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Garbage Busters
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FOIA Number: 2013-0661-F (3)
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Americorps
Series/Staff Member:
General Files
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
24232
FolderID:
Folder Title:
Garbage Busters
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
S
66
1
2
3
GARBAGE
S
BUSTERS
Garbage Busters
Dear Educator,
The Garbage Busters curriculum was developed by AmeriCorps member Sarah Buchanan
to meet the solid waste education needs of students in Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock,
Hawkins and Union Counties. The program is sponsored by the Clinch-Powell RC&D
Council, Partners for Clean Communities, Keep America Beautiful affiliate and the County
Litter Grant Programs.
The Garbage Busters curriculum contains lessons and activities for second grade students.
Included in the curriculum is a pre/post test evaluation, lesson outlines and descriptions,
artwork and display setups.
Questions and comments regarding this curriculum should be directed to:
Clinch-Powell RC&D
AmeriCorps Environmental Educator
Route 2, Box 423
Rutledge, TN 37618
(615)828-8354
1-800-814-6355
Sincerely,
Aarah Buchanan
Sarah Buchanan
AmeriCorps
Environmental Educator
GARBAGE
BUSTERS
1. What is litter?
2. Where does our trash so?
3. Why should you recycle?
4. What is a landfill?
5. What can you do to help the environment?
GARBAGE
BUSTERS
1. What is litter?
2. Where does our trash go?
3. Why should you recycle?
4. What is a landfill?
5. What can you do to help the environment?
Classroom Litter
Objective: To show the students how their actions affect everyone. If they waste paper,
drop things on the floor, etc.
Lesson: Litter is waste that has not been properly disposed of. Students are more likely
to litter in an environment that they do not have to clean.
Talk to the students about who cleans up after them at school.
Then ask if someone will always go around behind them picking up their litter?
Discuss places where no one picks up after them.
Explain that if you get in the habit of dropping things on the floor at school then
you are more likely to do it in other places too.
Activities: Have students evaluate the state of the room. How full are the trash cans?
How much is on the floor? Why do they let the trash cans overflow? Why do they let
things drop on the floor?
Summary: How can they not have so much trash in the cans? How can they reduce the
amount of paper they throw away? What can they do to make difference?
Talk about picking things up when they see it and not leaving it for someone else
to pick up. What if everybody thought somebody else would pick it up then no
one would pick it up.
Ask students what they think happens to all our trash, where it goes. Talk to students
about why it is important to reduce the amount of trash we throw away. Often students
believe that once something has been thrown away they do not have to worry about it.
However, with the growing problem of where to put our trash students need to learn how
to reduce waste by:
buying items with less packaging
buying items made from recycled materials
buying items that can be recycled
These topics will be discussed in greater detail in later lessons.
CLASSROOM LITTER
GARBAGE
8
COKE
Apencil
111
MIL,
E-peper
TEST
BUSTERS
Dowrapper
For the first lesson a Garbage Busters symbol should be displayed along with different types of trash and materials commonly found in
the classroom or school. The recycle symbol can be used as part of the display, students should be told what recycle means and the
items that can and cannot be recycled.
Garbage Busters
Activity Evaluation
We are interested in your opinion! Please evaluate the lessons and return to the Clinch-Powell RC&D.
We will use your comments to review and revise the Garbage Busters program.
Activity Title: Classroom Litter
This activity discussed waste in the classroom, what litter is and how to reduce it.
1. Please rate the overall effectiveness of this lesson.
very effective
somewhat effective
effective
ineffective
2. Were materials and information presented easily understood and comprehended?
yes
no
3. Were the students motivated to learn more about the subject?
yes
no
4. Please make any suggestions you have to make this lesson more effective or comment on the value of
this lesson.
Name
Address (school)
Thank you for your time and help.
PLACE
STAMP
HERE
Clinch-Powell RC&D Council
Route 2, Box 423
Rutledge, TN 37861
Classroom Park
Objective: Continuation of the last lesson. This lesson will show how their actions inside
are not limited to that environment. Students will learn that animals are also affected by
trash and litter.
