Activity (Hands-On)Grades 3 - 5
Bury Your Trash Experiment
Where does your trash go?Copyright Stock.Xchange (free stock photo site) http://www.sxc.hu/
Students bury various pieces of trash in a plotted area of land outside. After two to three months, they uncover the trash to investigate what types of materials biodegrade in soil.
Waste management engineers use the process of biodegredation to minimize the amount of space that landfills take up. Civil and agricultural engineers take advantage of the biodegradation process in designing waste and water treatment facilities, and making soil improvements to improve crop production.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain what the term "biodegrade" means, and generally describe how the process works with respect to the various items of buried trash.
- List what objects do and do not biodegrade (roughly) by explaining the difference between organic and inorganic materials.
- Explain how engineers apply what they know to facilitate waste management.