Environmental Resources Unit A

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Environmental ResourcesUnit A

• Understanding Recycling and its Relationship to
  the Environment

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What is Recycling?

• What are the advantages to recycling?
• What are the disadvantages to recycling?
• Which one outweighs or is more important than the
  other?

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Learning Objectives

• Understand the recycling process.
• Understand the importance of recycling.
• Identify ways in which people can make a
  difference through recycling.
• Identify items that can be recycled.
• Understand the composting process.

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Terms

• Compost
• Composting
• Microbes
• Natural Resources
• Nonrenewable natural resources

• Recycling
• Remanufacturing
• Renewable natural resources
• Reusing

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I. Recycling

• A. Reusing a product or using waste materials to
  make a new product
• B. In recycling, products are broken down,
  reprocessed, and returned to active use instead
  of being discarded

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I. Recycling

• C. Key component of waste management and is vital
  to the conservation of natural resources
• 1. In addition, recycling will save energy and
  extend the life span of landfills

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I. Recycling

• D. As the population has increased in the United
  States, the amount of waste generated has
  increased dramatically
• 1. As landfills begin to fill, recycling is
  quickly becoming a necessity

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II. Reusing

• A. Using a product again without remanufacturing
• B. A form of recycling
• C. Cleaning a glass bottle after use and
  refilling it is a good example of reusing a
  product

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III. Remanufacturing

• A. Making a previously used product into another
  product
• B. A form of recycling
• C. For example, aluminum, steel, plastic, and
  glass containers can all be melted down and
  reformed into new containers

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IV. Importance of Recycling

• A. Reduces pollution by reducing the demand for
  the incineration of waste and by reducing the
  manufacturing of new items
• B. Saves energy
• 1. It takes half as much energy to make a
  recycled newspaper as it takes to make fresh
  newsprint from trees

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IV. Importance of Recycling

• C. Saves money
• 1. For example, scrap aluminum is about half the
  price of raw aluminum
• D. Helps to save landfill space, which is very
  important due to the fact that waste continues to
  increase as the population grows
• 1. The ability to develop new landfill sites will
  continue to become increasingly more difficult

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IV. Importance of Recycling

• E. Helps in the creation of jobs due to the need
  to separate and remanufacture the waste

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V. Recycling

• A. Practicing the four Rs anyone can make a
  difference
• Reduce
• Reuse
• Recycle
• Rebuy

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B. Reduce

• 1. Reduce the amount of waste created
• 2. Give away or sell things that are no longer
  used, instead of throwing them away
• 3. Compost yard waste

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B. Reduce

• 4. Use paper on both sides
• 5. Borrow things that you dont use very often,
  instead of buying them
• 6. Dont use disposable utensils, cups, and plates

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C. Reuse

• 1. Using products more than once
• 2. Reuse glass containers to store food
• 3. Pack lunches in reusable containers instead of
  using lunch sacks
• 4. Use grocery bags to hold garbage instead of
  buying garbage bags

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D. Recycle

• 1. Changing one product into another
• 2. If items are not reusable, then be sure to
  recycle the product if at all possible

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E. Rebuy

• 1. Buying products made from recycled materials
• 2. Buying recycled products completes the cycle
• 3. If you dont buy recycled products, it defeats
  the purpose of recycling

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F. Recyclable Items

• 1. Aluminum
• a. About two-thirds of all aluminum cans in the
  United States are recycled
• 2. Paper products
• a. Nearly half of all wastepaper in the United
  States is recycled
• 3. Glass
• a. separate the colors
• b. Colored glass should not be mixed with clear
  glass

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F. Recyclable Items

• 4. Plastic
• a. It typically takes 200 to 400 years to decay
  in a landfill
• b. Plastic items are coded based on the type of
  plastic used in making the product - in order to
  recycle plastic, it must be sorted by codes

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F. Recyclable Items

• 5. Metals
• a. Metal from old cars can be recycled

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F. Recyclable Items

• 6. Oil dumped into a water source or on the
  ground could cause pollution problems
• 7. It is recommended that used oils are collected
  and recycled

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VI. Composting

• A. A waste management technique in which organic
  matter (dead plants and animals) is decomposed
  through the action of microbes (bacteria and
  fungi) and other decomposers such as earthworms
• B. Compost can be used as a soil amendment to
  enrich or improve the consistency of soil

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VI. Composting

• C. Composting turns organic matter, such as grass
  clippings, fallen leaves, or food waste into a
  rich, natural fertilizer

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D. Composting Process

• 1. Requires organic matter, decomposers, water,
  and oxygen
• 2. When compost bins have sufficient water and
  air, bacteria will thrive
• a. Bacteria can generate temperatures of up to
  150 Fahrenheit
• 3. Compost bins vary in design and construction
  can be made of wood, plastic, or concrete walls

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D. Composting Process

• 5. A mixture of several materials including
  partially decomposed animal manure promotes
  bacterial action, which leads to quicker
  decomposition
• 6. Adding water increase decomposition
• 7. Composting can be used on a large scale by
  waste disposal systems or on a small scale by
  people at their homes

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Review / Summary

• Explain the recycling process.
• Explain the importance of recycling.
• Identify ways in which people can make a
  difference through recycling.
• Identify items that can be recycled.