Lesson: Piling Up

Ask students what they think happens to an item put in a recycling bin compared with an item tossed in the trash. As a class, construct a circular fl owchart that represents the ideal recycling process. (For example: An aluminum can is produced → used → put in a recycling bin → brought to a recycling center → cleaned and processed → the recovered aluminum is used to produce a new can.) Compare that with a linear process for an item that goes in the trash. (For example: A plastic bottle is made → used → thrown away → dumped in a landfill → the plastic breaks down slowly.)

Ask students to share experiences with recycling. Do they find it difficult to know what items can and can’t be recycled? Is it easy to find recycling bins in their community? Watch the video “Follow That Bottle!” Discuss what you learned and update the recycling fl owchart if needed.

Read the article’s introduction aloud. Then assign groups one visual, graph, or sidebar to analyze. Prompt them to discuss claims they can make about recycling based on that data and information. Reconvene and have that group share claims and the evidence that supports each claim. Have students complete the “Recycling by the Numbers” skills sheet. Then discuss their answers as a class. Refer to the fl owchart from Step 1 and note how the reality of recycling differs from the ideal process.

Have students read the paired text “A Wasteful History” to find out more about plastic recycling. When everyone has finished reading, ask: What prompted the development of recycling? What motivated different groups, like the public or businesses, to recycle? What changes would improve the recycling process?

Have students complete the article’s “Check for Understanding.” Ask for volunteers to share conclusions they have drawn about recycling in the U.S. Hand out the “Construct a Claim” skills sheet, and have students write and support a claim about recycling.

⇨ VIDEO EXTRA: Watch a video to find out what happens to recycled waste.