Connect
Where does trash go when you throw it away? Is there really an ‘away?’ Watch this video from The Story of Stuff: "Where Does Your Trash End Up?" to learn more.
Explore
Before you can work on reducing your waste at school, you need to know how much waste you produce, what types of waste you produce, and what goes into producing it. That’s where the waste audit comes in. Complete a waste audit. Ask your teacher to help with the audit. Then, review the data. Determine what waste reduction strategies could be best put to use at your school.
Engage
Here are 10 ideas to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Ask an adult to locate the Trex Plastic Recycling website and sign your school up for participation! During the challenge period, your school will collect as much clean plastic film—such as grocery bags—as possible. When you are done, your school will weigh the plastic and send it to Trex.
Terracycle helps you recycle products that otherwise go in the landfill—such as drink and food pouches. Your family, your classroom, or your school can have a single item collection or multiple items! Work with an adult to determine which Terracycle program is right for you!
Crayola Colorcycle provides an opportunity to responsibly dispose of old plastic markers.
This film was produced by Kaleidoscope Futures Lan and Stand Up 8 Productions.
Learn more about using rain water in the video below from PBS Kids!
Learn about rain gardens in the videos below.
Learn more with Compost Crusader and The Green Team in the videos below. Ask your teacher for resources to teach others about composting!
In this video, Reading Rainbow's LaVar Burton shows what happens to the things that we recycle.
Watch the video below from Plastic Oceans International:
Learn about one Wisconsinite who took action to start a recycling revolution in this video from Wisconsin PBS Education.