R E C Y C L I N G MONROE COUNTY 4-H BEGINNER GRADES 3-5

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1 R E C Y C L I N G MONROE COUNTY 4-H BEGINNER GRADES 3-5 We want to acknowledge Clay County, Vermillion County and Franklin County Extension for development of this project book. 1

2 Record Sheet required RECYCLING PROJECT Exhibit Requirements for all divisions: Exhibit an article or display made of any discarded items. Include a brief description of your exhibit. Projects will be judged on creativity and originality. Exhibit a poster showing what you have learned about recycling. Please refer to the general poster rules. Complete the Home Survey and Record Sheet, included in the manuals or available on the Purdue Extension-Monroe County Webpage. Display these with your exhibit. No State Fair Entry In the 4-H Recycling project, you ll learn to redefine waste by finding alternative uses for items. Recycling projects can be thought of as either OLD RECYCLING or MODERN DAY RECYCLING. Examples might include: Quilts from old clothing Rag rugs Feed sack dish towels Clothing out of curtains Curtains out of old sheets Milk crate shelving Metal art Barn siding picture frames 2-liter bottle bird feeders candle holders from jars, etc. Wind chimes from silverware, etc. BE CREATIVE!!! Exhibits will be judged based on originality, creativity, and neatness. Recycling means the reuse of materials that we have thrown away. We can recycle glass, aluminum, tin, paper, plastics and many other materials. Recycling can mean shredding old cans and cars and melting the pieces to make new metal for new cans and new cars. It can also mean crushing bottles into tiny glass bits and melting these bits to make new glass. There are two main reasons for recycling: 1. America is running out of raw materials to make new products. By using the same materials over and over again, we save our natural resources. 2. Recycling helps us eliminate some of our growing piles of trash. When we throw used bottles and cans away, they become trash. Since there are more people in America today, there is also much more trash. Getting rid of that trash is one of our biggest problems. By recycling, we reuse our trash, which solves part of the problem. 2

DID YOU KNOW? THAT Each person in Indiana throws away 4½ pounds of garbage per day? THAT More than 50%, or half, of our waste is made up of paper? Paper was invented by the Chinese.

3 DID YOU KNOW? THAT Each person in Indiana throws away 4½ pounds of garbage per day? THAT More than 50%, or half, of our waste is made up of paper? Paper was invented by the Chinese. Paper is a thin tissue made of wood or other fiber. The individual fibers are separated by a mechanical action (beating or pulping) and put on a mold suspended in water. It was the Chinese who invented the paper mold, an instrument capable of picking up the fibers and allowing the water to escape, leaving the interwoven fibers. When dried and pressed, they become paper. Paper has contributed to the development of our culture in many ways. THAT Billions of beverage containers are thrown away each year, either on the roadside as litter or into trash cans as garbage. Beverage containers account for approximately 12% of the waste and more than 40% of the litter. Don t Toss that Sack.. You can take it back Reusable shopping bags: the final frontier. Actually, the idea is so practical it should be a first thought for anyone trying to cut back on waste. Why accumulate a new bag with every day s purchases? Collect a small stockpile of sacks from the grocery or department store, then shop with them repeatedly until they wear out. Or better yet, buy permanent nylon mesh or canvas shopping bags and keep them in the car, ready for shopping at a moments notice. Health department officials said there s no danger of spreading disease by reusing sacks for food you ll be taking home to cook or clean. Bringing bags from home would also help circumvent that great environmental dilemma: paper vs. plastic. Paper decays faster than plastic after disposal; but it weighs more, takes up more space in landfills and requires the destruction of trees. Plastic is less bulky and its lack of disintegration might even make landfills safer, but it stays intact longer as litter and is made of valuable petroleum. In any case, researchers who study garbage now tell us that even our discarded newspapers and corncobs live on indefinitely in landfills. The safest landfills don t allow much water or air to penetrate, and those are necessities of most natural decay. Confused? Just reuse, even using a bag twice reduces half your typical waste. It makes good sense 3

