Students will be assigned to track their daily trash for a period of seven (7) days to determine not only the volume that each individual disposes of, but rather of the variety that is being disposed of and what steps can be taken by each individual to alleviate our planet Earth from having the ongoing burden of dealing with our shortcomings on a daily basis.
Students will be expected to classify their daily trash into two categories: Recyclables and Non-Recyclables. The trash will range from a simple piece of paper to a plastic bottle to a full garbage bag as it has been estimated that a person puts out a daily average of 4.5 pounds (2.04 kilograms) of solid waste as 2008 [source:EPA].
Each student shall use a graphic organizer in the form of a T-chart and list all the disposal materials that s/he considers a waste product that can no longer be put to IMMEDIATE use and classify it as a Recyclable item or a Non-Recyclable item for each of the seven days. Once the seven-day period has been completed, each student will embark upon the graphing and analysis of his/her “trashy” document, reflecting upon all seven days and stating what steps (supported by detailed examples) can be taken to produce less of the 4.5 lbs of trash each day.
Each student will be given a rubric to understand the evaluation process!