Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Part A: Sorting and classifying

30 minutes

Part B: Hands-on investigation

15 minutes

Part C: Digital designer

5 minutes

Reflection

Part A: Sorting and classifying

Step 1

Begin this lesson by briefly introduce the concept of the ARL to students, showing them these images:

The Australasian Recycling Labels with text to explain their meaning

Explain that Planet Ark has created an evidence-based system called the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) to help us know how to dispose of and recycle our packaging correctly. They know Australians and New Zealanders care about the environment and want to do the right thing. But with hundreds of recycling labels out there, getting recycling right can be confusing and even recycling gurus get it wrong.

The ARL removes recycling confusion by explaining what we should do with different types of packaging.

This reduces the amount of material that ends up in landfill from being improperly recycled.

Step 2

Present the packaging items you have collected to the class (you could use these same items from the 'ARL Audit' lesson).

Discuss:

What materials are these items made from?
What are the properties of each of these materials?

Keep a list of answers on the board.

Step 3

Discuss:

Where does recycling go after it’s put out for recycling and collected by the truck?
Do all your recyclable materials go into one bin? What recycling challenges does this present?
Imagine the contents of a mixed recycling bin going to the recycling facility: How would you sort all these items into different groups so that they could be recycled? How would you make sure that the plastic didn’t get mixed up with the paper or that the glass didn't get mixed up with the metal?

Step 4

As a class brainstorm some of the ways materials might be sorted at the MRF.

Hand sorting is a part of the processes at the MRF, but it is labour intensive.

Encourage students to consider how the properties of materials will contribute to the way they could be sorted.

Part B: Hands-on investigation.

Step 1

Students will now work together to assume the role of material scientists. They will make predictions about the properties of the different materials and how they will react to different conditions. They will sort the objects based on these predictions.

Step 2

Students make predictions about the different ways the packaging you have collected will respond in different situations.

For example, they could make predictions based on:

Those that are magnetic, for example: Which of these objects do you think are magnetic? What properties mean that it is magnetic?
Those that react to wind, for example: Which of these objects would get blown around by a fan or would be sucked up by a vacuum cleaner set to the weakest sucking setting?

They should record their predictions using a table like this one:

Magnetic	Not Magnetic
My predictions

Actual results

Step 3

Students will now test their predictions by conducting a hands-on science investigation and add their findings to the table.

To do this you will need:

a range of magnets; and
a fan or vacuum cleaner set to the weakest sucking setting (add a piece of pantyhose over the end of the sucking nozzle to prevent materials being sucked into the vacuum cleaner).

Students may also decide to test for additional properties.

Allow students time to test their predictions and to record their results on their table.

Step 4

Are there any materials that didn’t respond to magnets or air currents?

Plastic has few reactive properties. In this case suggest a laser and computer could be used to identify plastics and mark them for sorting. In students’ MRFs they could use the red piece of string or design some sort of robotic eyeball.
Aluminium responds to electrical currents. These currents can be generated to push aluminium off the conveyor belt. There is a representation of an eddy current generator in the MRF assets pack.
Glass also has few reactive properties. But if everything else has been sorted off the conveyor belt, glass can be left to be collected in a big container at the end!

Part C: MRF designer

Step 1

Break the class into groups of three to four students.

Working in these groups students will develop a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) solution to sort the different material types.

The material types could be divided among the groups so that each group has to tackle one solution – that is, one group will be in charge of plastics, one in charge of cardboard, etc.

Step 2

Give each group a large sheet of butcher's paper to start sketching ideas for a solution for their allocated material. Invite students to consider the following:

What material are we creating a solution for?
What are the properties of this material?
How does it react to magnets or wind if at all?
How might we use the way this material reacts to different conditions to separate it from other materials?
Come up with a design for how your solution would work and what it would look like.

Allow students time to brainstorm some ideas and record them on the butcher's paper. They could do this by recording their idea using sketches or notes or both.

Step 3

Each group could then share their ideas with the class. Together discuss the pros and cons of each design and what could be done to improve the designs.

Allow students time to update their designs based on the feedback.

Step 4

Students then need to continue working in their groups to create a final draft of their design. They could do this by hand, with Minecraft or by using a CAD software tool, such as Tinkercad or SolidWorks Apps.

Reflection and key takeaways

Watch:

Sorting your recycling - extended version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asO-GUnKn1c&t=58s)

Remind students that the ARL helps materials be recovered more efficiently by ensuring that packaging that is recyclable makes it to the MRF, and that the packaging that is taken to the MRF is made of materials that the MRF is designed to deal with, and not polluted with rubbish.

Invite students to reflect independently on the following questions:

What do I like about the design we created?
What do I think could be improved?
What did I like about this activity?
What would I do differently next time?

Differentiated Learning

Extension - If time permits, you could invite groups to come together to contribute a printed version of their design to a class project called something like ‘Our MRF’. You could:

create a poster where all the designs are presented;
create a diorama where you include printed designs;
get students to create scale models of their designs to include in a joint diorama; and
combine all your designs as part of one Tinkercad/Minecraft document. The challenge would then be how to link each design into the next section via a conveyor belt or similar.

Where to next?

Armed with a wealth of recycling, packaging, and materials knowledge, it's now time to check out the ARL in more detail with 'Exploring the ARL', where students will dig into the purpose behind, and benefits of, featuring the ARL on packaging.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

ARL - Design and build a Materials Recovery Facility

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