Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal: Students work together as a class to develop a safety code for learning about solid waste.

Student and classroom organisation:

Step 1.

Begin the activity by explaining to students that in this unit they will be exploring concepts around solid waste. Ask students to share ideas about what they think solid waste means. Answers could include:

Stuff that we no longer want
Things we can no longer use.

Ask students to think of some examples of solid waste and write some of these examples on the board. These may include food packaging, food waste, broken household appliances, old tyres, and broken glass.

Step 2.

Explain that learning about waste is actually quite interesting, even if it is the stuff that we no longer want or use. What we throw away tells us a lot about who we are, how we live and how we interact with our world. A lot of the things that we throw away are actually still usable and in working order, but we often simply no longer like it or can find a place for it in our lives. Can students think of any examples of things that get thrown out just because people don't like them anymore? Write these on the board.

Another reason we can learn about how to reduce waste so that all the people in the world will have enough of all the things they need now and in the future.

And it is important to find out what happens to waste after it gets picked up by the rubbish truck. We can explore where each type of waste goes so that it doesn’t harm people and doesn’t harm our environment.

Step 3.

Ask the students to look at all the examples of waste that you wrote on the board. Which ones would you feel okay about holding? Which ones would you not like to hold? Why is that? So, you think that it is okay to touch some things, but not others? There will obviously be differences of opinion amongst the students’ answers.

Step 4.

Explain that to make sure that we are all safe with waste, we need to write a safety code. Discuss what is a safety code (a set of rules that everyone agrees with and follows - see sample at end of this section) and why it is needed.

Step 5.

Explain that to make sure that we are all safe when handling waste, we need to write a safety code. You may first need to discuss what a safety code is (a set of rules that everyone agrees with and follows) and why it is needed.

Ask your students to work together to develop a class safety code. You could consider working together as a class or you could break the class into groups, with each group creating rules and guidelines for the topics such as:

When working inside
When working outside
When picking up litter in the yard
When sorting litter

Groups could create posters - either by hand or on computers - showing the rules they have created. Students could also create a safety video to explain the class safety code.

Assessment/Reflection

1. Display the Class Safety Code in the classroom. Remind the students of this code each time they undertake a waste activity.

2. Ask students to do the quiz waste quiz (see student worksheet). Set a time limit for the quiz, perhaps 3 or 4 minutes. Ask students to hand their quiz answers to a classmate for assessment, and as a class discuss the answers.

A Sample Safety Code: Solid Waste

When doing any waste activity inside

- I will only touch items of waste when my teacher says that is safe to do so.

- I will wear gloves when carrying a bucket of food scraps to the compost bin or the worm farm.

- After any waste activity, I will always wash my hands.

When doing any waste activity outside

- I will always be in a group of two or more student.

- I will not go into car parks or on roads.

- I will only look in rubbish or recycling bins. I will not touch any of the items in rubbish or recycling bins with my hands.

- After any waste activity, I will always wash my hands.

When picking up litter in the yard

- I will always use plastic gloves and tongs. I will not touch any litter on the ground with my hands.

- After we have emptied a bucket of litter into the bin, I will wash our bucket and tongs.

- Afterwards, I will always wash my hands.

Be safe with waste

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