Where does our garbage go? What is the difference between a recyclable and non-recyclable item? Pose these important, but often overlooked, questions to your class and invite them to consider the lasting and damaging effects of the...

Students review the garbage/landfill graphs included with the lesson. They discuss the information on the graphs and discuss which garbage products come from their homes. Students collect examples of over packaging to share with class...

Students explore the recycling process. For this recycling lesson, students gain understanding of how garbage is disposed of. Students makes lists of things that can be recycled. Students discuss how animals and plants are damaged by...

Students investigate the types of waste created by people and identify various options for trash disposal. They read and discuss a handout about what a landfill is and the different types of trash, match types of trash with the proper...

Students discuss the differences in the types of garbage. They use these differences to separate a sample of garbage. Partners then investigate the characteristics of landfills by searching on the Internet and by creating your own...

Students work in small groups to redesign the packaging of several common items. They attempt to reach the goal of 25% reduction in packaging materials currently used and explore the impact of various materials and designs in landfills...

Students observe the difference between degradable and non-degradable wastes. They create their own landfill in a jar by adding four or five pieces of garbage and then covering it with dirt and water. They make observations on what they...

Youngsters consider the amount of packaging used in manufacturing food and follow its travels through to the landfill. They brainstorm ways in which to reduce packaging and take a survey at home to evaluate ways they could reduce trash.

In this environmental awareness lesson, students discuss packaging and the importance of using recycled materials in their packaging. Students bring in all sorts of items from home, and brainstorm ways that those items could have been...

Learners develop an understanding of waste and its effects.  In this managing waste lesson students participate in one of a few activities including creating a poster, summarizing an article or writing a research paper. 

Students discuss the "junk mail nuisance" with the teacher and share their opinions on the problem. Students collect a week's worth of junk mail, bring to class and complete a chart about the amount and weight. Students then complete an...

Students work in cooperative groups to estimate how long trash lasts in a landfill. They study environmental consequences of not recycling and use graph-making software to create a graph that illustrates the lifespan of trash items...

Students observe the effects of water on four different packing materials to determine which ones are more soluble. They then decide which material would be a good packing material to use for the environment and which may be a bad...

Students catagorize the types of garbage from going through a trash can provided by their teacher. They then chart the items on a graph and propose a solution to reduce the amount of garbage.

Pupils define spill, leaks and landfills and identify the environmental problems caused by them. They complete worksheets and a quiz.

Students create environments to demonstrate how earthworms interact with their surroundings.

Students discuss the risks a landfill may pose to a community. The setting is a school board faced with a decision about whether to close a school until the landfill is capped (a 3 year period). They are asked to determine how they would...

Students examine how a sanitary landfill is constructed, how it functions, and how waste and leachate affects the areas around the landfill. After a discussion about landfills and leachates, students construct a Sanitary Landfill Model...

Fourth graders identify recyclable materials in an experiment. They discover how to properly dispose of these items. They discover how to use materials again that cannot be recycled.

Students create a mini-version of a landfill. They examine the materials they use everyday and determine if they decompose or not. They identify the materials as renewable or nonrenewable as well.

Students accurately construct a model of a sanitary landfill and identify the parts of the landfill and explain their function. They work in grous using a clear plastic box, modeling clay, soil and a variety of garbage to create their...

Learners conduct an experiment in which they bury four objects (apple, lettuce, plastic and styrofoam) in the ground and come back to observe them a month later. They consider what biodegrades and how it affects our planet.

Young scholars identify items commonly sent to landfills and summarize percentages/fractions of different items in landfills Students create a pizza pie graph of landfill components

Explains what landfill gas is, some of its applications, and how Texas is harnessing it as a source of renewable energy.