Objective
After a lesson on environmental health the student will identify at least eight out of ten items that can be recycled.
Content Outline
● Students will learn to differentiate between different types of disposable items.
○ Recyclables
■ To break down materials to make them suitable to reuse
(merriam-webster.com, “Recycle”)
● Paper/Mixed Paper, glass, plastic, aluminum
○ Compostables
■ A mixture of waste material good for the soil
(merriam-webster.com, “Compost”)
● Most food scraps (minus meat products), yard waste, food soiled paper
○ Trash
■ Unwanted material unsuitable for compost, reuse, or recycle (merriam-webster.com, “Trash”)
● paint cans, pringles containers, styrofoam, used cooking oil, walnut shells
○ Reusables
■ To use again (merriam-webster.com, “Reusable”)
● Glass bottles and jars, coffee cans, egg cartons, scrap paper
Materials
For Sorting Challenge:
● Four 5 gallon buckets labeled Recycle, Reuse, Compost and Trash
● Poster Board with the following definitions - trash, compost, reuse, recycle ● Trash items
● Recycle items
● Reuse items
● Compost items
● Trash items
● Four large trash bags

For Trashy Trivia:
● Reused glass bottle vase example
● Monster feet tissue box example
● Paper flower example
● Small white boards, markers and erasers for all students
For Recycle Song:
● Copies of “Hey hey, don’t throw it away” song
Project Replication and/or Method
Preparation:
1.

Label buckets

2.

Fill all four trash bags with a mix of items (at least 10)

3.

Obtain whiteboards/expo markers for Trashy Trivia

4.

Have reuse examples ready and displayed (glass bottle vase, monster feet tissue box, paper flower)

5.

Print out “Hey hey, don't throw it away” copies for students to keep

Procedure:
Trashy Trivia: First, separate children into four groups. Handout white erase boards to every student. Introduce Trashy Trivia game. Ask students first question, (How many years do you think it takes for a glass bottle to break down in a landfill?) Wait for students to show answers on whiteboards. Give correct answer (1 million years). This should prompt a teacher led discussion about different ways to reuse a bottle.
● piggy bank
● bird feeder

● Show glass vase example.
2.

Second, ask students next question, (How much trash does the average person create everyday?) Wait for students to display answer on whiteboards, give correct answer (4 pounds). This should prompt teacher led discussion about how one can reduce their daily waste.
Show tissue box monster feet craft.

3.

Next, ask students the last trivia question, (How many trees will be cut down to support you in your lifetime?) Wait for students to show answers on whiteboards (465 trees). This should prompt a teacher led discussion about how to save paper.
● pack lunch in lunchbox instead of brown paper bags
● draw on scrap paper instead of using a new piece of paper
● use tupperware instead of ziploc bags.
Show reused paper flower example.

Sorting Challenge: Introduce and define the following areas - recycle, reuse, compost, and trash, use poster board as reference. After teaching definitions, assign each group to a category. Handout four trash bags full of various items to the teams. Have teams race to separate out their assigned category and put items in the correct bins. Put items back into trash bags randomly and have teams switch categories until every group has sorted all categories correctly.

Recycle Song Activity: Pass out copies of song lyrics to students.
Demonstrate rhythm and lyrics and encourage students to join along.
Repeat song until all students are participating.

Integration into other health content areas and other curriculum
This idea can also be integrated into consumer and community health.
By recycling we are improving the quality of the environment. When we are conscientious with our actions we will have less waste material that at risk of polluting our local land and waterways. This includes streams and creeks, lakes, ocean, beaches