4 LEARN THE 5 R S! REDUCE the amount of waste we produce buy only what you need buy economy size or bulk packaging avoid disposable products bring your own paper, plastic, or cloth bags to the grocery store choose boxes with gray interior (recycled paperboard) Iook for recycle symbol or the words made from recycled materials when shopping choose products packaged in recyclable materials when possible, choose product packaging that is easiest to recycle (such as glass instead of plastic) REUSE as much as possible. use products that are made to be used many times, such as cloth diapers, cloth napkins, sponges, towels and rags, dishes, rechargeable batteries use the blank back sides of paper for scratch paper purchase used goods at second hand stores, garage sales, and flea markets to eliminate unnecessary production REJECT over packaging and environmentally hazardous products avoid over-packaged goods avoid non-recyclable packaging and containers choose non-aerosol spray containers avoid disposable products REPAIR broken items instead of replacing them mend clothes repair broken appliances make repairs promptly, before damage progresses service vehicles regularly to keep in good condition RECYCLE the products that are recyclable. identify the recycling centers in your community identify the garages and service stations in your area that will accept and recycle used motor oil identify local businesses (doctors, dentists, nursing homes, daycares) which accept used magazines donate used clothing, furniture, etc. to thrift shops have a neighborhood/family garage sale annually to recycle unwanted items trade in old appliances and vehicles when possible be familiar with recyclable materials: glass, aluminum, newspaper, etc. 4

5 RECYCLING Recycling. It's been in the news a lot. We've been told that it is the responsible thing to do, but why is it? Recycling conserves natural resources, saves energy, and reduces the amount of trash going to landfills. Conserving our natural resources doesn't mean not using them, it means using them wisely and sparingly. Recycling involves collecting reusable materials that have been thrown away, processing, and distributing them for reuse. In most cases, it takes less energy to prepare materials for reuse than to produce new items. Natural resources, such as trees, water, metal ores, and oil are conserved through recycling. Materials made from these natural resources are recycled and used again. Almost everything can be recycled in some way. Major groupings include paper, aluminum, glass, organic materials, and plastics. PAPER Paper is made from wood pulp that comes from trees. It takes pulp from about 3,672 trees to produce the Sunday edition of the Indianapolis Star. Newspapers, white office paper, computer paper, and cardboard boxes can be processed for reuse. Highgrade office paper is especially in demand. On the other hand, it is harder to recycle magazines due to a treatment that makes the pages glossy. Recycled paper is not suitable to all purposes where the strength of the paper is important, such as grocery bags. Long fibers, like these found in wood pulp, give strength but each time paper goes through the recycling process the fibers get shorter. DID YOU KNOW? Americans throw away the equivalent of more than 30 million trees in newsprint each year. ALUMINUM Aluminum is another easily recycled material. When a company recycles an aluminum can, it saves 95% of the energy it would take to produce a new one from bauxite ore. Other forms of aluminum that can be recycled are found in foil, meat cans, pudding containers, pie plates, and TV dinner trays. It is estimated that the average time it takes for an aluminum can to be collected, recycled, and back on the store shelves is 6 weeks! GLASS The natural resources used in production of glass are sand, lime, and soda ash. Making glass from sand requires a great amount of energy, but recycling reduces the energy requirement by 32%. Glass is usually separated into three main colors: clear, green, and brown. Separation is required because reactions between chemicals in a mixture of colored glass leads to bubbles in the finished container, making the glass less stress tolerable. Glass turned in to be recycled is ground into "cullet," melted, and made into new containers. Aluminum and glass are two materials that are 100% recoverable. This means that the total amount of material going into the recycling process is equal to the total amount of material that is produced. 5

