Student Worksheet

Thought-starter: What is ‘Closing the loop’?

Part A: Introduction

Recycling is not just about putting recyclable materials in the correct bin. It’s also about the creation of new goods from recycled material. When these new goods are used and discarded correctly (i.e. into the recycling bin), the recycling loop is ‘closed’ and the process restarts. By ‘closing the loop’, we are able to conserve natural resources and reduce our impact on the environment.

Have a look at this image and answer the questions below:

1. What is this symbol?

2. What do each of the three arrows in this symbol represent?

Now have a look at the following graphic. This image reveals the number of recyclable products manufactured at Visy in one year, as well as the amount of material Visy takes in and re-manufactures. Most of these measures are in tonnes which is 1000 kilograms.

(Source: Visy, 2021)

Find the amount of paper and cardboard recycled at Visy and the amount of paper-related products that were created:

Table 1. Amount of paper and cardboard recycled at Visy:

Now use the two total values to work out the percentage of recyclable material in the paper products manufactured by Visy.

Hint: Assume that Visy uses all of the recyclable material when manufacturing new products.

Table 2. Percentage of recyclable material in the paper products manufactured by Visy:

Part B: Investigation – How much paper do we use at our school?

To complete this part of the lesson, you will be collecting information about paper use in your school. You will need to think of three people or groups in your school you could interview to find out this information. Helpful staff might include a HOD, an administration officer or your fellow students.

You will also need to prepare some questions you will ask them.

Use the tables below to plan your interviews and record responses.

Table 3. To approximate teacher paper usage:

Table 4. To approximate administration paper usage:

Table 5. To approximate student paper usage:

Part C: Calculating a yearly figure

1. How many sheets?

Use your responses from Part B to calculate how many sheets of paper your school used in a year. Try to adjust your responses to include all students, teachers and administration staff. Also, make sure that you are using the number of sheets instead of the number of reams – there are 500 sheets of paper in a ream.

The guide below may be a helpful first step in completing this task:

Table 6. Number of sheets used:

Next, complete this table:

Table 7. Total number of sheets used by the school in a year:

2. How much does that weigh?

A standard sheet of A4 paper weighs 5 grams or 0.005 kg. Can you use this figure, as well as previously calculated information, to write an equation that will determine the weight (in tonnes) of your school’s yearly paper usage? Use the space below to map out and write your equation.

Note: there are 1000 kg in a tonne.

Table 8. How much does the paper used at our school weigh?

Part D: What are the environmental savings?

1. Have a look at the information box below:

Producing 1 tonne of paper from raw materials uses approximately:

20 trees
90 000 L of water
10,061 kWh

And will allow 1 tonne of paper to remain in landfill and produce 2.9 tonnes of CO₂e.

Producing 1 tonne of paper from recycled materials uses approximately:

7 trees₁
58 220L of water
5961 kWh of electricity

And will divert 1 tonne of paper from landfill which will prevent 2.9 tonnes of CO₂e from being released.

Now have a go at writing some formulas to calculate the environmental costs associated with your school’s paper usage. Your formulas should calculate the following:

Number of trees used if the paper is made from raw or recycled materials.
Litres of water used if the paper is made from raw or recycled materials.
Amount of electricity used if the paper is made from raw or recycled materials.
The amount of CO₂ produced from paper in landfill OR the amount of CO₂ prevented by removing paper from landfill.

Table 9. Formulas and calculations for raw materials:

Table 10. Formulas and calculations for recycled materials:

2. Now that we know the environmental costs of using recycled and non-recycled paper, calculate the percentage saved if the school ‘closed the loop’ and used recycled paper. For CO2e emissions, you only need to state the amount that is being prevented by using recycled paper.

Table 11. Trees:

Table 12. Litres of water:

Table 13. Kilowatt hours:

Table 14. CO₂ (no percentage needed):

Reflection

1. Now that you have discovered the environmental savings your school can make by using recycled paper, explain why closing the loop is such an important part of recycling:

2. Paper is not the only recycled material you will come into contact with at school. Can you list any other materials your school could focus on to ‘close the loop’?

Take action

Since most schools will use paper and other recyclable materials in large quantities, closing the loop will make significant differences to the environment. But closing the loop at home is just as important, and it starts with you!

Imagine that you produced zero waste to landfill and everything you used came from recycled materials. Make a list of items and products you use on a daily basis:

Table 15. Taking action

Now, mark items on your list that are not recyclable and/or do not come from recycled materials. What alternatives could you use to ensure you are producing zero waste? Also, think about your green waste from food. How could you reuse or repurpose this?

Visy Education - We Take, We Make, We Use

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