Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes	Part B: Who Is Responsible For Waste?
15 minutes	Part C: Rethinking Waste
40 minutes	Part D: A Circular Solution
10 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge - OPTIONAL

Where students are unfamiliar with the problem of waste in Australia – and particularly plastic waste – share the following clip (iTunes, Enhance TV):

Episode 1, The Battle Continues - 3:13 to 7:46

Once complete, invite them to reflect on this clip, suggesting answers to the following:

What is this clip about?
What does this clip make you think about?
What questions does this clip leave you with?

Part B: Who Is Responsible For Waste?

Step 1.

Now pose the following question to the class:

Who is responsible for waste?

Invite students to participate in a barometer activity to help them explore their responses to this question:

Statements:

It is up to governments to create legislation that guides what waste is created and how it is dealt with.
It is up to industry to create less waste through the products they manufacture and sell.
It is up to people to create less waste by thinking carefully about what they buy and how they dispose of waste.
It is up to all of us to change the way we think about waste and to view waste as a resource, rather than something to be disposed of.

Take a few moments to dwell on the final statement and invite students to suggest what this might mean; what might it mean to think of waste as a resource? Explain to students that it is this final statement that they will be focusing on in this lesson.

You could write the statement 'Waste as a resource' as a reminder on the board.

Step 2.

Share the following document electronically with students: National Waste Policy 2018

Either working in pairs or individually, ask students to spend several minutes looking through the document before answering the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What is this document about?
Who is this document prepared by?
Who do you think this document has been prepared for?

Step 3.

Now engage students in some explicit teaching to explore the following questions (suggested answers included):

What is a policy?
Suggested answer: A policy is a set of ideas or plans that is used as a basis for making decisions, especially in politics, economics or business. (Source)
What is a government policy?
Suggested answer: “The term ‘government policy’ can be used to describe any course of action which intends to change a certain situation. Think of policies as a starting point for government to take a course of action that makes a real life change. Government uses policy to tackle a wide range of issues. In fact, it can make policies that could change how much tax you pay, parking fines, immigration laws and pensions.” (Source)
How does the government make decisions about policies?
Suggested answer: Policies are made when ideas are changed into action. The ideas come from a variety of places, including government, ministers, politicians, councillors, civil servants, society, voluntary organisations, community groups, trade unions, professionals (such as doctors and academics), public opinion, and people like you.

To further support students in developing their understanding of what public policy is, click here.

Part C: Rethinking Waste

Step 1.

Explain to students that they now have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of how the Australian Government has set out to reduce waste in Australia by thinking of waste as a resource. Invite the class to form groups of three to four students and explain that they will be working together to read through specific sections of the National Waste Policy 2018 to build an overview of what it set out to achieve.

Ensure each student has a copy of the National Waste Policy 2018, and explain they will be looking at this report from page 2 to page 12 (they will focus on the following pages later in this lesson). Depending on age and ability:

Each group could divide the reading of these pages between them (with each student focusing on around three pages, depending on the volume of text)
Or you could assign groups with different sections (e.g. 2-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10).

Direct students to the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet). Students should aim to respond to each question as they are reading them.

Note down the key points in the section that you read (at least three)
Note down one thing that surprised you
Note down one thing that you didn’t understand
In your opinion, what is the intended impact of this policy?
What does this document say about who is responsible for addressing waste?

Step 2.

Once students have completed their reading and responded to each of the questions, invite them to help their classmates build a deeper understanding of the National Waste Policy 2018 by taking turns to work as a class to share what they have discovered with their groups.

Part D: A Circular Solution

Step 1.

Now explain to students that they will be focusing on the idea of a circular economy and how it relates to waste. Begin by posing the following question to the class:

What is a circular economy?

Invite students to suggest what they already know about it or what they think it might mean, based on what they read in the National Waste Policy 2018.

