In this lesson, students expand their understanding of solid waste management to include the idea of 3RC (reduce, reuse, recycle and compost). They will look at the effects of packaging decisions (reducing) and learn about engineering advancements in packaging materials and solid waste management. Also, they will observe biodegradation in a model landfill (composting).

Triple rinsing empty containers after use is a recommended agricultural practice worldwide. Most recycling places in Saskatchewan also require containers to be triple rinsed to protect their employees and properly recycle materials.
This video shows how to properly triple rinsed containers.

This Initiative encourages children to make their own musical instruments out of waste. The site features instrumental tutorials, a music track for kids and lyrics for kids to sing along to, and a colouring book about recycling,

Students create a concept design of their very own net-zero energy classroom by pasting renewable energy and energy-efficiency items into and around a pretend classroom on a sheet of paper. They learn how these items (such as solar panels, efficient lights, computers, energy meters, etc.) interact to create a learning environment that produces as much energy as it uses.

Students brainstorm ideas for board game formats. Then student teams design, create and test games in which players must think of alternative uses (recycling) for used products.

Student teams act as engineers and brainstorm, design, create and test their ideas for packaging to protect a raw egg shipped in a 9 x 12-in envelope. They follow the steps of the engineering design process and aim for a successful solution with no breakage, low weight, minimal materials and recyled/reused materials. Students come to understand the multi-faceted engineering considerations associated with the packaging of items to preserve, market and safely transport goods.

Use these free activities to help kids explore our planet, learn about global challenges, think of solutions, and take action.

Use these free activities to help kids explore our planet, learn about global challenges, think of solutions, and take action.

In this lesson, students will extend their knowledge of matter and energy cycles in an organism to engineering life cycle assessment of a product. Students will learn about product life cycle assessment and the flow of energy through the cycle, comparing it to the flow of nutrients and energy in the life cycle of an organism.

Students redesign and justify the packaging used in consumer products. Design criteria include reducing the amount of packaging material by 25%.

Students in our grade one class find this culminating project a lot of fun as we talk about all the different ways that many recycled materials can be used to create other things that are useful or just plain fun to build! Many of the students create things with the help of the parents, but we ask that the ideas for what to build are supplied by the students themselves, of course parents do like to help with the construction phase in most cases. We have the students come up with the ideas for what they would like to build at school, often using the construction sheet as a guideline to take home for the building
process.

Students investigate the life cycles of engineered products and how they impact the environment. They use a basic life cycle assessment method that assigns fictional numerical values for different steps in the life cycle. Then they use their analyses to compare the impacts of their products to other products, and suggest ways to reduce environmental impact based on their analyses.

Welcome to Recycle City! There's lots to do here - people and places to visit and plenty of ways to explore how the city's residents recycle, reduce, and reuse waste. To get started, just click on any section of Recycle City that you want to tour, or click on the Dumptown Game. You can create your own Recycle City scavenger hunt or go to the Activities area and see other ways you can explore Recycle City. When you leave this place, you'll know much more about what you can do to help protect the environment.

Students learn about material reuse by designing and building the strongest and tallest towers they can, using only recycled materials. They follow design constraints and build their towers to withstand earthquake and high wind simulations.

This course is designed for learners in the middle grades, to reinforce responsible citizenship of our world by encouraging them to think sustainably. This sustainability mindset established in our existing Sustainability Foundations course will be further built upon in this course. The learner will complete an introduction to recycling, explore the tradeoffs of mining, refining, and recycling, and then engage in a simulation that requires them to make real-world decisions about using their role as a consumer to promote change.

This course helps students develop strategies for becoming better informed consumers when it comes to recycling. Students will learn about single-stream recycling, the environmental impacts of mining and refining raw materials to be used in consumer goods, and how to make sustainable choices.

Possible additional curriculum connections include Social Studies 6 IN6.3 and DR6.2, depending on extensions made in the classroom.

Sun West School Division: Access this EVERFI course through your clever account.

Students collect, categorize, weigh and analyze classroom solid waste. The class collects waste for a week and then student groups spend a day sorting and analyzing the garbage with respect to recyclable and non-recyclable items. They discuss ways that engineers have helped to reduce the accumulation of solid waste.

Student teams use the engineering design process to create a useful product of their choice out of recyclable items and "trash." The class is given a "landfill" of reusable items, such as aluminum cans, cardboard, paper, juice boxes, chip bags, egg cartons, milk cartons, etc., and each group is allowed a limited amount of bonding materials, such as duct tape, hot glue and string. This activity addresses the importance of reuse and encourages students to look at ways they can reuse items they would otherwise throw away.

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
Do you have what it takes to be a Waste Avenger? This game will teach you how organic, plastic and paper waste can be recycled or composted as you try your hand at being an environmental superhero.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE
Reuse. Reduce. Recycle. These are now everyday household words for us all and every little bit we do, helps our environment. Every year, countries around the world are increasing the amount they recycle and even one person can decrease the waste footprint by reusing, reducing and recycling.
Nature, unlike humans, produces waste that is biodegradable. That is, the waste product has the ability to naturally break down. Biodegradation is nature’s way of recycling waste, and is often carried out by bacteria and microorganisms. Compost is a good example.
Unfortunately, humans produce waste at a much faster rate than what natural biodegradation can keep up with. As a result, landfills fill up quickly, and pollution of the air, water and soil can occur. On top of that, humans produce a significant amount of non biodegradable waste that continues to add to the waste problem.
Reduce, reuse and recycle are three great ways you can protect your environment and help control waste. The whole idea is to reduce the production of non-biodegradable materials, reuse the existing products and recycle products once they have served their purpose.
If your school does not yet recycle, set up a school program to recycle everyday items that would otherwise go into the trash. Paper, cardboard and even plastics are simple to sort out and a great place to start. Every little bit helps, so do your part in waste management because it is important for the health of the ecosystem.

In this video, children will learn about water and wastewater, solid waste, traffic and transportation, and construction.