Introduction: Waste that can be composted or recycled is like buried treasure in your trash. Instead of going into a landfill, the waste benefits the environment by helping to conserve natural resources and energy by being compost or reused. What kind of natural resources can you find in your trash?

Directions:

Below are a list of items found in domestic waste. Determine how you will correctly dispose of these items. You choices are: RECYCLE, LANDFILL, REUSE, COMPOST, INCINERATE.

Items found in solid domestic waste Disposal method ( RECYCLE, LANDFILL, REUSE, COMPOST, INCINERATE.) Why did you choose this method
glass jar
paper towel
battery
plastic bottle
cloth diaper
Electronics
Fruit and Vegetables
pencils
grass clippings
soda can
leaves
chicken bones
Check your understanding:

1. Biodegradable means that a substance can break down easily by bacteria and other decomposers. An example of a biodegradable substance is lettuce or an apple core. How did the fact that a substance is biodegradable affect your decision to recycle, compost or landfill?

2. List five items in your garbage pail in your kitchen. They are heading to the landfill. Where else could they go and why?

3. What approximate fraction of the wastes is compost?

4. What approximate fraction of the waste is landfill?

Summarize what you have learned about the types of trash we create, and how our trash habits can
impact the environment using the sentence frames below.
The important thing about
is .
Trash can impact the environment by.
I can
to reduce the amount of trash I contribute