Science Fenns K-5Grades K to 5
Four bins in a school hallway marked recycle, compost, trash and hazardous, with a child sorting items.

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Recycle and Dispose Right

Where each kind of waste should go.

Lesson 34 of 41

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Before we start

Today’s story

Recycle and Dispose Right

Look in your kitchen trash and you will find cans, jars, paper and food scraps. Where should each one go? Some can be made into new things. Some are safe in a landfill. Some can poison soil and water if they go the wrong way.

Recycling turns old materials into new ones. Aluminum cans can be melted and used again. Paper and cardboard can be pulped. This saves resources and energy. Compost turns food scraps into soil.

Some waste is hazardous. Batteries, paint and motor oil must go to a special collection site. They should never go down a drain or in the ditch. Here are the steps.

See it

Five steps. Every time.

    Hands on

    Sort and Weigh

    30 minutes · Do this with a grown-up nearby

    You need

    • a bag of clean household waste from a week
    • four boxes labeled
    • gloves
    • a kitchen scale
    • notebook

    Do this

    1. Put on gloves.
    2. Sort the waste into recycle, compost, trash and collection site.
    3. Weigh each pile.
    4. Record each weight.
    5. Figure out what share could have been kept out of the trash.
    6. Think about how to cut the trash pile.
    Write or draw: A table with each category, its weight and a note on what could be done differently.

    Watch for: A surprising share is recyclable or compostable. A careful look can shrink the trash pile.

    Safety: Wear gloves and do not touch broken glass or sharp cans. Wash your hands. Have an adult pre-sort anything unsafe.

    Same every time

    Three rules

    Rule 1Never pour hazardous waste down a drain.

    It can reach creeks and groundwater.

    Rule 2Rinse recyclables.

    Food spoils a whole bin.

    Rule 3Check your town's rules.

    Each place recycles different things.

    Grandpa Fenn’s notebook

    Say it like a scientist

    recycle
    To turn used material into new products.
    compost
    Rotted food and leaves used to enrich soil.
    hazardous
    Dangerous to people or nature.
    landfill
    A place where trash is buried.

    Poppy’s quiz

    Six questions

    Tap an answer. Green means right. You will see why.

    Talk about it

    Say it out loud

    • How do you know a material can be recycled? What evidence do you look for?
    • What does your town do with trash and recycling? Where does it go?
    Did you know

    Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for a few hours, and aluminum can be recycled again and again.

    Someone who does this

    A waste management worker runs trucks and plants that handle our trash and recycling.

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