SUBJECTS: Science, Language Arts
TIME: One class period and survey assignment
MATERIALS: copy of the"Older and Wiser Survey" for each student
students handouts
OBJECTIVES
The student will be able to:
1. Describe ways in which solid waste was disposed in the past and the present.
2. Survey an older citizen about his/her solid waste disposal methods.
3. Discover solid waste practices from long ago.
BACKGROUND
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA), the United States
will bury or burn the following materials in the year 2000: 11.4 million tons
of newsprint, 16.2 million tons of corrugated cardboard, 10.8 million tons of
glass packaging, 8.2 million tons of plastic packaging, and 1.5 million tons
of aluminum packaging.This tremendous amount of materials represents either
a large waste disposal chore or a resource recovery opportunity, depending upon
one's viewpoint. Recycling is one way to manage waste. Recycling is not new.
It was practiced extensively during World War II to recover scarce metals and
other materials vital to the war effort. Even earlier than that, recycling and
reuse were practiced for similar resource conservation and home economic reasons.
VOCABULARY
recycle- to separate a given waste material from other wastes and to process
it so that it can be used again
reuse- to extend the life of an item by repairing, modifying, or creating
new uses for it
ADVANCE PREPARATION
1. Make copies of student handouts.
2. Gather materials.
PROCEDURE
(Setting the stage)
1. Display an old tin cup, a cola bottle, and a cola can.
2. Relate the change in product packaging and disposal through history.
3. Read the included story"Trash Flash Through Time" to the class.
(Activities)
1. Immediately following the story, ask the class to consider these questions:
• What garbage was tossed out the window and onto the streets of London
700 years ago?(cans, glass, paper, aluminum, plastic containers, food wastes)
• What was the method of disposing of modern-day garbage?(food and yard
waste, paper, aluminum, tin, glass, cardboard, plastic)
What is our method of disposing of garbage?(primarily land filling and incineration)
• What do you think was the first attempt to recycle? Did your grandparents
recycle? How can we find out?
• What can we learn about recycling from our past? Our grandparents and
their parents recycled or reused many materials that are commonly thrown away
today.
2. Have students interview a grandparent or other older person in their family
or neighborhood using the survey included with this lesson.
• Practice interview skills.
(Follow-up)
1. After students have completed their interviews, have them participate in
this discussion.
• What items did your grandparents or friends recycle?
• How did they conserve resources?
• What materials were used for packaging then?
• How did they keep food items from spoiling?
2. Write an"I learned" statement regarding your grandparents' use
of resources.(Compile a class list on chart paper.)
EXTENSIONS
1. Complete the questionnaire"Trash Flash Today"
Answers to the questionnaire:
• 4.5 pounds(2kg) can be attributed to each person; 8 pounds(3.6kg)
per person per day includes all wastes such as manufacturing wastes combined
with household wastes.
• Paper and cardboard make up 40 percent.
• In Alabama, 80 percent of garbage is land filled. In Huntsville, garbage
is incinerated at a waste-to-energy facility.
• No, sanitary landfills have liners to protect the soil and groundwater
nearby; dumps are illegal.
• 34.8 billion. And imagine the each can is half-filled with gasoline because
that's how much energy is lost! more than 55 percent of aluminum cans are recycled.
• 32 percent by weight and 30 percent by volume.
• True. For example, recycling newspaper into cardboard boxes or melting
used glass jars to make new ones.
• Open discussion; explain why.
2. Have students write their own stories about trash in the past or in the
future.
3. Encourage students to write"Thank You" notes to the people they
interviewed.
RESOURCES
Perez, K.(1990). Solid Waste Management in Alabama; Handbook for County Extension
Agents. Auburn University, AL; Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural
Sociology, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.
Waste Disposal.(1988) World Book Encyclopedia.(Vol. 21, pp. 112-113).
(This lesson plan was reprinted by permission from A Classroom Activities Guide
and Resource Directory produced by Legacy, Inc. Partners in Environmental Education.
Funding for this project is made possible by proceeds from the sale of Alabama's
Environmental License tags.
If you'd like a copy of this excellent source for environmental Activities please contact:
Legacy, Inc.
P.O. Box 3813
Montgomery, AL 36109
1-800-240-5115
Let's Take a Trash Flash Through Time
You are walking through a quiet, beautiful forest. You feel happy to be in such
a peaceful, lovely place as this. You come to an opening under a canopy of leaves;
and in the rays of sunshine, you see a strange and unexpected sight. It looks
sort of like a thing one would ride at a carnival. It looks like a whole lot
of fun, whatever it is, so you open the door and step inside a most miraculous
little machine.
There are lights, buttons, levers, graphs, clocks, dials, calendars,
and computer screens... and you know at once- This is a time machine!
Carefully following the instructions on the screen, you fasten
your safety belt, set the clock in reverse, and wait. Dials spin, buzzers sound,
and you feel yourself being thrust back into your seat. On the big computer
screen above your head, you see events in time come to life: the first trip
to the moon; World War II planes flying over Europe; George Washington crossing
the Delaware during a harsh winter storm; the Nina, Pina, and Santa Maria ships
heading westward. Wait! It's going too fast! You've got to stop this thing!
Your finger finally finds a button marked STOP. You press it and the 1250 flashes
above. The machine stops! And the door opens slowly behind you...
It is a misty morning on a cobbled stone street. Fog is rolling
in, and there is a chill in the air. Signs hanging above the shops let you know
you're in London, England. The clopping hooves of a horse-drawn cart can be
heard in the distance. Squealing piglets are being joyfully chased by children
running all about.
Then from above, SPLASH! PLOP! Out of an open window two stories
up comes a shout,"GARDY-LOO!" followed by a heaving bucket of garbage.
Vegetable peels and table scraps fall right onto the street below. It barely
misses you! And now here come the pigs, rushing to the scene to investigate
the tasty morsels of garbage they might eat.
Can you imagine people throw garbage out of their windows and onto the streets?
Pigs run freely about to eat whatever is edible.
"GARDY-LOO!" The call comes again. Oh! No! Look out.
Running, ducking, jumping over slippery, slimy garbage, you head back to the
time machine, set the dials to the present, and hit the buttons again. You feel
yourself being flung forward in your seat. Dates fly past on the dial; and before
you know it, you're back, right where you were when you found the machine.
WHEW! What a trip! The door opens behind you, but you remain seated
as your mind continues to spin with the memory of your adventure.
Just think of all the garbage! It's good to be back home.