SUBJECTS: Science, Language Arts
TIME: One class period
MATERIALS: poster board sentence strip litter(collected from students)
baggies(three per student)
clear cups(one per student)
spoons(one per student) graham crackers(two per student)
fruit roll-up(one for every four students)
vanilla pudding w/chocolate chips Oreo cookie crumbs(Three per student)
coconut, colored green licorice(one per student)
optional: garbage bag& Plexiglas
OBJECTIVES
The student will be able to:
1. Predict the life cycle of a piece of trash.
2. Explain the purpose of a landfill.
3. Classify the items found in a landfill.
4. Recognize the components in a landfill.
5. Reconstruct a model of a landfill.
BACKGROUND
Americans produce more and more garbage each year. More than 30 percent of this
solid waste stream consists of the paper and paper products we discard. Yard
wastes make up another 16 percent of the total. Approximately 15 percent of
our trash is food waste. Glass(10 percent), metal(10 percent), plastic(6 percent),
and other(13 percent) items like rubber, wood, leather, and textiles make up
the rest.(See Figure 3)
Solid waste management is primarily a local responsibility. Most communities
collect their refuse either through a municipal collection service or through
one provided by a private contractor. If the wastes are not recycled, composted,
or incinerated, they are deposited in a sanitary landfill.
In Alabama the number of landfills with available space is decreasing. At the
same time, the amount of municipal solid waste is increasing. In 1989 there
were approximately 142 sanitary landfill sites in Alabama.(See Figure 1
and 2.) That same year 93 percent of Alabama's wastes
were landfilled. That amount is very high compared to the amount of solid wastes
that were recycled, composted, or incinerated.
Sanitary landfills consist of a series of cells or sections. Wastes are deposited
on a certain area of one cell at a time. They are spread and compacted through
the day. At the end of each day, a layer of soil about six inches thick is laid
down and compacted over the wastes. This controls vermin and prevents fires
from starting in the refuse pile. When a sanitary landfill is filled to capacity,
it is covered with material of low permeability, such as clay soil, to keep
rainwater out of the refuse. if now cover were provided, the rainwater would
seep down through the materials to the bottom, leaching pollutants on the way
and carrying them into groundwater or surface water.
VOCABULARY
landfill- an area set aside for burying waste under layers of dirt
leach- to pass a liquid(as water) through to carry off the soluble components
monitoring wells- pipes in a landfill as a means of controlling and measuring
methane escape
permeate- to penetrate or diffuse through something
solid waste- any of a wide variety of solid materials that are discarded or
rejected
ADVANCE PREPARATION
1. Make pudding. Add chocolate chips right before class, or they will dissolve.
Color coconut green.
2. Assemble journals. See"My Garbage Can Journal"
3. Optional: Create a visual of Figure 3 out of a real aluminum garbage can
and Plexiglas(obtained from a hardware store).
• Cut can in half.
• Apply Plexiglas cover to clear caulk.
• Make labels.
• Allow students to fill with"real" trash according to
the percentages on the chart.
PROCEDURE
(Setting the stage)
Pass out a piece of candy for the students to eat or display a candy wrapper.
• Distribute garbage can journals.
• Ask students to respond to this journal prompt: Predict the life
cycle of the candy wrapper.
• Collect wrappers
(Activities)
1. Using the Background information, discuss the main ideas with the students.
• Ask students to predict which of the following solid waste products compose
the largest amount in a landfill.
• Explain the make-up and percentages of solid waste according to Figure
4.
2. Reconstruct a model of a landfill.
• Give each student a durable clear cup, a spoon, a baggie with two graham
crackers, a baggie with three Oreos, and a baggie of green coconut.
• Allow students to crush the graham crackers and Oreos.
• Layer the ingredients from the bottom up.
Licorice pipes- represent monitoring wells Coconut, colored green- represents
ground cover/grass Oreo crumbs- represent dirt cover Vanilla pudding with chocolate
chips- represents garbage Graham cracker crumbs- represent gravel Fruit roll-ups- represent the plastic liner(cut in pieces first) Graham cracker crust- represents
a clay liner Bottom of cup- represents solid ground
• Explain the purpose of each layer as you go along.
(Follow-up)
Conclude the lesson.
• Summarize the main ideas.
• Emphasize the fact that landfills are similar to Egyptian mummies.
They both are wrapped tightly and stored in cool, dark places. There is little
air or sunlight in a landfill, so things do not break down.
• Discuss the four R's of waste management: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Ask this question for thought: What kind of legacy are we leaving future
generations?
EXTENSIONS
1. Create a rap in small groups.
2. Use the Student Activity Page"My Garbage Can
Story" for composing a story.
3. Graph the information given in Figure 4.
4. Illustrate the amount of land needed for a landfill.
• Have four students stand at four points, 209 feet apart, in a square.
• Relate landfill size to a football field. A sanitary landfill seven feet
deep and one acre in surface is needed each year for every 10,000 people in
a community.
5. Visit a local landfill.
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.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.(February, 1989). The Solid Waste Dilemma;
An Agenda For Action.
(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