Clean Water - A Precious Resource (Our Precious Resource)

Waste & Recycling

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Did you know it takes 24 gallons of water to make 1 pound of plastic? That's why we recommend reducing, reusing and recycling.

The best thing to do is reduce the amount of waste that we produce. When buying things look for items that are durable and can be reused. Also avoid extra packaging that will make its way to landfills. If you don't buy a chemical product in the first place it has no chance to pollute water.

Next best is reusing items. This means using the same bag, cup, or clothes over and over to avoid getting new or disposable ones. One item that gets used a hundred times is far better than a hundred items getting used once.

Equally important is recycling. Recycling, and buying recycled products means a lot less energy and resources are being wasted to bring you a product. Although recycling programs are more common today there is still work to be done. Every year Americans throw out 51 billion aluminum cans, 85% of office paper, and 70% of all metal, along with tons of batteries, paint, and used motor oil.

Did You Know...?		Simple Things You Can Do:
Making paper from recycled content rather than virgin fiber creates 74 percent less air pollution and 35% less water pollution. Recycling one aluminum can saves 95% of the energy used to make a can from raw materials. That is enough energy to run a laptop for 4 hours. One cotton T-shirt takes 50 gallons of water and 150 grams of agricultural chemicals to make. Recycling is less effective than reducing and reusing goods.		Start a recycling program at home or school. Use the same container for drinks everyday. Collect unused goods and donate them to Good Will or The Salvation Army. Start a compost pile. Bring your own bags when shopping. Call 1-800 numbers and request to be removed from junk mail lists. (www.newdream.org/junkmail) Make a point to buy recycled goods.

Activities

Web Site	Description
pathways@chewonki.org	Collect all of your waste for one day and weigh it. How much could be recycled or composted? See how little waste you can produce and let us know.
Recycled Art	Check out this site and then try to make artwork entirely out of recycled materials. Can you do it without glue?
Start a Recycling Program	Starting a recycling program at home or school can be a challenge, but is also very rewarding and helps prevent pollution and waste. This site can help you get started.
Join the EPA Kids Club	The Environmental Protection Agency has a bunch of games and activities that deal with waste.
Green Gifting	Learn creative ways to give beautiful gifts and reuse old goods.

More Information

Web Site	Description
Recycling Facts	An incredible list of facts about waste and recycling. A great resource.
NIEHS Kid Page	A ton of easy to read information on Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Recycling-Guide.org.uk	A fun and educational British site concerning recycling.
EPA's 3 R's	Good general information: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Tons of pages off the first page.
What to Recycle	The world's shortest comprehensive recycling guide.
Household Hazards	A comprehensive guide on recycling hazardous household waste. You will be surprised at how much should not be thrown out.

Teacher Resources

Web Site	Description
Waste & Recycling Lesson	A learning module designed for use with the Clean Water poster. The Waste & Recycling Lesson has students assess their personal water and trash footprint, and looks at the hydrologic cycle.
EIA Kids Page	Good basic information on recycling for students.
Waste Management Guide	Chewonki's free Waste Management Curriculum Guide helps teachers explore waste management issues with students of all ages.
Too Much Trash	Chewonki's Traveling Natural History Program's lesson on waste and recycling.

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