Activity: Students will be introduced to the animals that live in their classroom. Put
animals that live in the "park" on a felt board, the board should have a pond and a tree or
two and anything else that might be found in a park. These animals will then "talk" to the
students about how they feel about litter. Allow the students to name the animals as they
are put up on the board and designate a place for them to live in the classroom.
Animals:
Fish - Introduces himself and tells the students that he lives in their park along with his
friends. These friends are going to talk about keeping the park clean and how they feel
about litter.
Duckling - Talks about water and how animals that live in water need clean water. (Ask
students ways they can clean up the water, what is harmful to animals that live in water
such as coke rings, oil, chemicals, etc.)
Rabbit - Talks about how hard it is to hop with a lot of trash on the ground. (Talk to
students about how different kinds of trash can hurt the animals such as broken glass,
bottles, coke rings, etc.)
Squirrel - Reassures the students that he thinks they are doing a good job at keeping the
"park" clean. He also tells the students that they can't stop once they clean it up that they
must continue keeping it clean. (Ask the students how often they should pick up trash,
talk about how important it is to clean up on a regular schedule.)
Frog - Agrees with the squirrel because they want to keep the outside clean for the
animals and how they can if everybody works hard. (Ask the students who is responsible
for keeping the earth clean. Emphasize that everybody is. Also talk to the students about
picking up trash that is not theirs and why they should.)
Skunk - Talks about how more animals will live and play in an area that is clean. Says that
animals don't like to play in trash. (Talk to the students about why some animals will get
into garbage cans and why it isn't good for them and what they can do to prevent this from
happening.)
Turtle - Tells the students that cleaning things up is a slow process and takes time but in
the end the reward is worth it.
Flying Goose - Tells the students that he likes what he sees and that they are working very
hard. He tells them that he lives in the best classroom.
Summary: Have students tell how they are going to clean up their "park" and keep it
clean. Talk about what the animals have told them. Ask them how they can clean things
up for the animals that live outside in other parks, lakes, rivers, woods, etc.
CLASSROOM PARK
puot
Tree
Have students decide where in the "park" the animals will live. Place the animals with a bubble caption on the felt board so the animals
can "talk" to the students.
A
D
B
Garbage Busters
Activity Evaluation
We are interested in your opinion! Please evaluate the lessons and return to the Clinch-Powell RC&D.
We will use your comments to review and revise the Garbage Busters program.
Activity Title: Classroom Park
This activity discussed how litter affects animals and how they can help the animals.
1. Please rate the overall effectiveness of this lesson.
very effective
somewhat effective
effective
ineffective
2.
Were materials and information presented easily understood and comprehended?
yes
no
3. Were the students motivated to learn more about the subject?
yes
no
4. Please make any suggestions you have to make this lesson more effective or comment on the value of
this lesson.
Name
Address (school)
Thank you for your time and help.
PLACE
STAMP
HERE
Clinch-Powell RC&D Council
Route 2, Box 423
Rutledge, TN 37861
Paper recycling (Travis Tree)
Objective: Students will learn how paper is made from a trees point of view. The tree will
also tell the students about recycling paper and the importance of recycling.
Activities: Read the story of Travis Tree to the students. After reading the story talk
about how making paper pollutes the water, but that recycling reduces pollutants. Discuss
landfill space and how it is needed for waste that is not recyclable and should not be used
for paper and other recycleables. Discuss how much space paper takes up in a landfill.
Ask the students to finish the story of Travis by recycling him. This can be done as a
creative writing lesson or as a round robin type story with each student contributing to
how and what Travis is recycled into. Have a large tree with a face on it up where the
students can see it then have the litter test displayed with a face or give one to each child
to illustrate how their tree became a piece of paper.
Summary: Have students see how much paper they throw away in the classroom each
day. Ask them if the paper was all used up before they threw it away. See what else they
could do with the paper before they throw it away. Talk about the different things that are
made out of recycled paper such as insulation, notebook paper, cards, etc. A way to
encourage students to recycle their paper would be to make a recycle box in the
classroom. When they needed scrap paper for drawing, notes, assignments they could use
paper in the box.
