“Being Resource-ful”

Your Mission

Don’t empty the trash!

Is taking out the garbage one of your chores? Then hold it right there! You’re going to learn how to throw out less trash!

Talkin’ Trash

There are a lot of people in the world—more than six billion! More people create more trash.

Trash is a yucky thing to think about, isn’t it? It’s smelly and messy. But that’s not the worst thing about trash. The worst thing is that there’s too much of it. Trash ends up in landfills. Matter of fact, you could almost call them “landfulls”—there’s barely any room left in some landfills! It’s important that people throw away less trash.

Kids in one community stopped the “Garbage Gremlin” by reducing, reusing, and recycling their garbage. Get the goods on how you can do the same in your community at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Web site (http://www.epa.gov/kids/gremlin.htm).

Package Deal

One way to reduce the amount of trash is to buy items that don’t have much packaging. The last time you went to the grocery store, you probably bought something that had just one package, such as a carton of milk or a hunk of cheese wrapped in plastic. You probably also bought items with “extra” packaging, maybe cookies in a plastic tray, sealed in cellophane, inside a box. Cereal is sometimes boxed in a large cardboard box with a plastic bag inside. Other cereals are packaged in a simple bag.

From Trash to Treasure

Ever heard the expression “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”? It means that some people enjoy reusing items that other people have thrown away. Reusing things is another great way to reduce the amount of trash going to landfills. Peek into a trash can in your house. Pick out something like a margarine tub or an empty box of cereal. Clean it and take it to class.

How can you use that margarine tub again? Be creative—there are probably lots of places around the house where it would be nice to have a container in which to store things.

Now You’re Really Talkin’ Trash!

Let your friends in on the great ways you’ve found to avoid taking out the trash! With your classmates, make a poster showing everything you’ve learned.

Taking Action

If the experience you just had makes you want to recycle, go for it! You can recycle at school, at home, in your church or synagogue—anywhere you’ve seen trash being thrown out! You can find dozens of ideas online at Student Web Links. If you’ve got an idea for recycling, tell your teacher, your family, or your friend. You can truly make a difference!

Adapted from “Reduce and Reuse What You Produce” from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. (http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/
Lessons/Lessons.htm).

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