Activity #4: Sort Recycling (45 min)
“Do you know the 3 R’s? Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. There is also a forth and fifth R. Rethink. Rethink how you can avoid items you that are only single use. And Refuse. Refuse to buy the things at the store which have non-recyclable packing, or from companies who aren’t mindful of the environment in their business practices.”
“We can also be mindful to reduce trash in landfills by:
- Reducing your consumption of single use goods
- Reusing items instead of throwing them away
- Recycling items after they have been reused
- Rethinking the ways which modern convenience has lent itself to single use goods and choose to alter your habits in an environmentally literate way
- Refusing to buy products which are not able to be recycled or reused”
Based on the information the children researched, decide if the items brought in are recyclable or not and if there are any special requirements to know before placing in a recycle bin. For example, look for the caps off and the item rinsed clean from the food it once contained.
“We know from all the sources we collected information from that their are certain items we can recycle in our community and many things we cannot. Let’s take our items and sort them into the same type of materials.”
Sort the items by material, put children in groups with each material and make a circle.
“Now we will pick two items each. One will be an item you think can be recycled in our community and the other item you pick will be one you think cannot be recycled in our community. Please explain your thinking.”
Have the children explain their thinking about what they think can and cannot be recycled.
