Trace Your Waste

When Earth Day rolls around, a lot of kids ask why recycling is so important. Middle schoolers find out their own answers by examining 10 ordinary household items, working in a group to estimate how long it would take for each to break...

Where does our garbage go? What is the difference between a recyclable and non-recyclable item? Pose these important, but often overlooked, questions to your class and invite them to consider the lasting and damaging effects of the...

Here is an interesting worksheet on waste. It puts waste into seven hierarchical categories. The text associated with the worksheet is interesting to read, then learners must give an example of types of waste that fit into each of the...

Here is a good learning exercise on waste and how waste negatively affects the environment. Learners look at a floor plan of a typical house, and must write down the kinds of waste usually produced from those areas of the house. There...

Young scholars construct a model of a landfill. In this environmental science lesson plan, students construct a model landfill from soil, sponge, and gravel. Young scholars observe their landfill and record observations for one week.

What does your garbage say about you? Young scientists dig through a video about things people cast aside. The narrator shows the fascinating things in George Washington's garbage pile, ancient Roman garbage, and how the landfills we...

Dice and playing cards are used to play a "resourceful" board game! Correct answers to questions on the cards get garbage to be reused, recycled, or composted, while incorrect answers get garbage sent to the landfill. Landfill points are...

How can trash generate electricity? Do we really throw away one-quarter of our food each year? Learners explore these concepts and more in this study on landfills. Watch the five-minute video and discuss using the questions provided....

Students explore solid waste and its effects on the environment. They explain some of the major problems caused by waste disposal and the use of landfills. They suggest ways to reduce the amount of solid waste going into a landfill.

Students collect and categorize solid waste produced in the classroom. They weigh the waste that has been collected over one week's time, and separate it into recyclable and non-recyclable waste. They talk about the role of engineers in...