6 ORGANIC WASTE Landfills are 18-25% organic in composition. Organic materials are things that were alive once, such as plants and animals. Some of these materials like leaves, grass clippings, and vegetable scraps, can be recycled through composting. Composting involves collecting yard waste into a pile in one corner of your yard. By turning it with a rake once in a while, you will encourage microorganisms and other tiny animals in the ground to break down the plant fibers and turn it into soil again. Once the material has been composted, it can be used around flowers, trees, and in your garden for mulch. liter bottles and plastic milk jugs, are acceptable for recycling. The main disadvantages to recycling plastics is that there are so many different kinds. In many cases, there are several layers of different types of plastic in one container! Plastics also have the disadvantage, unlike other recyclable materials, in that they cannot be processed for the use they were originally intended. In other words, a plastic 2-liter bottle cannot be recycled to make another plastic 2-liter bottle. However, they can be recycled into such things as plastic lumber and carpet backing PLASTICS Aluminum, glass, and plastics are not biodegradable, which means that microorganisms cannot break them down. Much research is being done on how to recycle plastics, but we still have a long way to go before they can be recycled as easily as glass and aluminum. A few types, like 2- DID YOU KNOW? Every year we make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap the state of Texas. BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION! Hoosiers produce about 14 million tons of garbage a year and bury more than 90% of it in landfills. Even as we produce these massive amounts of waste, we are running out of places to bury it. Ten years ago, about 85 licensed landfills operated in Indiana. There are only approximately 45 left today. The remaining landfills are rapidly reaching capacity, and new facilities are difficult to establish due to widespread public opposition. Many people feel that recycling is a hassle and not worth the time. Some believe that it is easier to simply throw the garbage away and let it be hauled to a landfill. But many of the things we throw away can be recycled, and recycling is one way to ease our dependency on landfills. If each of us recycled household generated newspaper, glass, aluminum, and plastics, we could reduce the amount of material going into landfills by up to 15%. We can no longer afford to be a throw-away society. Each of us adds to the problem and each of us can contribute to the solution. Recycling requires only a small amount of space and a few seconds a day. Reserve some space under the sink or in the corner of the garage as a home recycling center. Use a cardboard box or grocery bag for cans, another for glass, and another for newspaper. At first you may have to remind yourself not to throw away recyclables. Old habits can be hard to break. But after a few times of putting recyclable items in their proper containers rather than in the garbage, you will be on the way to creating new, recycling-conscious habits. 6

PREPARING YOUR RECYCLABLES To make it easier on recycling centers, they appreciate your separating your recyclables before arrival. This is easily done in bags or boxes.

OFFICE PAPER: This generally refers to plain white paper, not colored paper. NEWSPAPER: Newsprint only. Slick, glossy ads should not be included in newspaper.

Glass containers should be rinsed and free from lids & neckrings. It is not necessary to remove the labels. Broken glass is not preferred.

7 PREPARING YOUR RECYCLABLES To make it easier on recycling centers, they appreciate your separating your recyclables before arrival. This is easily done in bags or boxes. ALUMINUM CANS: Most common aluminum cans are Pop cans or similar containers. Be sure all of the liquid is out. Can be crushed or not. OFFICE PAPER: This generally refers to plain white paper, not colored paper. NEWSPAPER: Newsprint only. Slick, glossy ads should not be included in newspaper. PLASTICS: Look for the recycling symbol and separate by the number indicated in the center. GLASS: It is helpful to have glass separated into the 3 color categories. Glass containers should be rinsed and free from lids & neckrings. It is not necessary to remove the labels. Broken glass is not preferred. CORRUGATED CARDBOARD: Boxes should be flattened and should not have a plastic coating. FOOD CANS: These should be rinsed. It is helpful but not necessary to remove the labels. SCRAP METAL: Loose or in box PAPERBOARD: Cereal boxes are an example. Food boxes that have a clear plastic window (such as macaroni) should not be included because there are two different materials. Boxes should be flattened and bundled. MAGAZINES/CATALOGS: Should be bundled together. MIXED PAPER: Refers to household paper not fitting other mentioned categories. JUNK MAIL: Have boxed/bagged together. BROWN GROCERY BAGS: Use these to help keep your recyclables separated and then recycle them! 7

ONE MAN'S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE STOP! THINK!! Before you throw that in the trash can, is it really trash? Could it be recycled? Could it be reused? Is it really broken? Can it be mended?

Pieces out of picture puzzles, Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks, Twists of wires, worn out tires, Paper bags and broken bricks.