Travis Tree
Hello, I'm Travis Tree, and I want to share with you the exciting adventure of how I got
here today. Several years ago I fell from a big tree as a seed and planted myself on the
forest floor. Soon I started to grow and after a few years I became a very big tree.
One day some men came into the forest with big saws and began to cut down the trees in
the forest, Polly Pine, Elmer Elm, Oliver Oak, Henry Hickory, and many others. I was the
last to be cut, they loaded us up on a big truck and took us down the Mountain to a big
plant.
When I got to the plant I was chopped up into chips. Then dumped in a huge blender with
boiling water and chemicals. This caused my fibers to be separated and I began to look
alot like oatmeal. Then I was dumped in bleach many times to make me white. My
friends who were made into cardboard didn't have to be bleached.
After being bleached, starch was added to make me stiff. Then I was dried on a giant
screen and rolled onto a big spool.
I've heard stories that paper can be recycled. I understand that to be recycled I would go
back to the blender and be mixed with warm water and mashed. After this I would have
paper clips and string strained out and the ink would be dissolved. I could have this done
seven times before they sent me to the landfill if someone cared enough to take me to be
recycled.
TRAVIS TREE
LITTER TEST
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
For this activity there should be a before and after of Travis
Tree. Have a large tree with a face and a copy of the litter
test with the same face. This will help illustrate how a tree
becomes paper.
NAME
LITTER TEST
1. WHAT IS LITTER?
2. WHAT DO WE DO WITH LITTER?
3. HOW CAN WE PREVENT LITTER?
4. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PICK UP LITTER?
5. WHO SHOULD HELP KEEP THINGS CLEAN?
6. WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR TRASH?
7. WHO IS AFFECTED BY LITTER?
8. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TRASH GETS IN THE WATER?
9. WHAT HAPPENS TO PAPER THAT IS NOT RECYCLED?
10. WHAT HAPPENS TO RECYCLED PAPER?
11. HOW CAN WE RECYCLE PAPER?
Garbage Busters
Activity Evaluation
We are interested in your opinion! Please evaluate the lessons and return to the Clinch-Powell RC&D.
We will use your comments to review and revise the Garbage Busters program.
Activity Title: Travis Tree
This activity discussed how paper is made and recycled. The importance of recycling paper.
1. Please rate the overall effectiveness of this lesson.
very effective
somewhat effective
effective
ineffective
2. Were materials and information presented easily understood and comprehended?
yes
no
3. Were the students motivated to learn more about the subject?
yes
no
4. Please make any suggestions you have to make this lesson more effective or comment on the value of
this lesson.
Name
Address (school)
Thank you for your time and help.
PLACE
STAMP
HERE
Clinch-Powell RC&D Council
Route 2, Box 423
Rutledge, TN 37861
Recycling
Objective: The students will learn why recycling is important to the environment in
relation to pollution, landfill size, clean water, etc. Students will learn about different
things that can be recycled if not directly, then indirectly through reuse.
Lesson: Explain why it is important to recycle. Talk about landfill size and limitations.
Pollution from manufacturing new items versus reusing items. Have the students answer
these questions and then discuss them.
Name some things you throw away that could be recycled? Have the students name some
things that are commonly recycled. Talk about other things that can be recycled but are
not often recycled. Such as motor oil, batteries, cars, etc. In this category things that can
be reused for storage purposes should be discussed such as cool whip containers, butter
containers, jelly jars, etc.
How do you know plastic can be recycled? Talk about the recycle symbol and that the
number indicates the type plastic it is. Find out what types can be recycled in the
community and tell the students to look for those kinds of plastics when shopping with
their parents.
What do they do to plastic to get it ready for recycling? Discuss how they shred plastic,
wash it then melt and remold it. Talk about separating by color and number.
Should we only recycle what we're paid for? Talk about why it is important to recycle
everything, even the things we cannot receive money for. While it is nice to get money for
recycling things such as aluminum cans we should recycle everything we can.
Activity: Have the students unscramble recyclable items individually or as a group on the
board. Discuss with students the different things that can be made from these recycled
items. List these items on the board, as the list gets longer students will have a better idea
of how many things they use everyday and throwaway can be recycled.
