Waste, overuse of resources, and pollution are challenges that affect our communities and future generations. The state of Victoria is aiming to redirect 80% of waste away from landfill and transition to a circular economy by 2030. Therefore, reducing the resources we use, reusing items where possible, and recycling materials is more important than ever.

What techniques can we use to minimise waste entering the environment?

In this activity students will:

• Define the terms reduce, reuse, and recycle
• Understand where the rubbish in their kerbside bins ends up
• Learn which materials are recyclable, and which are not
• Develop their understanding of alternate waste disposal pathways
• Build awareness of how their actions can affect the environment
• Understand the importance of caring for our environment
• Learn various strategies for minimising waste that goes to landfill
• Become empowered to make a positive difference

Students will:

• Sort a selection of waste, with the goal of recycling as much as possible and reducing how much waste ends up in landfill
• Identify other waste streams that they or their families could use
• Participate in an interactive story that demonstrates the impacts of litter and pollution on the environment
• Reflect on which items could fall under “reduce”
• Learn which food scraps can be recycled by worm farming or composting
• Search for and identify the invertebrates in a sample of compost
• Learn how to reuse scrap paper to grow seeds

Science – Science understanding

• Objects can be made of one or more different materials; these materials have observable properties VC2S2U04
• Materials can be combined in a variety of ways for particular purposes; the properties of objects and mixtures can differ from the properties of the materials from which they are made VC2S2U05
• Materials can be changed physically by different actions without changing their material composition, including by bending, twisting, stretching, crushing, squashing and breaking into smaller pieces VC2S2U06
• Taking care of Earth’s water, land and air involves consideration of reducing, re-using and recycling materials to conserve Earth’s resources VC2S2U09

Science – Science inquiry skills

• Experiences can be used as a basis for posing questions to explore observed patterns and relationships, and to make predictions VC2S2I01
• Data and information can be sorted and ordered using provided tables and organisers, and visual or physical models, to show simple patterns VC2S2I04

Maths – Measurement

• Describe the duration and sequence of events using years, months, weeks, days and hours VC2M1M03

Geography – Geographical knowledge and understanding

• The places in which they live, why their places are important to them, the features of places, and how places can be looked after VC2HG2K01

Capabilities – Critical and creative thinking

• Different kinds of question stems for gathering information and ideas VC2CC2Q01

Capabilities – Ethical capability

• Ethical concepts including right, wrong, better and worse, and behaviours associated with these VC2CE2U01
• Emotions and dispositions and their influence on the way people behave; how thinking about consequences of actions can guide decision-making when people disagree about right, wrong, good, bad, better or worse VC2CE2D02

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.

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)