Author: Carrie Gibbons

Carrie Gibbons is an AmeriCorps member who has been teaching businesses, schools and churches how to reduce their waste. She is in the Zero Waste Program at Rural Action.

She loves the outdoors! Her favorite things to do there are hike, canoe and lie down under the stars :)

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Distance Learning Young Naturalists Club

Why can I recycle this, but not that?

What ideas did you come up with to reduce and reuse your waste last time? Reducing and reusing are the best ways to make less waste. If you can’t do either of those things, it’s time to recycle.

When something is recycled, it can stay in use because it gets a new life.

The items that get a new life show up on our store shelves. If we buy those instead of things made from all new material, we will end up using less of earth’s precious materials.

The packaging will usually tell you if an item is made from recycled materials. Here are some things commonly made from recycled material:

Continue reading “Why can I recycle this, but not that?”
Categories
Distance Learning Young Naturalists Club

What’s even better than recycling?

Hello Young Naturalists!

This week is all about waste and how to make make less of it!  We will learn how to practice the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)--even if you think you already recycle.

First, we have to understand just what waste is! You’ll see that waste has changed over time and that it can be challenging to responsibly manage our waste.

We’ll challenge you to the most creative ‘reuse’ ideas you can think of. And there are instructions to make fun game that you can play alone or with your friends.

Then, you can test your recycling know-how!

Waste in Our World

Let’s talk about it…

What Did Waste Look Like Way in the Past?

Most of the waste this man produced could decompose or be reused. Same for the horse. Photo: “HorseBuggy_MainST_c1902_2” by Small Town OK

In the “olden days,” our waste looked different than it does now.

Before the invention of plastic and many chemicals used today, people’s waste was mostly made from natural types of things. Basic things. When they were thrown away, they could pretty easily “biodegrade” (safely break down in the environment).

Continue reading “What’s even better than recycling?”