Activity 5 Don't throw that away - Zero Waste SA - SA.Gov.au

Activity 5 Don’t throw that awayRecyclingContextOne of our greatest challenges in the coming years is to learn to enjoy and appreciatethe quality of our lives by wasting less and caring more. We must more carefully aligneconomic improvement and ecological sustainability, and measure our quality of lifeagainst the quality of our, and our children’s, future environment. South Australianscan continue to contribute to the process, reap the benefits of more consideredattitudes to consumption and waste, and lead the way to a healthier environmentand a more sustainable future.Resources required• ‘Don’t Throw That Away!’ Little Green Books, 2010, a lift-the-flap book about recycling and reusing.• common household items that could be reused• craft materials including glue, paint, glitter and scissors• ‘3Rs’ from Jack Johnson’s ‘Curious George’ album – optionalWhat to doRead students the story and then:Have students make their own flap with an item on the front and its reuse underneath.From the book, make:• a jar into a vase• a plastic bottle into a bird feeder• cans into instruments• old clothes into costumes/dress-ups• a box into a toy car.Other ideas:• paper plates into masks• egg cartons into caterpillars and ants, or, plant pots to hold seedlings• metal bottle tops into an instrument• out-of-date rice in a plastic jar to make a shaker (maraca)• make a whole band of instruments from reusables and then sing along to ‘3Rs’ by Jack Johnson• bottle tops into collages or necklaces• out-of-date pasta into necklaces• pirate hats from newspaper• cans into decorated pencil tins for desks• cans or paper cups into telephones• cardboard boxes into dioramas• old paper into decorated wrapping paper (paint, colour, crayon or even stamp with vegetable cut outs – and thencompost the vegies).Recycle Right is a program delivered by Zero Waste SA www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au | 19

Activity 5 Don’t throw that away. . .RecyclingBackground InformationThe waste management hierarchy is the international guide for prioritising waste management practices to achieveoptimal environmental outcomes. It sets out the preferred order of waste management practices.Higher up the hierarchyThe further activity moves up the waste management hierarchy, the more greenhouse gains there are to be made.Reuse requires less energy than recycling, although designs which areboth adaptable and durable are essential to its success. Other factors,such as the consumer desire for ‘newness’, can conspire against reuse.There are many ways that clothes, cars, books, buildings and othermaterials are currently reused, such as:• trash and treasure markets• e-bay• Freecycle swap sites.Reuse is already part of our society, so there is an existing precedent tobuild on.Reduce requires less energy again, by designing out waste before it iscreated. Waste, in all its guises, is an indicator that systems and processescould be designed better. It makes no sense to pay both financial andenergy/greenhouse costs for waste twice – first to create it, then to dispose of it.Avoid is the ultimate zero waste challenge: the highest point on the hierarchy. The volume and rate at whichresources are being channelled through the human economy needs to be slowed, and we must recognise that allour material goods have an energy ‘price tag’.The zero waste and climate change agenda can be effectively tackled only with a move beyond recycling into thelargely uncharted territory of the higher end of the hierarchy – reuse, reduce and avoid – with a particular emphasison eco-efficiency (the same or greater utility from less material input).Happy Mothers Day20 | Recycle Right is a program delivered by Zero Waste SA www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au

RecyclingRecycling tipsLids can berecycled now!REALLY!See ‘The truth about plastics’fact sheet at zerowaste.sa.gov.aufor information on how!Recycle Right is a program delivered by Zero Waste SA www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au | 21