Background information:

Learning goals: The aim of this activity is to encourage children to learn about the 3Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle. Children are asked to think creatively about how waste materials can be reused before they go into the bin.

Content information: Recycling is one of the easiest ways of being green. All it takes is putting the right thing in the right bin. But why do it? Well there are a number of reasons and they're all very important.

All the raw materials required to make the goods we use come from finite resources. This means resources that cannot be replaced or regenerated once they run out. Recycling means we can use items made from finite resources over and over again.
Getting the raw materials uses more energy than recycling. In the case of aluminium cans, for example, making a can from recycled materials rather than from raw materials saves 95% of the energy that is used when making the can from scratch. What about paper? Sure we can always grow more trees to make more paper but growing more trees requires water and energy, and if trees are grown just for paper this means less water and energy is available for living things in the natural environment.
Recycling reduces the amount of waste going to landfill. Less waste in landfill means less waste in our environment which is better for everyone.

However, there are certain ‘rules’ about what can and can't be recycled. If you’re uncertain about the guidelines in your area, check with your local council. Generally speaking, paper, cardboard, milk cartons, glass and plastic bottles are fine. Plastics recycling can be more tricky: plastic packaging will typically display a recycling symbol with a number - your council will be able to tell you which numbers are recycled in your area.

Concepts and definitions:

Reduce - we are reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill, recycling, composting, etc. when we reduce the amount of things we buy / get in the first place.
Reuse - many items can be used for longer than their original intended purpose or lifespan. We can purchase only good quality items that we really need first hand, and use these up, or give / sell these to others when we no longer need them. When we purchase second hand items, we are reusing.
Recycle - recycling is a process that enables waste materials to be transformed into new products, preventing wastage of useful materials.

New words for children to learn:

Reduce
Reuse
Recycle

Activity: Learning about the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle)

What to do:

Preparation: Lay out your waste items or print out the 3Rs flashcards. Cut out each flashcard and glue the image to the corresponding questions/prompts. Download the 3Rs song to a device that everyone can listen to (to an mp3 player, CD player, etc). Download the 3Rs Song or access the song on the student worksheet (alternatively use YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6IbRSRe8MQ)

Step 1:

Warm up by playing the 3Rs song. Ask children to dance to the song and listen to the words, singing along where they can. Can children recognise the words 'reduce', 'reuse' and 'recycle'?

Step 2:

Break down the song into its three parts about reducing, reusing and recycling:

Reducing: the lyrics are about taking reusable bags to the shops, to reduce the amount of disposable bags that need to be made. Can anyone think of other times this happens? Maybe using reusable boxes instead of plastic wrap or aluminium foil when bringing snacks to your centre. Another example is using a library to borrow books or toys.
Reusing: the lyrics are about getting hand-me-downs. Maybe someone is wearing a “hand me down” right now! Or, perhaps they have a toy or book that used to belong to someone else. Maybe there are examples around your centre where boxes or other containers have been reused in a clever way.
Recycling: the lyrics in the song are not very specific about what to recycle, but the song encourages children to reduce and reuse before we recycle. Choosing materials that can be recycled in your area is another important step you can take to reduce waste going to landfill. At your centre, there will be some things that children can put into recycling bins, which will be different to materials they can put back into a re-use, or “making” box. You may elect to make no distinction between reusing and recycling, which is fine. What really matters is to emphasise the fact that waste destined for landfill is reduced.

Step 3.

It's time to sort your waste items or flashcard images. If you have existing recycling bins or a 'making box' where you put things to reuse, use these. If you don't have these bins already in your room, lay out the three signs (Signs - Reduce Reuse Recycle) on the floor.

Ask children to look at the waste items you have collected and sort them into three piles correlating with the three signs.

Reduce - Talk to children about how you could use something else instead of this item (for example, taking your own bag to the supermarket instead of getting a plastic bag).
Reuse - Ask children to suggest items that could be reused and turned into something new and useful (for example, egg cartons can be used as storage containers or for growing seedlings. Milk cartons can be used to make bug houses (Build a bug house instruction sheet) and cardboard boxes can be used for just about everything!).
Recycle: Decide what items are no good for reusing but can still be recycled (for example, printing on both sides of paper, plastic bags with holes in them, or empty fruit juice boxes).

NOTE: Children may want to put items into more than one pile. The aim of the exercise is to get more things into the reuse pile than into the recycling bin.

Extension:

If your site has a compost bin, you might want to talk about how composting is nature’s way of recycling.
Talk to children about the 4th 'R' - Refuse. This means saying 'NO' to things that you don't need, such as a shopping bag at the supermarket when you only have one or two items to buy, or choosing the biscuits with less packaging, or using tomato sauce from refillable bottles instead of disposable sachets.

Provocations

I wonder what we mean by the 3R's.
I wonder if we can recycle some of the things we no longer want or need.
I wonder if we can reuse some of the things we no longer want or need.
I wonder how we can avoid getting some things in the first place by being more careful with what we’ve got.
I wonder what the 4th 'R' might be.

Possible lines of development:

Find out what happens after the recycling and garbage trucks visit your site (e.g https://vimeo.com/73431280)
Find out other ways of reusing waste Reusing waste activities
Challenge students to find items that have been reused around the world.
Create a class mural around the 3/4Rs with photos of objects being reused at your centre.
Congratulate students for great sharing habits.
Encourage swapping with the parents. Perhaps organise a trading table during Enviroweek.

Evaluation

Complete an analysis of learning, listing evidence about:

Belonging	Finding something of interest
Communication	Expressing an idea or feeling
Exploration	Engaging with challenge and persisting when difficulty arises
Well being	Being involved

Embedding into daily practice

Set up a separate 3 bin system: one for food scraps and compostable material (for worm farms, compost bins or sent home for chooks), another for recycling, and a third for landfill (i.e. material that cannot be used again).
Start a worm farm and/or compost bin and use the castings to fertilise your garden.
Review your purchasing habits and buy products with recycled content (e.g. toilet paper and paper towel).
Reuse envelopes and paper for art or note pads.
Hold a children’s book/clothing/toys or baby equipment exchange.

Sharing:

Share what you are doing for Enviroweek through your centre newsletter, photographs and children’s artwork.

Enviroweek Waste Warrior

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