NUEVO GIMNASIO CAMPESTRE MERYLAND

“FORMAMOS CIUDADANOS LÍDERES, FELICES, SOLIDARIOS, VALIOSOS CON CAPACIDAD DE PENSAR,

DECIDIR Y TRANSFORMAR REALIDADES”

RECYCLING GUIDE

OBJECTIVE
Explain and share the most important facts about recycling, stimulate in the school community the participation in this activity and promote
environmental awareness

Specific objectives
1. Students will compare a variety of items and sort items into groups (trash, recyclable, compostable).
2. Students will develop an understanding of waste reduction.

WHY RECYCLE?  1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television
Households in Europe produce 30.5 million tons of waste in average, of for 3 hours.
which only 17% is collected for recycling (source: defra.gov.uk).
 1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a
Recycling is an excellent way of saving energy and conserving the computer for 25 minutes.
environment. Did you know that:  1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-
watt light bulb for 3 hours.
 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with Interesting Facts
making it from raw materials.
 Up to 60% of the rubbish that ends up in the dust bin
ITEMS IN could be recycled.
A TRASH CAN
 The unreleased energy contained in the average dust
bin each year could power a television for 5,000 hours.
 The largest lake in Colombia could be filled with
Aluminum
rubbish from people in 8 months.
 On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product
pays for the packaging, which ultimately ends up as
rubbish.
 As much as 50% of waste in the average dust bin could
be composted.
 Up to 80% of a vehicle can be recycled.
  249 million
out of 10 people
tons would recycle
of aluminum more ifannually,
is produced it were made
51,000 tons of
easier.
which ends up as packaging in Colombia.
 If all cans in the UK were recycled, we would need 14 million
fewer dustbins.
 USD$36,000,000 worth of aluminum is thrown away each year.
 Aluminum cans can be recycled and ready to use in just 6 weeks.
Paper  The use of plastic in South America is growing about 4% each year.
 Plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose.

HOW TO RECYCLE?

There are three key factors when thinking about how to recycle – The 3
R’s:
 Recycled paper produces 73% less air pollution than if it was made
from raw materials.
 12.5 million tons of paper and cardboard are used annually in
Colombia.
 The average person gets through 38kg of newspapers per year.
 It takes 24 trees to make 1 ton of newspaper.

Plastic
Reduce the amount of waste you create

You can reduce the amount of waste you create by choosing what
rubbish you throw away. This can be easy and fun – just follow our
simple guidelines to reduce your waste at home, school or work.

 275,000 tons of plastic are used each year in Colombia, that’s

about 15 million bottles per day.
 Most families throw away about 40kg of plastic per year, which
could otherwise be recycled.
Reuse everyday items Exercise: Using
this chart, show how you follow up the recycling process in your
house within the next week.
Many items found around the home can be used for different purposes.
So before you throw those items away, think about how they can be
reused. Below are some suggestions of how to reuse those everyday bits
and pieces.

DAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

AMOUNT PLASTIC PAPER CANS PLASTIC PAPER CANS PLASTIC PAPER CANS PLASTIC PAPER CANS PLASTIC PAPER CANS
OF BOTTLES BOTTLES BOTTLES BOTTLES BOTTLES
RECYCLED
MATERIAL

2. Explain what happens with the products after you give them to the people in charge (recyclers), you have to ask them what they use those products
for, or if they give them to any foundation or company that works with them, make sure you explain the whole process and the results.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Exercise: _________________________________

Using your own words, please explain how can you re-use the following
items at different places like (house,school, park etc) there is an
example. Jars and pots. 

_____________________________________
Reusable Items
_____________________________________
Carrier bags. Carrier bags can be reused in the shops or as bin
bags around the house. Paper bags make useful wrapping paper _____________________________________
and twist ties can be used to secure loose items together, such
Newspaper, cardboard and bubble wrap 
as computer wires.
____________________________________
Envelopes:
____________________________________
________________________________
____________________________________
_________________________________
Old clothes  _________________________________________

_____________________________________ _________________________________________

______________________________________ How to Recycle

______________________________________
Recycling is an important factor in conserving natural resources and
Packaging greatly contributes towards improving the environment. Below are some
helpful hints about recycling in and around the home.
___________________________________

___________________________________

____________________________________

Scrap paper  Household Recycling

______________________________________
Recycling in and around the home can be easy when you know how. By
______________________________________ thinking carefully about what products you buy at the supermarket and
how to recycle them is the first step towards efficient recycling.
______________________________________

Tires
Find ways of recycling different materials
 ________________________________________ Many materials can be recycled, such as paper, plastic, metal and glass.
Other items such as furniture, electronic equipment, building material Avoiding buying hazardous material.
and vehicles can also be recycled but many people don’t often think to It is difficult to recycle products that contain hazardous waste. Try to find
do so. safer alternatives to household cleaners and buy non-toxic products
whenever possible.

Recycle bins.
Buy products that can be recycled. Make sure you have a recycle bin in your home. Keep it in an obvious
When shopping at the supermarket, buy products that can be recycled place so you won’t forget to use it. Your local council should be able to
easily such as glass jars and tin cans. provide you with a recycle bin that can be used for materials such as
glass, paper, aluminum and plastic.

Recycling In The Garden

Buy products that have been made from recycled material.

You can tell if a product is eco-friendly by looking at the label on the
packaging.
By recycling garden products and planting trees, you can help improve Planting trees
the environment in your back garden. Planting trees in your garden helps to improve the environment by
reducing global warming and providing a home for many animals.

Composting Exercise:
Composting is a process where waste degrades into compost, which can
Analyzing different points of view is really useful when looking for
then be used in your garden to help it grow. It is an excellent way to
solutions to a specific situation, so you have to search and give a
recycle garden and kitchen waste such as plant trimmings and leftover
comment about how the recycling process works in each of the
food.
following countries. There is an example.
Grass cycling
Grass cycling is an excellent way of recycling grass cuttings after mowing Recycling In Different Countries
the lawn. Simply leave the cuttings on the ground instead of throwing
them away, they will turn into nutrients and act as a fertilizer in the soil.

Sweden: Turn Garbage into Energy

Known for their passion for recycling, Sweden goes one step further ___________________________________________________________
than anyone else, powering a quarter of a million homes with burnt up ___________________________________________________________
waste. The city’s garbage is used to create heat and electricity, but ___________________________________________________________
they’ve recently found themselves in a bit of a pickle: they’ve run out of
garbage! Thankfully Norway has come to the rescue and is not only
paying Sweden to take their garbage, but is importing it over for their
use.

Italy:

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ Canada:
___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Switzerland:

___________________________________________________________
Japan:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. Send through cibercolegios a video to the science teacher
(not longer than 2 minutes) about the recycling process at
your home.

3. Research about successful recycling processes in other

south American countries, that we can apply in our homes
and at school:
QUESTIONNAIRE ABOUT YOUR PRATICES AT HOME _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
1. Do you know how to handle different types of wastes?
_________________________________________________
Explain all the practices that people apply at your home
_________________________________________________
town (chia):
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
4. Do you know some penalties or fees that the government _________________________________________________
impose for the people who don´t recycle? Explain and _________________________________________________
research different countries: _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________