Clean Up Australia - Don't Waste It: Year 7 & 8

Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students examine and weigh the waste that has been collected over one week from the teacher’s household. They will also bring to class one item of packaging that they think is excessive. Students will then be asked to think critically about the amount of packaging that is used to wrap the things we use every day and to think creatively about how this packaging could be reused. This activity is in two parts and requires some preparation to collect one week’s worth of rubbish and examples of excessive packaging.

Following this lesson plan is an ideal way for your school to take part in Schools Clean Up Day or a Clean Up on any day of the year. You’ll be joining thousands of amazing teachers in making a difference and creating positive environmental change.

Learning intentions:

Students learn that we create a lot of waste in our daily lives
Students understand that we can recycle much of this waste
Students understand that we can think carefully about what we buy so that we aren’t contributing unnecessarily to the waste problem.

21st century skills:

Community Engagement Critical Thinking Problem Finding Problem Solving

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content description:

Year 7 Mathematics

Investigate, interpret and analyse graphs from authentic data (ACMNA180)

Year 7 Science

Some of Earth’s resources are renewable, but others are non-renewable (ACSSU116)
Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS125)

Year 8 Mathematics

Choose appropriate units of measurement for area and volume and convert from one unit to another (ACMMG195)

Year 8 Science

Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS140)
Construct and use a range of representations, including graphs, keys and models to represent and analyse patterns or relationships, including using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS144)
Summarise data, from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and use scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusions (ACSIS145)

Syllabus outcomes: SC4-5WS, SC4-6WS, SC4-7WS, SC4-12ES.

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.3, OI.8.

Time required: 60 mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: High – collect waste items, assist students in the activity.

Resources required:

Art and craft materials
Device with internet access
Graph paper
Large buckets
Plastic bags
Scales
Waste items for one week (teacher to collect)
Waste Hierarchy
Writing materials.

Safety: Refer to your Waste Safety Code. The teacher should ensure that all items used in the activity are clean and safe. Students sorting waste should use gloves and tongs.

Keywords: Waste, recycling, packaging, home, weight.

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Teacher Preparation

Learning intention: Students will...

... learn that we create a lot of waste in our daily lives
... understand that we can recycle much of this waste
... understand that we can think carefully about what we buy so that we aren’t contributing unnecessarily to the waste problem.

Success criteria: Students can...

... assess and correctly sort household waste
... analyse waste materials for excessive packaging
... make recommendations for how packaging could be improved based on the principles in the Waste Hierarchy.

Teacher content information: In this activity students will be exploring waste and how to reduce the impact of waste on our environment. A useful tool to help you understand the actions you can take around waste could be the following waste hierarchy image (also available here):

Avoid - This means not doing or buying something in order to cut the waste you will produce.
Reduce - This means buying and using things more caref

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Student Worksheet

Thought Starter: When you throw something 'away' - where is away?

Activity 1. Weighing in

Weigh the household waste and record your answers below.

Type of waste	Weight of this type (grams)
Recyclable metal
Non-recyclable metal
Recyclable plastic
Non-recyclable plastic
Recyclable paper and cardboard
Non-recyclable paper and cardboard
Rubbish
Total

Graph your results.

Answer the following questions about the weight of the waste:

1. How much of the waste is recyclable? (expressed as a percent of the total weight)

2. How much of it is non-recyclable? (expressed as a percent of the total weight)

3. Of the waste that is non-recyclable, where does most of it come from? From food and drink packaging or from somewhere else?

4. Of the waste that is recyclable, where does most of it come from?

5. Were there any types of waste that you found difficult to p

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Activity: Clean Up Australia – Don’t Waste It: Year 7 & 8