Background

The Chasers’ War on Waste was a popular program that aired on the ABC in 2017-2018. Individuals who choose to join this war must therefore be Waste Warriors.

Everyday human activities produce waste in a number of forms. Waste in the form of litter pollutes the land and waterways, while waste disposed as rubbish ends up in landfill which can contaminate groundwater. The Three R’s, namely Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, represent ways of minimising the amount of waste that ends up in landfill.

Prior Knowledge

No prior knowledge necessary.

This program builds upon the knowledge learnt in the F-2 program Reduce, Reuse, Recycle [1] but can be undertaken as a stand alone program.

Key Learning Question

What methods can we use to recycle waste?

Learning Intentions

In this program students will:

• Understand the importance of preventing waste from entering the environment, including landfill
• Understand that many useful resources are finite and often non-renewable, and how recycling addresses this issue
• Recognising the varying properties of different waste materials, and the importance of sorting these materials for reuse
• Learn how to set up and manage a worm farm to turn food scraps into fertilizer

Activities

Students will:

• Conduct an experiment to determine what food scraps should go in a worm farm
• Undertake a design thinking process to determine how to filter dirty water
• Conduct an experiment to discover how materials are sorted at a recycling plant

Note:

• Maximum number of students for this program is 75 per day.

Victorian Curriculum

Science – Science as a human endeavour

• Science knowledge helps people to understand the effects of their actions (VCSSU056 [2])

Science – Chemical sciences

• Natural and processed materials have a range of physical properties; these properties can influence their use (VCSSU060 [3])

Geography – Diversity and significance of places and environments

• Types of natural vegetation and the significance of vegetation to the environment, the importance of environments to animals and people, and different views on how they can be protected; the use and management of natural resources and waste, and different views on how to do this sustainably (VCGGK082 [4])

Learning Continuum

The following Learning Continuum is a guide for teachers to show the links between the programs. Ecolinc offers onsite, online and through outreach. The Learning Continuum can be used to access Ecolinc resources to support the development of units of work.

Ecolinc Learn Online [5] is an online learning management system offering interactive online courses for students and teachers. These courses can be undertaken either as a pre-visit, post-visit or stand-alone. Students are encouraged to do the post-learning course after the Outreach program.

Outreach programs are conducted by an Ecolinc education officer at your school. They are available to moderately disadvantaged primary schools in the Geelong, Ballarat and western suburbs areas (or within 100km radius from Bacchus Marsh).