8 ONE MAN'S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE STOP! THINK!! Before you throw that in the trash can, is it really trash? Could it be recycled? Could it be reused? Is it really broken? Can it be mended? Could it be given away? HECTOR THE COLLECTOR by Shel Silverstein Hector the Collector Collected bits of string, Collected dolls with broken heads And rusty bells that would not ring. Pieces out of picture puzzles, Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks, Twists of wires, worn out tires, Paper bags and broken bricks. Old chipped vases, half shoelaces, Gatlin' guns that wouldn't shoot, Leaky boats that wouldn't float And stopped-up horns that wouldn't toot. Butter knives that had no handles, Copper keys that fit no locks, Rings that were too small for fingers, Dried up leaves and patched-up socks. Worn-out belts that had no tracks, Airplane models, broken bottles, Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks. Hector the Collector Loved these things with all his soul Loved them more than shining diamonds, Loved them more than glistenin' gold. Hector called to all the people, Come and share my treasure trunk! And all the silly sightless people Came and looked and called it junk. Text and illustrations from Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Reprinted by permission from Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. 8

9 TRUE RECYCLING To be a true recycler, you must buy recycled goods and products packaged in recycled material whenever possible. Here are the common RECYCLING symbols to watch for: This indicates that the package is recyclable. This indicates that the package is made from recycled paper/products. 9

10 THE CAN MAN Hi! Let me introduce myself. I am an aluminum can. My name is Canbe Recycled, and I m here to tell you what happens when I meet the Can Man. If you want to change the way you look, what do you do? Do you change clothes? Do you change makeup? When you want to buy new clothes, where do you go? To a store or the mall? When we beverage cans want to change our appearance, we do it a little differently - and we depend on people like you to help us. Let me explain by telling you about the first time I met the Can Man. It was a warm day, and I was resting in the grass after someone had finished drinking my soda pop and tossed me there. I was getting hot and afraid someone might kick me or throw me in a trash can never to be seen again. Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a man saying, What have we here? A throw-away can? You can t lie in my yard! Well, Pete Neat picked me up and took me to his garage where he had a big trash bag sitting in a box. I was plenty scared, I tell you! Don t be afraid, little can, he said, I ll take you to the Can Man and get you some new clothes. We ll just recycle you. Won t that be nice? Then he put me into the bag with a lot of other cans like myself. I didn t know what recycle meant, but I liked the idea of new clothes. The next day, Mr. Neat took all of us to what he called a recycling center where we met the Can Man. All of us were weighed, and Mr. Neat got some money for taking us there. Goodbye, cans, he said, I hope you like your new clothes. Away he went. After he left, we were placed on a big moving belt and we passed under a magnet. All of us aluminum cans moved right over the top, but a few steel cans that were there by mistake were attracted by the magnet and were dropped away from us. At the end of the ride, we all went into a shredder where we were cut up into little pieces so we would take up less space. I felt a little funny, but it didn t hurt a bit. Next we went into something called a smelter where we were melted into pure aluminum. Do you know that this process saves 95% of the energy needed to make new aluminum from bauxite ore? And the reused aluminum is just as good as new metal! Once we were liquid metal, we got our new clothes, that is, we were formed into new products. I became a can again, but some of my friends became aluminum foil, and some became baking pans and TV dinner trays. Tomorrow I will go to the beverage company to be filled and taken to the store for you to buy, but today I wanted to explain to you about the Can Man, and how you can help all of us aluminum products get new clothes. That s what recycling means - it means to save natural resources by giving them new clothes and suing them again. When we throw away, we waste. All aluminum is recyclable. It takes only 24 cans to make a pound; if several of you would work together, you could collect lots of cans and other things made of aluminum. I guess that s all I wanted to tell you today - except that we cans, just like you, really love to get new clothes. 10

