Develop a glass-recycling project for your classroom, school, or home.
Discuss what procedures need to be established, what products you want to recycle, how they will be collected and recycled, and how the project will be organized.
Determine what your community already does for recycling.
Start a new community project or add to the existing one.
Track for one week the type of glass you throw away or put into the recycling bin.
Track the total number of pieces and the color of the glass.
Develop a chart to record this information.
Learn how to calculate the percentage of brown, green, and clear glass that you throw away.
Expand this activity by counting other garbage you throw away or recycle.
Stores used to sell soft drinks in returnable glass bottles.
Some states currently require that a deposit be paid on beverage containers; this five- to ten-cent charge is reimbursed when the container is returned to the store.
Other states have programs that encourage consumers to recycle the containers.
Discuss or debate these practices.
Which one do you think is most effective for encouraging people not to throw away recyclable materials?