 Explain that one way to make sense of something is to think of how it relates to
something more familiar.
Models and Scale
3.6.3 Explain how a model of something is different from the real thing but can be used
to learn something about the real thing.
Fourth Grade
Technology and Science
4.1.9 Explain how some products and materials are easier to recycle than others.
Communication Ski
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Glossary of Recycling Terms
Compost
The fertilizing mixture of decomposed organic material.
Garbage (Trash)
Any material considered worthless, unnecessary, or offensive that is thrown away.
Landfill
A specially engineered site where wastes are buried.
Natural resources
Materials supplied by nature that are useful or necessary for life, such as minerals,
water, and wood.
Nonrecyclable
Not capable of being reprocessed into new products.
Nonrenewable resources
Resources that do not replenish themselves soon after being used.
Post-consumer Materials
A product that contains previously used materials.
Recycle
To reuse or remanufacture a material into products after the material has served its
original purpose.
Reduce
A purchasing option that entails either selecting: large, bulk quantity items that can be
recycled and require less packaging; or small quantity items that are considered
potentially hazard
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