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If
you hold a survey in school and ask your classmates what they
would most like to recycle, what would probably get most votes
would be your teachers, homework or tests ... But we are not dealing
with these issues here, but rather with the recycling of waste.
This means everything that we throw away at school and which,
however, we could reuse.
We shall start recycling using the waste that is produced by our
class, and if we see that the plan works, we can then extend it
to the rest of the school. Let's take it step by step. The first
thing we should do is identify what we are throwing away and check
this for recyclable materials among the waste. To do this it is
necessary to go through the waste bin or rubbish bin and sort
through the waste. This task will be made easier if we place three
boxes in the classroom: one for paper, another for cans and packaging
and the traditional rubbish bin for other waste. After a few days,
when the boxes are full, we can go through the recycled material
and identify the materials that can be reused.
What
can and cannot be recycled will in part depend on your local Town
Hall, which is in charge of installing recycling containers in
the streets, and where recyclable waste should be disposed of.
In some towns and cities, the Town Council even provides recycling
containers for schools. However, whether or not there is selective
collecting in your town or area, material such as paper and cans
can be put to good use by your school. For example, sheets of
paper that are only used on one side can be used to make a draft
copy of work or used in the photocopier, while cans can be used
in an aluminium recycling workshop (see <<Can them!>>).
Following
the research into what is thrown away in class, comes the part
of selective collecting. For example, if what we throw away most
is paper, cans and plastics, we should put out a box for each
of these materials, making sure that there is always a rubbish
bin for other waste. It is a good idea to appoint a class representative
to be in charge of each type of waste. This student will be in
charge of checking that each box contains the correct material
and he or she will let the class know when these recycling boxes
are full.
Up till now, what we have done is to identify the waste that we
create in class and collect it separately. The following step
is to make the best use possible of each type of waste. It would
also be a good idea to once again separate the recycled material
in each box. For example, in the paper box there will be sheets
of paper that could be reused; and other paper that should not
be recycled (like metal foil or fax paper, gummed paper, laminated
paper or wax-proof paper) and which should be thrown away. In
the classroom or in the school's junk room, the recycled waste
should be stored so that once a month it can be taken to the appropriate
recycling container.
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