Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

That's the motto for: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

---New England Proverb

  • Making decisions when shopping to make less waste.

  • Deciding not to throw something usable away. Instead, repair it, use it in another way, or find someone else who has a use for it;

  • Separating out things from the rest of the trash that can be remanufactured into something useful. This includes material like paper or plastics, or leaves and clippings for green waste composting.

Some things cannot be recycled or composted, and they must be disposed of properly (not littered) in a sanitary landfill.

  • Recycling & Beyond A story that explains how things are recycled; a quiz asks what to do with an item: recycle, compost, give to charity or put in the trash; a quiz on how to reduce waste; and a find-a-word puzzle. (Wisconsin)

  • Bird Feeders Make bird feeders by reusing things like mild jugs, cans, and pie plates

  • Steel Can Recycling The steel can recycling industry sponsors Roscoe’s Recycle Room with useful facts on steel recycling plus activities

From Massachusetts, lessons for the classrooms:

  • Trash to Treasure Students will realize they can reduce the trash load by redefining waste as a potential resource.

  • Graphing Markets for Recyclables Middle or High School students interview recyclers about prices for commodities, distances to be hauled and graph and analyze the results

US EPA Garbage & Recycling Education

  • Adventures of the Garbage Gremlin A clever story of the Gremlin’s Life in Grime that covers solid waste, waste reduction, composting and recycling, and students set up a school-recycling program.

  • Planet Protectors Youthful Planet Protector Detectives star in four interactive stories. (Requires Adobe Reader). Also, there are links to a coloring book and games.

  • Waste No Words Interactive crossword puzzle offers additional information for the correct word.

  • Recycle City For Grades 6-8 students, play the Dumptown Game (requires Shockwave), and explore tips for homes and cities.

Keep America Beautiful (KAB)

  • NYC Solid Waste Educational Resources A long compendium of resources, including book titles, websites, videos, organizations, and a glossary from the New York City Resource Directory for Solid Waste. (For parents, teachers, or upper level students research papers)

  • Recycled Paper, Crafts, and Puzzles A website rich with ideas: edible landfill, worm farm, recycled paper, art from scraps, paper bag creations, holiday crafts, school waste audit, celebration ideas for America Recycles Day. (St. Louis, MO)

California Integrated Waste Management Board (for kids)

Pre-Cycling (Waste Reduction) What to do and not to do to generate less waste

For Colleges and Universities

  • RecycleMania This is a recycling competition at the college and university level that may be a model for high schools and middle schools. Every year participating schools add ideas for generating enthusiasm about recycling.