Trash to Treasure!
Student teams use the engineering design process to create a useful product of their choice out of recyclable items and "trash." The class is given a "landfill" of reusable items, such as aluminum cans, cardboard, paper, juice boxes, chip bags, egg cartons, milk cartons, etc., and each group is allowed a limited amount of bonding materials, such as duct tape, hot glue and string. This activity addresses the importance of reuse and encourages students to look at ways they can reuse items they would otherwise throw away.
Trash is just a resource that we haven't found a use for...Copyright State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection http://www.kids.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2714&q=432260&depNAV_GID=1645
Engineering plays an important role in our environment. Our landfills are filling up faster and faster and pollution levels are getting higher and higher. Designing projects from a global perspective, including low-energy manufacturing, renewable sources and utilizing recyclable and reusable materials, is critical to decrease our pollution levels for a cleaner, healthier planet.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- List harmful consequences of global warming.
- Explain how recycling and reusing helps cut down on greenhouse gases.
- List ways to reuse items before discarding them.
- Use the engineering design process to create a product from reused materials.