Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Part A: Activating prior knowledge

20 minutes

Part B: The ARL

25 minutes

Part C: Flipped classroom quiz

5 minutes

Reflection

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1

Show students this image:

Step 2

Discuss:

Have you seen these before?
Where? Are they easy to find?
What do they mean?
Why do you think packaging includes them?

Step 3

Now show students this image:

Step 4

Discuss:

Have you seen any of these ones before?
Do they mean the same thing?
Why do you think they are different?
Do you trust one more than the other?

Step 5

Explain to students that currently there are many different ‘recycling’ labels out there on packaging. Not all of them are helpful for our recycling behaviour and not all of them are accurate.

Explain that Planet Ark has created an evidence-based system in the ARL to remove recycling confusion by explaining what we should do with different types of packaging and help us recycle.

Technically almost anything can be recycled, but for a lot of reasons we don’t always have the ability to recycle everything. We might not have the right processing plants – not everything can be recycled in the same way – or there might not be much demand for the recycled materials to warrant recycling it. The information provided by the ARL allows us to make sure we are helping as much as possible with the recycling process. It’s not as simple as putting everything in one bin and then it all being magically recycled.

Discuss:

Why might companies want to include some sort of ‘disposal’ label even if their packaging isn’t truly recyclable? There are many reasons. The main job of a packaging technologist is to create something that will protect the product itself, so they might not know as much about recycling as the recycling gurus at Planet Ark. They might be unsure as to how to properly recycle their packaging, so they’re giving it their best go. Another reason might be that there is no recyclable alternative to this packaging at the current time.
Why might we as consumers want accurate recycling labels? They help us know what packaging is recyclable and exactly how to recycle it. This helps us protect the environment by not sending packaging to landfill when it can be recycled, and we can recover precious materials from recyclables rather than using finite, raw resources. Finally, having a well-known recycling label in the ARL can encourage companies to change their packaging to more recycling-friendly alternatives.

Step 6

Explain to students that by 2025 all packaging in Australia aims to be recyclable, re-usable or compostable.

Planet Ark knows Australians and New Zealanders care about the environment and want to do the right thing, so they have created an evidence-based system in the ARL to help us change our recycling habits for the better.

Step 7

However, not all packaging is made of the same materials, and not all materials go through the same process to be recycled, so there can’t be one recycling label for everything.

Briefly discuss the recycling habits of students at home using the chart below.

If you’re unsure whether an item can be recycled, leave a question mark.

You can also keep track of any misconceptions or questions students may have about recycling.

ITEM	MATERIAL	HOW TO RECYCLE	QUESTIONS
Black plastic trays, such as for a microwavable meal.	Plastic	Yellow bin? Or some other way?	It’s plastic, right? Are there two parts to this, the tray and the film? Are they differently recyclable?
Pizza box	Cardboard	?	Can’t be recycled because it’s had food on it?
Chocolate bar wrapper	Plastic	?	Isn’t this rubbish?

Part B: The ARL

Step 1

Reflect on your table.

Discuss with students how some items are easily identifiable as recyclable, like milk bottles or cereal boxes.

But there are other items that are a bit trickier to tell whether they’re recyclable or not. Making things even trickier is the fact that two pieces of packaging may look the same but might be made very differently.

Without a recycling label there is no way for consumers to know what is and isn’t recyclable. The ARL removes recycling confusion by clearly explaining what we should do with different types of packaging.

But what do each of the symbols actually mean?

Step 2

Watch:

Australasian Recycling Label Animation - https://youtu.be/leOaiqHaIgc

Step 3

In small groups students independently research the ARL.

Direct students to arl.org.au.

Students should gain an understanding of:

Why the ARL is useful and important (why do we need it?);
Each of the ARL marks and the different actions required for each, especially the conditionally recyclable label instructions (know the labels); and

Factors that affect the recyclability of a piece of packaging, such as shape, size, etc (the PREP assessment diagram)

Provisions for Learning Support: It is recommended that students work in small, mixed-ability groups. The nature of the task is open-ended, providing differentiation for a wide range of learning abilities. Mixed-ability groups encourage peer tutoring and collaboration in problem-solving. There are many solutions to this task, and negotiation is encouraged.

Part C: Flipped classroom

Step 1

After students have gathered all their research you may want to spend some time discussing their findings as a class to ensure everyone has a complete understanding and to answer any outstanding questions.

Invite a student to share three main points of their research.

Other students could then add any points they feel are important but haven’t yet been covered.

Step 2

Independently students create a Kahoot! quiz to test others on their understanding.

Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that makes it easy to create, share and play multiple-choice trivia quizzes in minutes.

Encourage students to ask challenging questions with clear and distinct answers. Remember, the goal is understanding the ARL and its purpose and functionality.

Encourage students to take screenshots of any diagrams or the different label instructions for use in their quizzes.

Step 3

Students also construct a single-page information sheet on the ARL for their advocate pack.

This sheet should contain a summary of all the information they have gathered throughout their research, including the purpose of the ARL, the benefits of recycling and how the ARL works.

Students may wish to design this sheet on their individual devices and print them. This allows them to use images of the ARL. However, students may also wish to design this summary sheet by hand.

Students add this sheet to their advocate pack.

Reflection and key takeaway

You may wish to take a few students’ Kahoot! quizzes as a class.

Reflect with students that recycling is important because if we recycle, we can make sure that the materials are used again. Non-recyclable materials are put in the bin to make sure they don’t contaminate the clean recyclables.

We know how to recycle because of information we get from the labels that we see on packaging. If we follow the labels we see on-pack, we can make sure that the right thing goes into the right bin.

Encourage students to run their Kahoot! quizzes with their families and report back to the class. Were their parents, caretakers and siblings aware of the ARL and good recycling practices? Or were they as confused as students at the beginning of this lesson? Encourage students to share their knowledge with these people, acting on their circle of influence identified from the 'Big Challenges, Big Impact' lesson at the beginning of this unit.

Where to next?

Check out ‘ARL Audit’, where students investigate how well they’re currently recycling in their home and as a school community, and begin to advocate more strongly for consumer awareness of the ARL.

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 - Exploring the ARL

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