PITCH-IN CANADA
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Re-Think Activities
An educational Unit for children up to Grade 4
Written by Valerie Thom, B.Ed. and edited by Allard W. van Veen, APR, Fellow, CPRS

This unit has six chapters, each filled with information, ideas and projects. Words in bold and in italics are featured in the glossary which you can reach by clicking here

LITTER AND OUR ENVIRONMENT: ACTIVITY 8 -  Is Some Litter Recyclable?                                 K – 3
                                                                                            (For communities that have a recycling program.)

Skills: none

Time: one or two class periods

Learning Objective: students will realize that some litter could have been recycled.

NOTE: if not already done, you may wish to do REUSING AND RECYCLING: ACTIVITY 8 before this Activity as it involves the students in drawing up a list of materials that can be recycled in your community.

Materials and Equipment: a list and samples of items that are accepted in your community’s recycling program.

Activity:

1. Review the list of items that can be recycled in your community drawn up in REUSING AND RECYCLING: ACTIVITY 8, if done, OR provide students with a list of items that can be recycled in your community.

2. Discuss with the students:

• Where should we find these items? (In recycling containers.)
• Can you think of some other places where we might find some of these items?

3. Explain to the students that they are going to go on a hunt for recyclable litter.

4. Provide each pair of students with the list of items that can be recycled, or drawings of what they should be looking for.

5. Take students to a local park or other suitable area for the hunt.

THOUGH THIS IS NOT A CLEAN-UP ACTIVITY, PLEASE READ APPENDIX 9, SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR CLEAN-UPS BEFORE UNDERTAKING THE "HUNT".

6. Have students keep a tally on their list or illustrations of the recyclable litter that they find.

7. Back in the classroom, discuss the results with the students:

• Were they surprised at the results?
• What did they find the most of?
• Might the results be different in another location? (e.g. closer to or further away from a convenience store.)

RE…Think

Discuss with the students:

• How can we encourage the students in our school to recycle their recyclable litter?

Students may wish to make a display of litter that they found that could have been recycled. The display could be accompanied by the students’ comments on how recycling the item, rather than discarding it, would have helped the environment. If students have done other activities in this unit, encourage them to think of what they have learned, such as health and safety concerns, aesthetics, resource conservation, and reduction of solid waste.

If your Province has a deposit-return system for certain containers, include this information in your discussion with the students in Step #1 and on the information sheet they take on the hunt. Calculate the value of the returnables found on the hunt. Display this information as well.

Click here to return to the Index for Chapter 6 and more activities

Click here to return to the Index for Re-Think