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Description
In this activity, students will audit their home waste bins and calculate the carbon benefits of recycling and composting. Students will learn how much greenhouse gases they are diverting from landfills by recycling and composting. In addition, they will learn how they can continue to reduce waste and reduce the need to recycle/compost.
Students will:
- sort similar waste items into a clear plastic bag and weigh the bag on a scale
- record the weight and calculate the number of carbon dioxide they have diverted from the landfill
- discuss how they can reduce greenhouse gases with what they buy
- discuss how we can reduce the need to even recycle or compost
General Assessment
Recommendation of how and where to use it
This activity is an excellent way to introduce waste literacy to students. Waste literacy is about the knowledge and competency to reduce waste in practical ways, such as reducing the need to generate waste in the first place, preserving natural resources and making sustainable consumption choices. Reducing residential waste is an essential piece of the plastic cycle, and how we produce and dispose of our waste affects the amount of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems.
To enhance the activity, students could learn about the waste stream in their municipality, which bins they have and what goes into each bin. They could research ways to decrease their waste footprint and divert waste away from landfills by buying and using products that they can reuse,
Relevant Curriculum Units
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.
- Step 1Select a province
- Alberta
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environment and Outdoor Education: Commitment to Action
- Environment and Outdoor Education: Environmental Investigations
- British Columbia
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 11
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 11: Human practices affect the sustainability of ecosystems
- Grade 12
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 12: Human activities cause changes in the global climate system
- Environmental Science 12: Living sustainably supports the well-being of self, community, and Earth.
- Manitoba
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Social Studies
- Step 4Relevant matches
- People & Places in the World: Global Quality of Life
- New Brunswick
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Chemistry and the Environment
- Grade 12
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Studies
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Studies 35: Northern Environmental Issues
- Ontario
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Chemistry: The Nature of Matter
- Grade 11
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science (Univ/College Prep.) Human Health and the Environment
- Prince Edward Island
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 12
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 621A: Environmental Challenges and Successes
- Saskatchewan
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 11
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 20: Human Population and Pollution
- Yukon Territory
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 11
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 11: Human practices affect the sustainability of ecosystems
- Grade 12
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 12: Human activities cause changes in the global climate system
- Environmental Science 12: Living sustainably supports the well-being of self, community, and Earth.
Themes Addressed
Citizenship (1)
- Sustainable Consumption
Waste Management (2)
- Solid Waste Disposal
- Source Reduction
