Talkin' Trash
Use these lesson plans to illustrate the effects of trash on our environment and the ways in which we dispose of it.
By Jennifer Sinsel
When we go out to eat for a quick meal at a fast-food restaurant, most of us don’t think about what happens to our uneaten food, wrappers, drink cups, napkins, and plastic utensils once we throw them in the trash bin on our way out. Likewise, in the midst of our busy lives, we rarely consider what happens to the trash that is dutifully collected each week at the curb by the local waste collection truck. Just where does our trash go?
According to the Clean Air Council, a non-profit environmental organization, Americans produce around 4.5 pounds of trash per person per day – enough to fill 63,000 garbage trucks. In one year, this translates to enough solid waste to fill a line of garbage trucks halfway to the moon (or 120,000 miles)! While some of this waste is recycled or incinerated, the majority of it (about 70%) is buried in landfills.
A landfill is a structure built into or on top of the ground in which trash is isolated from the surrounding environment (groundwater, air, rain). This isolation is accomplished with either a clay or plastic liner along the bottom of the landfill and a daily covering of soil. While the isolation prevents trash from being exposed to our groundwater system, it also prevents its decay. Therefore, garbage placed in a landfill will likely remain unchanged for many, many years.
One way to illustrate this with your students is to brainstorm common items thrown away in average homes. The list might include paper, food (such as orange peels, corn cobs, etc . . . ), meat trays, water bottles, empty soup cans, tissues, etc . . . Choose several items, and ask students to bring in three of each one. Find a location near your school that will remain largely undisturbed, and stake out an area on the ground for the first of each item. These items should be left on the surface, exposed to the elements. Bury the second of each item under six inches of dirt, and enclose the third of each item in a plastic container (to simulate a landfill) before burying them in the ground. Check the items once each week for as long as student interest allows, and record any observations in science journals. The results can be eye-opening.
Try any of the following lesson plans to further illustrate the effects of trash on our environment.
Trash and the Environment Lesson Plans:
In this lesson students learn about different types of trash. They identify which types of trash are reusable, compostable, and recyclable.
Students collect solid waste from their classrooms, and divide it into different categories. They weigh how much waste is produced in a week, and separate it into recyclable and non-recyclable waste. They talk about how engineers work to reduce waste.
In this lesson students find out what type of waste is produced in a classroom. They list recyclable items. They learn how to conduct a scientific study. They analyze the results of their observations.
Students identify the difference between biodegradable, and non-biodegradable products. They make a landfill in a jar, and put in four or five pieces of garbage and cover it with dirt and water. They observe and record what happens.