Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal: Students develop a safety code for learning about solid waste.

Student and classroom organisation:

Step 1.

Explain to the students that in this unit they will be working with solid waste. Ask them to explain what this means (e.g. stuff that we no longer want). Ask them to give you some examples of waste. Write some of these examples on the board.

Explain that learning about waste is very interesting. We can learn about different types of waste. We can learn about where each type of waste goes so that it doesn’t harm people and doesn’t harm the environment. 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. There are many careers in the waste industry. For example, engineers (landfills, recycling facilities, composting facilities and transfer stations), garbage truck drivers, personnel at resource recovery facilities, waste education officers, managers of waste management operations in councils and large businesses), and others.

Step 2.

Ask the students to look at all the examples of waste that you wrote on the board. Ask students to consider the following questions:

Which ones would you feel okay to hold?
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 3.

Explain to students that there are some risks in handling certain types of waste, such as the transmission of some diseases. For example, you wouldn’t want to hold a tissue that had been used by someone with a cold.

Explain that to make sure that we are all safe with waste, we need to develop a safety code. Discuss what is a safety code (a set of rules that everyone agrees with and follows) and why it is needed. Safety codes are used in industries where there are risks in order to safeguard workers.

Step 4.

Work with the students to develop a Class Waste Safety code. Groups of students could be asked to come up with rules for different topics, such as:

When working inside;
When working outside; and
When picking up litter in the yard.

Assessment/Reflection

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

A Sample Safety Code: Solid Waste

When doing any waste activity inside

Only touch items of waste when your teacher says that is safe to do so.
Wear gloves when carrying a bucket of food scraps to the compost bin or the worm farm.
After any waste activity, always wash your hands.

When doing any waste activity outside

Always work in a group of two or more students.
Don’t go into car parks or on roads.
Only look in rubbish or recycling bins. Don’t touch any of the items in rubbish or recycling bins with your hands.
After any waste activity, always wash your hands.

When picking up litter in the yard

Always use plastic gloves and tongs. Don’t touch any litter on the ground with your hands.
After you have emptied a bucket of litter into the bin, wash the bucket and tongs.
Afterwards, always wash your hands.

Waste Safety Codes

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