Waste

What a load of rubbish!

Each year we produce enough waste to fill dustbins stretching from the UK to the moon.

Our resources are running out. And the amount we use is having a damaging effect on our environment. But instead of making the most of what we have, we are trapped in a cycle of chucking out the old and buying new.

The problem is:

• we make too much stuff
• we throw too much away.

And the burning of fossil fuels used in creating new products and disposing of waste is contributing to climate change.

Waste Disposal

Most of our waste is burned or buried.

• Incineration:
  • wasteful of resources and energy
  • damaging for recycling
  • causes pollution.
• Landfill:
  • releases climate change gases
  • threatens our quality of life.

What we can do

• Reduce - create less waste in the first place.
• Reuse - use something more than once before you throw it away.
• Recycle - turn old goods into new ones.

Find out more about waste.

Waste in the classroom

There are many ways to tackle waste in the classroom. From reusing waste to junk model in art to learning about past methods of waste disposal in history.

Here's a list of National Curriculum subjects that waste can fit into:

• Art
• Citizenship
• Design and technology
• English
• Geography
• History
• Maths
• Science.

For more ideas and downloadable lesson plans, visit our resource page.

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