recycle right.
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Grades K-4
Tutorial 5. Packaging and Plastics
Objective: Make a list of things your household does to reduce packaging, and a list of new things you want to try to further reduce packaging.
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Do bananas need to be wrapped in plastic?
The boxes and containers that products are sold in are called packaging, and they can serve a few important roles. A plastic bag keeps bread fresh and germ free. A box provides a space to display important information, like ingredients or directions. How would you know how long to cook your favorite brand of brownies without following the instructions on the box? |
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Packaging is a Problem
Even though packaging can be useful, it’s also a BIG PROBLEM! All of that packaging has to go somewhere when you are done with it. Most of it, goes into our landfills every year. That’s millions of tons of plastic and cardboard piling up in our landfills EVERY YEAR! |
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What You Can Do
It doesn’t have to be that way. Most packaging is recyclable. Think about a bottle of water. The packaging is the plastic bottle. You can do two very simple things to reduce plastic bottle waste.
Whether you recycle the bottle or never use a plastic bottle in the first place, you are sending less waste to the landfill. That makes you a pollution fighting hero! How else can you make sure product packaging doesn’t end up in the landfill? For every product your family uses, think about where each part of the packaging will go when you are done with it. |
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Remember the bread mentioned earlier? The plastic bag the bread comes in doesn’t have to go straight into the landfill. You could use it as a pet waste bag instead.
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Some grocery stores even have a place where you can drop off plastic bags to be recycled. You could collect the bags at home and bring them to one of these sites.
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The brownie mix is a little different. The bag that holds the yummy powdery mix can’t be recycled. You will have to put that in the landfill waste. But the cardboard box is perfect for the recycle bin.
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Speaking of boxes, what about a pizza box? It definitely can be recycled. You just have to make sure it is not contaminated by food or grease. If there is food stuck to it, it has to go in the landfill. You almost always can recycle the top part of the box so you’ll still be reducing your waste.
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Tutorial Challenge
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