Clarify student understanding with the following definition:

“Looking beyond the current take-make-waste extractive industrial model, a circular economy aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. It entails gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, and designing waste out of the system. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural, and social capital. It is based on three principles:

Design out waste and pollution
Keep products and materials in use
Regenerate natural systems”

(Source)

You will now watch part of a clip that helps explain how a circular economy might look. As they watch ask students to make notes of anything they find important or interesting:

Re-thinking Progress: The Circular Economy (https://youtu.be/zCRKvDyyHmI)

Note: Watch until 2:14. If students are interested, you could watch the remainder of the clip after this activity.

Once complete, students can work individually or in pairs to respond to the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet). Some suggested answers are provided below:

How does a circular model differ to a linear model?
Suggested answer: In a linear model, the products we consume are used then disposed of as waste. In a circular model, the products we consume are used and then the waste associated with these products is collected to make new products. Alternatively, the products we consume are created in such a way that if they are disposed of they become part of a natural process of biodegradation.

You could also share this Circular Linear Economy Image with students to help them develop their answers.

What are some of the problems associated with a linear model?
Suggested answer: The linear model creates a lot of waste that harms people and our environment, and requires the use of scarce and finite natural resources.
What are some benefits associated with a circular model?
Suggested answer: The circular model helps protect scarce and finite natural resources by reusing the resources required to make products. In addition, less waste is produced that may harm our environment.
How would a circular model help to address the waste crisis?
Suggested answer: If all the items that we used were designed according to the principle of a circular economy, we would never really be throwing anything out. Any waste that we created would be seen as an important resource to be turned into new products.

Once complete, invite student volunteers to share their thoughts with the class. Use the answers above to clarify student understanding.

Step 2.

Students will now focus on the five principles that underpin waste management, recycling and resource recovery in a circular economy, as described in the National Waste Policy 2018.

Divide the class into groups of three to four and direct students to page 11 of the National Waste Policy 2018 document. This page includes a summary of the five principles. However, from pages 13 to 16 students will find these principles described in more detail – ensure students can locate these principles as they will need to refer to these in the next activity.

Step 3.

Each group now needs to find two or three companies which have adopted a circular economy model (you could adjust the number of companies groups have to find according to age and ability). Students should analyse what these companies do against the principles used in the National Waste Policy 2018. For each principle they should try to find out what their chosen company is trying to do to address this principle.

Students could find their own businesses or choose one from this link.

Groups can create a table like the one below (or use the one on the Student Worksheet) to record the results of their research. Explain to students that it may be that they don’t find information for every cell in the table; instead the aim is to record information that is readily available and relevant. For example:

Company: Winnow (https://www.winnowsolutions.com/)
Principle 1. Avoid waste	e.g. Winnow helps professional kitchens reduce the amount of waste they create by weighing and photographing each item of food waste. This helps these kitchens to identify which types of food are most often wasted which then means food waste reduction actions can be targeted.
Principle 2. Improve resource recovery
Principle 3. Increase use of recycled material and build demand and markets for recycled products
Principle 4. Better manage material flows to benefit human health, the environment and the economy
Principle 5. Improve information to support innovation, guide investment and enable informed consumer decisions

Step 4.

Once students have had time to research these businesses and record their responses in their tables, allow students time to share the results of their research with the class. This could be done with groups teaming up to share their ideas, representatives from groups moving to new groups, or sharing with the whole class.

Close this activity by inviting students to participate in a class discussion around the following:

Which of the examples you looked at most closely aligned with the principles of a circular economy model? Explain your answer.
Can you think of any ways that the companies that you looked at could improve the way they align with the circular economy model?
What do you think are the opportunities and risks of the circular economy for businesses?
What do you think are the opportunities or risks of the circular economy for governments?
What do you think are the opportunities or risks of the circular economy for consumers?

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to respond to the following (also available on the Student Worksheet):

I used to think…
But now I think…

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

War On Waste - A Circular Economy For Waste

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