Grades 3-5 

Objective

To give students experience in evaluating different kinds of “waste” materials and to think about what happens to them during the process of human use and afterward, and how recycling saves resources.

The idea of this lesson is to learn about recycling materials.  Along with the practical hands-on aspects of collecting and recycling, some background on the relative value of materials would be helpful, including examples of cultures where people might be more apt to re-use plastic or metal objects.  These examples can lead to a discussion about how we value materials and what we can do to conserve resources or bring down costs of living.

Aside from having examples of re-using materials, it’s helpful to find out the value of some everyday items like cans, bottles and newspaper.  These values can be taught to the students as they ‘harvest’ materials later.

Bring in a range of items for the exercise including

• empty soda cans (uncrushed)
• old newspapers
• empty glass bottles
• pieces of cardboard
• plastic-shell items like broken computers, radios, or small devices

In addition, be sure to bring a pair of latex gloves for each student.  Using gloves teaches students to think about the sanitary aspects of recycling old materials.

Also find containers that can serve as recycling bins.  Label them with the recycling icon if possible.

Explain to students what the exercise is about: dealing with litter.  Spread all of the materials out across a floor.  Then talk about what students see.  Ask questions like

• How much of this can be recycled?
• What do we need to do to effectively recycle these objects?
• How many days does it take a family to generate this amount of trash?

After students have brought up their own ideas, bring out the recycling containers and have the students split up into groups.  Assign one kind of recyclable material to each group and have them go out and ‘harvest’ them.  

During the sorting of materials, you may want to offer these tips:

• newspaper are best recycled in large bundles, either tied or bagged
• cans can be crushed (let students participate) to make them more compact for collection
• glass bottles often have a deposit value or other information marked on them
• old electronics can’t be put in recycling bins; they need to go to a special collection center

After the materials are sorted, go over some more brief explanations, like talking about possible solutions for waste (i.e. composting) or stressing the fact that unsorted trash goes to landfills and incinerators.  Having open discussions about the process of discarding trash will help students form thoughtful opinions on the issue.

Students can write reports on what they’ve learned, including any thoughts of their own on how to recycle or re-use trash materials.