Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal: In this activity, students examine and weigh the waste that has been collected over one week from the teacher’s household. They will also bring to class one item of packaging that they think is excessive. Students will then be asked to think critically about the amount of packaging that is used to wrap the things we use every day, and to think creatively about how this packaging could be reused. This activity is in two parts and requires some preparation to collect one week's worth of rubbish and examples of excessive packaging.

As you are dealing with used safety is important so:

Rinse out any container (especially any with cleaners etc)
Don’t include any dirty or soiled items or any with sharp edges
For safety reasons, you might wish to exclude glass bottles and jars (you could instead weigh these at home and pass on this weight to the students)

Student and classroom organisation:

Introduction

Step 1.

Prior to the activity, the class teacher should collect all the waste that is produced from his or her household over one week (excluding food and organic matter). Aim to collect all containers and packaging, paper and wrappers.

Step 2.

Ask the students to bring to class one item of packaging (clean) that they think is excessive. This might be a box of chocolates or packaging for biscuits, a microwave meal, frozen foods, individual dairy desserts, fruit and vegetables, cleaning items and electronic items.

Safety is important here so remind students to:

Rinse out any container (especially any with cleaners etc).
Don’t include any dirty or soiled items or any with sharp edges.
For safety reasons, you might wish to exclude glass bottles and jars (you could instead weigh these at home and pass on this weight to the students).

Activity 1. Weighing in

Step 1.

Discuss the meaning of the term ‘recyclable’ (waste materials that can be recycled). Ask the students to give you examples of waste items that can be recycled by your Council. If the students are unsure, encourage them to go online and find out this information from the Council website.

Step 2.

Discuss the meaning of the term ‘non-recyclable’ (waste material that cannot be accepted for recycling). Ask the students to give you examples of waste items that cannot be recycled in your Council.

The students find out what items will be accepted for recycling in your Council in each of the four categories:

Recyclable Metal
Recyclable Plastic
Recyclable Paper and Cardboard
Recyclable Glass

Step 3.

The next stage is for students to weigh all the waste that you have all collected from your household, ensuring that anyone who is touching the waste is using tongs and wearing rubber gloves. Then ask the students to sort the waste into the following categories:

Recyclable Metal
Non-recyclable Metal
Recyclable Plastic
Non-recyclable Plastic
Recyclable Paper and Cardboard
Non-recyclable Paper and Cardboard
Rubbish

Step 4.

The students weigh all the items in each category and record the weights in the student worksheet (Activity 1). Students can use the online table to graph the results (add the weight of glass bottles and jars that you measured at home) and then answer the following questions on the student worksheet:

How much of the waste is recyclable (expressed as a percent of the total weight)?
How much of it is non-recyclable (expressed as a percent of the total weight)?
Of the waste that is non-recyclable, where does most of it come from? From food and drink packaging or from somewhere else?
Of the waste that is recyclable, where does most of it come from?
Were there any types of waste that you found difficult to place in a category (i.e. you were not sure if the item could be recycled or not)?
What are some examples of the packaging you have looked at in this activity that are made from renewable resources and from non-renewable resources?

Step 5.

Hold a class discussion around student answers.

Activity 2. Excessive packaging

Step 1.

Ask the students to give you some reasons why we have packaging. Write these reasons on the board. Some examples of reasons might include:

To protect the contents from damage or breakage – as with biscuits
To preserve the contents – prevent them from becoming bad
For security – to prevent things being stolen
To hold things – such as drinks or small items
To display the item attractively – as with a box of chocolates

Step 2.

Ask each student to place on a table the item that they brought from home that they think is packaged excessively. As a class, discuss all or some of the items, considering the following questions for each item:

How many layers of packaging are there?
What is the purpose of the packaging?
Which of the layers of packaging are necessary? Which ones do you think are not really necessary?
How much of the packaging could be recycled? How much cannot be recycled?
Is there any information on the package that claims that the packaging is made from recycled materials?

Step 3.

Ask students to complete the student worksheet (Activity 2) answering the questions in regards to the example of excessive packaging that they bought to the class.

Assessment/Reflection

1. Ask the students to redesign the package they brought to class so that it is no longer excessively packaged, but still meets its purpose (e.g. it might still have to hold biscuits and prevent them from being broken).

2. Students may wish to write to the manufacturer of the packaging giving the reasons why they think the particular packaging is excessive and their suggestions for improving the design.

Extension opportunities

1. Students look out for examples of packing used to purchase goods online. They could look at all the packaging and answer to five questions above.

2. Students could debate the topic: “Online shopping is the best thing since sliced bread”.

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