Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Week 9 and 10

From our Literacy work this week, we have learned what it means to REDUCE,

REUSE AND RECYCLE. Please would you remind yourself what each of those

mean and give an example. If you have forgotten, look back at the

comprehension in your Literacy homework. I have added some links to Youtube

videos. It is NOT compulsory to watch these, but if you can, it may benefit

learners who learn best through the sense of sight (Visual learners)

What do you think that this symbol means? Why are there three green

arrows?

Each arrow stands for: REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE. The green colour

stands for a healthy earth. This is a recycling symbol!

See if you can find this symbol on any objects in your house. If there’s an

object that has this symbol on it, it means that it can be recycled. That

object can be changed into something else and used again.

I found a recycling symbol on a plastic packet that I got from Clicks. It

says that the plastic was made by using recycled materials, which is

great, because it means that less waste was created.

If we want a healthy earth, we have to make as little waste as possible.

AND the more waste that can be recycled, the better.

Make a list or draw pictures of the objects that you found in your house with

the recycling symbol on them.

What can and cannot be recycled? https://youtu.be/6jQ7y_qQYUA

Can every object/material be recycled? Write down objects that you think can

be recycled and then read the information below.

Unfortunately, not all objects can be recycled

Some objects, like food doesn’t need to be recycled, because they do it

naturally. Think about what happens to an apple when you throw it on

some soil. Does it stay there forever? What happens to it?

It decomposes. What do you think that means? Decomposing means to

break up or rot. So, as the apple sits in the soil, it starts to rot and break

up.

The same is seen in the picture underneath. A seed of corn is in the

ground in the first picture, the plant grows, it gets old and starts to

decompose and then the seeds go back into the ground and more corn

grows. The same is seen with the sunflower

Therefore something old is

being turned into something

new and natural recycling is

happening. All natural

materials can be recycled in

their own way and do not need

humans to do it

Unnatural materials that can be recycled by humans are: glass, aluminium,

plastic and paper. Aluminium is the substance that they usually use to

make tins.

These materials are taken to a recycling plant. This is where rubbish is

recycled and turned into new objects! Glass, aluminium, plastic and paper

can be chopped into tiny bits, melted or turned into mush (soft and wet

material) and then used to make new things.

Look at the picture below to see what objects can be recycled into.

What four objects can you see in the first picture?

What four objects are they turned into below?

Can you think what else glass, paper, aluminium and plastic can be turned

into? Use your imagination and write them down or draw pictures.

What happens to our waste? https://youtu.be/CCS6iOG5G68

Our rubbish gets put into dustbins. A garbage truck will come and collect

all the black bags in an area. We should be grateful to these people for

taking our rubbish away as it must be a difficult job, because the rubbish

smells and it can be very messy. How can we make these people’s jobs

easier? Write down your ideas and suggest them to your family.

Remember to thank these people if you see them taking away your

rubbish.

Once they come to collect everybody’s rubbish, where do you think that it

is taken to?

Some of the rubbish goes into a big hole that’s outside of town.

When rubbish is in a big hole, it makes a really bad smell. This may be

horrible for the animals or humans who live near it.

The

rubbish can even

make animals or

humans very sick.

Rubbish can start

to decompose

(break down and

rot) into the soil

around it.

Chemicals and

harmful substances can leak from the rubbish into the soil and water.

This means that any plant growing in that soil or any water in the area

may be dangerous to eat and drink.

It may take years before the rubbish decomposes and disappears.

Unnatural materials take A LOT longer than natural materials to

decompose. This is why it is better to rather use natural products than

unnatural. Examples of natural materials are wood, soil and clay. Unnatural

materials are made by people by adding different materials together to

make a new material such as plastic, glass and rubber.

Can you think of an example where we should use a natural material over

an unnatural one? Eg: wooden desks rather than plastic ones.

Did you know that some plastics take over 500 years to decompose?

That means that you may use a plastic bottle today and your great, great,

great, great grandchild may still see it lying in a rubbish dump in the year

2520. That’s scary hey!?

What do you think that we can do to improve this? Make a list of your

ideas and brainstorm.

Some of the rubbish goes into a furnace (a really big fire) and the

rubbish gets burned. This makes a lot of black smoke go into the sky and

it stinks.

Have you even seen or smelled this before? Where? How did it make you

feel?

This smoke makes it difficult for birds as they cannot see where they are

flying and sometimes the smoke makes them choke.

Some of this smoke may also

affect humans as they

struggle to breathe properly.

In many places in the world

people already wore masks

before corona-virus, because

the air was not clean enough

for them to breathe without

them.

This smoke from burning rubbish can even affect the rain fall. Often

when there is a lot of air pollution there won’t be enough rain. This is a

big problem for farmers as they need the rain for their crops to grow and

so that there will be enough food for everyone.

What do you think can be done to improve this?

Make a list of your ideas. Start a conversation with your family about this

and ask them what they think.

Some of the rubbish also gets put into the ocean. Animals think that the

plastic is food. This is horrible, because plastic can suffocate them. When

something suffocates, it means that it is not able to breathe. The rubbish

may look like food that the animals normally eat.

Many sea turtles, fish and sharks die from this every day.

Look at the picture below. That is a boat in water surrounded by rubbish.

How does it make you feel? What do you think that we can do about it? Is

this what should be happening in the world?

Why is recycling so important?

Look back at all the ways that waste damages the world and then come up with

your own reasons why you think that recycling is important.

When objects can be taken to a recycling plant there will be no stinky

hole in the ground that makes people or animals sick.

When objects can be recycled, no more black smoke will choke animals

and people as it pollutes the air.

No animals will choke on plastic that has been dumped into the oceans.

Recycling is a wonderful way of making less waste in the world and

saving the planet. It will help to save humans, animals and

plants.

It will help us all to live happier and healthier lives.

How can we reduce, reuse and recycle at home

and at school?

Write down your ideas and speak to your family about how you can recycle. You

can also ask them for their ideas, chat to a friend about it over the phone or

use the internet to come up with ideas. Here are some ideas that I found. Write

down this list, put a tick next to all the ways of recycling that you already do, a

cross next to the ones that you don’t do and won’t be able to do and a question

mark next to the ones that you want to try. Sometimes we can’t recycle in every

way, but we can all recycle in some way! Think about HOW these activities can

help to reduce, reuse and recycle and how they can help save the planet and us.

Reuse items in your house to make arts and crafts

(we have been doing this for lockdown art so give

it a tick)

Take bags with you to the shops rather than

buying new plastic bags and making more waste

Buy clothes from a second hand store or use

clothes from an older sister/family member

Give away your old/small clothes instead of

throwing them away.

This jersey is from my grandpa who passed

away. It doesn’t fit me perfectly, but it’s

warm and very special to me, because he wore

it.

Put food waste into a garden instead of into the dustbin. This will also

help the plants around it to grow better

Turn off the lights when you leave a room

Turn off the tap when you are brushing your teeth until you need it to

clean your toothbrush and mouth

Make sure that taps are turned off properly when you are finished using

them

Don’t shower for a long time or fill a bath all the way up to the top as

this is wasting water. You can set a timer so that you know how long you

shower for

You can use the water from the bath to do something else like wash the

car/water the garden

You can shower with a

bucket so that water can be

collected and used instead

of just throwing it away

Try and buy products that have the recycling symbol on it

Use both sides of a paper where you can

REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE