GreenStar Schools

Science Class Goal: Zero Waste

June 3 2019

For our first seventh grade science unit of the year, we investigated the driving question: "Does our trash ever really disappear?"  Students focused on the science behind achieving zero waste.

Summary

Students began with an inital, baseline waste inventory where we looked throught the whole school's trash and counted how many bags of trash we generate on a daily basis.  It was approzimately 25 large bags of trash, most of which came from lunchtime. Through various labs, lessons and articles, students learned basic chemistry concepts such as the Law of Conservation of Mass and chemical reactions.  They also studied waste disposal methods throughout the world and focused on the 4R's, playing Office of Sustainability waste games.  Students identified specific waste issues in their school community, such as incorrectly disposing of plastic or paper utensils, or using unnecessary items that contribute to harmful waste.  They looked into zero waste strategies and the unit culminated in a final project where students answered the driving question through a means of their choice and then I conducted another waste inventory after implentation of their project.

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