11 When you see us lying around empty, please recycle us so we can have new clothes to wear. Otherwise, we get buried in landfills or we become ugly litter in yards and streets. We re counting on you to help clean up the environment, to save landfill space and to save natural resources all at the same time by recycling. So pick me up the next time you see me. UNDERSTANDING RECYCLING Directions: For questions 1-5, put the letter of the correct answer in the blank to the left of each question. There is one best answer for each question. Then write out answers to questions The Can Man represents: (a) a recyclable can; (b) the person who saves cans; (c) the person who recycles cans to make them new again; (d) the person who changes clothes. 2. Canbe Recycled is: (a) the narrator of the story; (b) an aluminum can; (c) a recycling machine; (d) a and b 3. As Canbe Recycled was placed with other cans, they moved up a belt to be separated from tinned cans and bimetal cans by a: (a) magnet; (b) shredder; (c) water; (d) b and c. 4. When Canbe Recycled talks about getting new clothes, this is a metaphor for: (a) shredding cans; (b) the recycling process; (c) saving energy; (d) looking funny. 5. When you recycle cans, you: (a) save landfill space; (b) are littering; (c) save scarce resources; (d) a and c. 6. What is a narrator as mentioned in question 2 above? 7. The metaphor in this story could be stated as follows: Recycling is compared to: 8. List other metaphors you can think of for recycling. (a) Recycling can be compared to: (b) Recycling can be compared to: 11

12 SURE THING CAN IDENTIFICATION ALUMINUM CAN Is NOT attracted by magnet. Almost all of these cans say All Aluminum Can on the side. No seam. If the bottom of the can is round and shiny, then it is aluminum. Shiny, silver, smooth. Lightweight. Aluminum cans, if you look closely, are finely brushed on the bottom. Printing is usually directly on the can as opposed to a paper label. BIMETAL CAN Is attracted by magnet. Bottom has a rim. If you look closely, the bottom is not finely brushed. It is usually spray painted. It may or may not have a seam. TINNED STEEL CAN Is attracted by magnet. Has a seam. Is heavier weight than aluminum. Usually has rings or ribbing on the can. Normally has a paper label. EXTRUDED STEEL CANS Is attracted by magnet. (This is the only reliable test) Has no seam. Is lightweight. Has no bottom rim. 12

CRAFT IDEAS FROM TRASH BIRD FEEDERS: Materials: Clean household containers such as milk, detergent, bleach bottles, milk cartons, coffee cans, pie tins, onion sacks, etc.

13 CRAFT IDEAS FROM TRASH BIRD FEEDERS: Materials: Clean household containers such as milk, detergent, bleach bottles, milk cartons, coffee cans, pie tins, onion sacks, etc. mustard jar lid (for tracing circles) sticks or dowels for perches small log bottle caps screw-eye knife hammer nails wirecutters pencil ruler light wire coat hanger Milk Jug Feeder PROCEDURE Create bird feeders out of clean household containers using the drawings for models. Ask an adult to help you with the cutting. Don't forget to punch small drain holes in the bottom of the containers to let rain water out. COMMUNITY SERVICE Encourage your club to make bird feeders and donate them to a local nursing home. Be sure to explain your 4-H Recycling project to them. Offer to maintain (keep feed in them) the feeders for the residents. Detergent Bottle Feeder 13

14 Home Survey Name 1. Make a list of all the disposable products that you and your family buy in two weeks. For additional space continue your list on the back. 2. How many of these products are made of: wood? metal? cellophane? cardboard? fabric? paper? plastic? other materials? glass? food? styrofoam? 3. What kinds of packages did they come in? 4. Which items are biodegradable? Place a b beside those that are biodegradable. 5. Can you think of other reusable products you could buy instead of throw aways? 6. Which of these products do you and your family recycle? How do you recycle them? 7. Which of these products could you recycle that you and your family don't already recycle? 8. Besides buying reusable products and recycling, what other ways can you work to reduce the amount of materials wasted in our country today? 14

And, we re running out of landfill sites. Some communities now spend a lot of tax dollars to truck their trash out of state.

And, we re running out of landfill sites. Some communities now spend a lot of tax dollars to truck their trash out of state. W W Americans use more stuff than anyone on earth. Each of us throws hen you throw something away, it disappears from your home-but not from the earth. Most of it is trucked to landfills-and there it stays.