Family Activity: Tracking Your Trash
Extend what your students have learned at home by having them keep track of how much waste their families produce during a day. Students will discuss the results in class and come up with a family action plan to reduce home plastic waste.
OBJECTIVE
Students will discover how much plastic waste families produce during an easy multiday observation.
MATERIALS
Tracking Your Trash Activity Printable 1 (PDF) and The Plastic Plan Activity Printable 2 (PDF)
DIRECTIONS
Tell students they are going to be tracking all the plastic waste that is produced in their homes for one day. Then they will come up with a plan to reduce their family's plastic waste!
DAY ONE:
Students will keep track all of the plastic waste generated on a“normal”day, such as plastic juice jugs, bottled water, and milk cartons using Tracking Your Trash Activity Printable 1 (PDF).
DAY TWO:
Have students bring the results from Day 1 back to class to share. Were students surprised by how much waste their families produced?
What plastic materials were thrown away the most? Have students make suggestions as to how they can minimize plastic waste and write them on the board. Divide ideas into three categories: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE.
Use The Plastic Plan Activity Printable 2 (PDF) to share these ideas with families and develop an action plan to reduce home plastic waste.
DAY THREE:
Have students track trash for another day and try to reduce waste by implementing the family action plan on The Plastic Plan Activity Printable 2 (PDF) .
Ask students to encourage their families to take the FilterForGoodSM pledge !
BONUS!
You can extend your students' trash audit for as long as you like. You may even want to track your class' waste reduction successes! As a class, add up the total number of items thrown away each week, and create a line graph for your classroom bulletin board. Hopefully you will see your line go down and down as your class reduces plastic waste!
ARTICLE
UNIT PLAN
ONLINE ACTIVITY
