The 3R’s

Rubbish

• domestic waste – all the rubbish which we produce– cardboard, plastic bags, leftover food, tin cans, etc.

• biodegradable – things that have once been alive and will rot away quickly– vegetables, fruit, cardboard

Reduce

• the best way to tackle the waste problem is to produce less waste (or reduce our waste)

• what are some examples of how we can reduce our waste?– reusing and recycling are also examples of how we

can reduce our waste

Reuse• instead of using something only once and then

discarding it, try to get as much use out of objects before buying a new one

• what would be an example of things we can reuse instead of throwing them away after one use?

Recycle

• recycling means to make something new from something that has been used before

Industrial Waste

• mining waste, toxic (poisonous) chemicals, and empty containers are examples of industrial waste.

• Should companies that produce industrial waste apply the 3R’s in the same way we should at home?

Waste and Us

• An average person throws away about 1 kg of solid waste each day. That means that is just one year, you create a pile of waste nearly 10 times as big as yourself!

Activity• In a group, discuss each of the materials or products listed

below. – How can we reduce the amount we throw away? – How should they be disposed of when they are no longer needed? – Should they be reused, recycled, buried, burned, or disposed of in

some other way?

• glass bottles• clothing• old electrical appliances• aerosol cans• car batteries• plastic bottles• waste paper

• refrigerators• engine oil• metal cans• food and garden waste• old furniture• old cars• car/tractor tires

What you have learnedCopy and complete these sentences using these

key words (reused, biodegradable, composted, domestic waste, reduce, recycle):

The rubbish we throw away each day is called . We must each try to the amountof waste we produce. Vegetables and cardboard are they rot away – these material can be . Glass, cans, fabrics, and newspapers canbe ; the materials from which they aremade can be melted down, or processed in someother way to make new products.

In-class Assignment

• Why is it better for the environment to recycle old glass bottles than to make new ones?