Unscramble these words
LASGS
AREPP
SCALIPT
BRADDORAC
MULINAMU
TELES
STEWRINNP
bonus: STERTABIE
Key: GLASS
PAPER
PLASTIC
CARDBOARD
ALUMINUM
STEEL
NEWSPRINT
bonus: BATTERIES
RECYCLING
computer
Newspaper
paper
other paper
aluminum.
pans
foil
cans
plastic-
glass-
bottles
bottles
containors
jars
Have a variety of pictures or actual objects of recyclable materials. Ask the students to name a recyclable item, as they name each item
display it on the board. Discuss what each can be recycled into as it is displayed.
GARBAGE
BUSTERS
O
00000000
00000000
Green Shopping
Objective: Students will learn how to recognize and buy products that are good for the
environment. Students will learn what to look for when shopping such as less packaging,
recycled items, recycled packaging, environment friendly items, etc.
Lesson: Go over what green shopping is and how to shop. Discuss what they think of
when they here the word green, such as trees, grass, leaves, frogs, etc. Talk about how all
these things are in nature and that green shopping means that they are shopping for nature,
not just themselves. Tell the students the importance of green shopping. That it reduces
waste, pollution, increases use of recycled products. Discuss the impact of excess
packaging. What purpose does it serve? Have the students name some things that can
have packaging reduced and alternatives to these products.
Green Shopping:
reduces the amount of solid waste to be taken to the landfill
reduces air and water pollution
saves energy
conserves natural resources
you help protect the environment
How to shop:
use reusable shopping bags
request paper instead of plastic
buy items in containers that can be reused
buy recycled materials
choose items that can be recycled in your community
Activity: Have students discuss things that they or their parents buy that are good for the
environment. Also discuss how often they'll buy something just because they like the
package it is in and why they should not do this. Have as display of things that are
environmentally friendly and things that are not. Let students "shop" individually or as a
group. Tell them they are looking to buy the items which are best for the environment.
Discuss why an item is good or bad for the environment and why they chose a certain
product over another.
Garbage Busters
Activity Evaluation
We are interested in your opinion! Please evaluate the lessons and return to the Clinch-Powell RC&D.
We will use your comments to review and revise the Garbage Busters program.
Activity Title: Recycling
This activity discussed the different kinds of things that can be recycled and how they can be
recycled. The importance of recycling these materials.
1. Please rate the overall effectiveness of this lesson.
very effective
somewhat effective
effective
ineffective
2. Were materials and information presented easily understood and comprehended?
yes
no
3. Were the students motivated to learn more about the subject?
yes
no
4. Please make any suggestions you have to make this lesson more effective or comment on the value of
this lesson.
Name
Address (school)
Thank you for your time and help.
PLACE
STAMP
HERE
Clinch-Powell RC&D Council
Route 2, Box 423
Rutledge, TN 37861
Garbage Busters
Activity Evaluation
We are interested in your opinion! Please evaluate the lessons and return to the Clinch-Powell RC&D.
We will use your comments to review and revise the Garbage Busters program.
Activity Title: Green Shopping
This activity discussed how to shop for the environment. Why to buy things good for the
environment and why you should buy them.
1. Please rate the overall effectiveness of this lesson.
very effective
somewhat effective
effective
ineffective
2. Were materials and information presented easily understood and comprehended?
yes
no
3. Were the students motivated to learn more about the subject?
yes
no
4. Please make any suggestions you have to make this lesson more effective or comment on the value of
this lesson.
Name
Address (school)
Thank you for your time and help.
PLACE
STAMP
HERE
Clinch-Powell RC&D Council
Route 2, Box 423
Rutledge, TN 37861
References
Waste in Place: Keep America Beautiful. 1993.
Waste a Hidden Resource: Tennessee Valley Authority. 1993.
Mobius Curriculum: Understanding the Waste Cycle: Browning-Ferris Industries. 1992
This curriculum was compiled by Sarah Buchanan, AmeriCorps Environmental Educator.
Materials listed in the reference section were used as a guide in the development of this
program.
"All programs and services of the Clinch-Powell RC&D Council are offered on a
nondiscriminatory basis, without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age,
marital status or handicap."