Donna Latham - Garbage: Follow the Path of Your Trash with Environmental Science Activities for Kids

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How Long Is It Around?

You might think that aluminum soda can is simply gone once youve tossed it in the trash, but guess what? That can is going to be around for a long, long time. Take a look! In the chart below, one trash can represents 20 years.

What have you tossed in the trash today? A gnawed apple core? A mangled plastic straw? Maybe you threw away a tattered backpack or an old pair of sneakers.

Trash is stuff we consider useless. Another word for trash is garbage. We throw garbage away. Anywhere you find people, youll find garbagemounds and mounds of it. A gyre of plastic trash floats in the middle of the ocean. Garbage is even marooned on the surface of the moon.

Usually, we dont realize how much stuff we throw away. In just one year, an average family of four in the United States churns out 6,351 pounds of waste. Thats enough to fill a three-bedroom house to the ceiling.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

Why does it matter where our garbage goes after we throw it out?

WORDS TO KNOW

gyre: a spiral.

maroon: to leave someone or something trapped somewhere thats hard to get to.

waste: material that is not wanted.

landfill: a huge area of land where trash gets buried.

incinerator: a large furnace that burns trash.

wake: a trail of something left behind.

scavenge: to find usable bits and parts from discarded stuff.

After you throw away that empty potato chip bag, what happens? Do you lug your trash cans out to the curb at night, only to find them empty in the morning? Do you chuck your trash bags into the dumpster behind your building or at the dump, never to see them again? Its easy to get rid of garbage so you never have to see it again. Trash is out of sight, out of mind.

Butwhat happens to all that garbage once it leaves our hands?

Trash gets jam-packed into landfills or burned in incinerators. But trash doesnt always make it to a garbage can. Its often left behind as messy litter that people carelessly scatter in their wake. Litter flutters across our streets, parks, and beaches. No wonder so many people talk trash these days!

Beachfront garbage

credit: epSos.de (CC BY 2.0)

Bootprint on the moon

Garbage can even be found out of this world! During the historic 1969 Apollo 11 mission, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin gathered rocks and soil from the surface of the moon. The astronauts left behind an American flag and a heap of space trash.

To lighten their spacecrafts load and make room to transport samples back to Earth, astronauts left empty food sacks, vomit bags, a TV camera, collection tongs, and magazines on the moon. They even left the space boots that made those famous footprints on the moons surface.

About the Projects

Use projects and activities in this book to make your own discoveries about garbage and spark new ideas about ways to tackle waste. Dont have the suggested materials and supplies needed for a project? Think of items you can substitute. Scavenge stuff from a friend. Trade with someone. Of course, safetys first, so ask adults for help when handling sharp items and glue guns or when using the stove.

WORDS TO KNOW

reduce: to use less of something.

reuse: instead of tossing out an item, using it again or for a new or creative purpose.

recycle: shredding, squashing, pulping, or melting items to use the materials to create new products.

rethink: to reconsiderto think about something again and change your mind about it.

resource: things found in nature, such as wood or gold, that people can use.

debris: the scattered pieces of something that has been broken or destroyed.

THE FOUR Rs: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, RETHINK

In this book, youll explore ways you can reduce, reuse, and recycle garbage. Youll also find ways to rethink choices you make every day. To reduce is to use less of a product or material so theres less waste. For example, instead of grabbing three paper towels to dry your hands after washing up, use one.

To reuse is to save things that you would normally throw outand use them again or for another purpose. Turn an old beach towel into a cozy blanket for your pet. Pass along clothes to family or friends. Donate books to a library or shelter.

Rubbish Warriors

On your mark, get set, go! In 2018, a Swedish fitness craze washed ashore in the United States. Plogging! The word is a combination of the Swedish plocka app, which means pick up, and the English word jogging. How does it work? Armed with gloves, garbage bags, and running shoes, joggers head out for trash runs. Along city streets, nature trails, and waterfronts, they scoop up plastic bottles, squashed cans, cigarette butts, and even dirty diapers. They recycle what they can and properly dispose of the rest. You try it! Go out for a plog! Take care of your body while you take care of the planet. In this book, youll read about many Rubbish Warriors who decided to make a difference by tackling the garbage problems they see in the world. What can you do?

To recycle means to break down old items in order to make new ones. Recycling saves resources and energy. Some materials commonly recycled include plastic, paper, glass, and metal.

Definitions of Debris

There are lots of words to describe things we throw out. What does debris mean to you? You might imagine demolished walls left after a tornado whirls through a neighborhood. How about leftovers? Those are uneaten foods from last nights meal. What do the following terms for trash make you think of?