Recycling
Recycling
Lots of common items (cans, bottles, paper, and cardboard) can be remade into the same thing or into brand new products. Making new items from recycled ones takes less energy and fewer resources than making products from brand new materials.
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According to the RethinkRecycling.com...
"Annually, Minnesota recycles over two million tons of waste, the second best rate in the country. Despite these accomplishments, Minnesotans could recycle much more than we do. Twenty-one percent of our garbage is recyclable paper, and more than half of the people in the state still don't recycle at all."
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Do you recycle? If so, how? (Home, school, etc.)
Does your school have a recycling program?
Can they think about items in your lives that could be recycled?
How Recycling Works!
How Recycling Works! by SciShow Kids
Humans make a lot of garbage every day, and a lot of it ends up in big, smelly dumps. Luckily, there are things we can do to reuse a lot of our garbage and keep the Earth healthy and clean! Join Jessi and find out how!
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Video found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlRVPum9cp4
(Runtime: 4m 9s)
20 Amazing Upcycling Ideas
20 Amazing Upcycling Ideas by Natural Ways.
Activities
As part of the Small Steps to Sustainability Patch, please complete Activity 7 & 8.
Have fun with your family.
Activity 7 - LEARN ABOUT RECYCLING
In 2020, the requirement was to play the Garbology online game to help learn how to reduce your garbage by
recycling everyday items: naturebridge.org/garbology.php.
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Updated in 2024: The Garbology Game is no longer available. Instead, learn the basics of recycling with the Litter Critters! Sort trash into four different litter categories: recyclables, compost, electronic waste, and landfill waste by playing the Recycling Game online at https://www.abcya.com/games/recycling_game.
Activity 8 - CREATE AN UPCYCLED CRAFT
With parent’s permission, create an upcycled item from something found
around the house.
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Some ideas could include:
• Create a planter with a Cabot yogurt or cottage cheese container.
• Use bent or broken silverware for drawer pulls or hooks.
• Turn old silverware into a wind chime.
• Make soap dispensers out of glass bottles. Just stick a pump into the top of any sized glass bottle and you have a reusable soap dispenser.
• Use empty paper towel tubes as a smartphone speaker. Simply cut a hole the size of your phone into the long side of the tube and slide your phone in it.
For more inspiration just search the Internet and let your creative juices flow.
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