Trash Materials Investigation: What Will Biodegrade?
What happens to trash after it has been thrown away?Copyright Stock.Xchange (free stock photo site) http://www.sxc.hu/
Students investigate what types of materials biodegrade in the soil, and learn what happens to their trash after they throw it away. They learn about the concepts behind landfills and compost piles. In an associated activity, students create their own miniature landfills—a hands-on way to learn the difference between organic and inorganic waste.
Waste management engineers use the process of biodegredation to minimize the amount of space that landfills take up. By burying layers of trash with other layers of soil, all existing waste is compressed under weight from above. For organic matter to decompose, however, aerobic bacteria, which needs to be exposed to air, is required. Thus, large machines are used to churn up and aerate top layers, allowing the organic matter that is present to decompose.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Explain what the term "biodegrade" means, and generally describe how the process works.
- Identify whether certain objects can biodegrade or not.
- Explain the difference between organic and inorganic materials.
- Explain how engineers apply what they know to help with waste management.