Biodegradation Station Objectives: 1. Participants will learn about the impact of littering and why it is important to use sustainable materials. 2. Participants will learn to care for the environment. Additionally, they will see the importance of keeping all natural areas litter free. Theme: Many single-use packaging items are only used for a short amount of time, but create a lasting effect on the environment. Time: ~20 minutes Materials: ● Leather (25-50 years to biodegrade) ● Plastic bags (20 years to biodegrade*) ● Plastic bottle (450 years to biodegrade*) ● Nylon fabric (30-40 years to biodegrade) ● Aluminum cans (200 years to biodegrade) ● Tin can (50 years to biodegrade) ● Glass bottle (1 million years to biodegrade) ● Paper (2-6 weeks to biodegrade) ● Apple (1-2 months to biodegrade) ● Paper cards with biodegradation times 1 * Petrochemical products never truly break down and remain in the environment forever (microplastics). Setup: 1. Gather as many materials from the list as you can. 2. Print out the pages at the bottom of this lesson plan with corresponding biodegradation times and cut along the lines. Alternatively, write the times on pieces of scrap paper, sticky notes, etc. 3. Lay out the materials on a table or open area. Introduction/Background: When we buy something, it is usually wrapped up in a pretty package. Plastic bags and bottles, glass bottles, and soda cans are only used for a short period of time, but have a long lasting impact on the environment. There are many kinds of trash and many different ways to help reduce our trash problem. Since we all create garbage, all of us need to do our part to help solve this problem. Ask: Why is too much trash such a big problem? 1. Throwing things away wastes valuable natural resources such as trees, minerals, water, energy and many more. A natural resource is something that comes from the earth that we use to make things. For example, when we throw out a piece of paper, we are throwing away a part of a tree! Some resources can be renewed such as trees, because we can keep planting trees to replace the ones that we use. 2 2. Garbage takes up lots of space in the landfill. A landfill is a place where we take our garbage so we don’t have to deal with it any more. When we fill up a landfill with garbage, then we have to make a new landfill for our trash. 3. Trash can sometimes create problems such as litter and pollution, when trash is found in places that it really shouldn’t be such as in the forest, in public places or in bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, or even the ocean. 4. Pollution harms wildlife and plantlife, affects our food sources, and changes our planet! Matching Game: Instructions: The goal of this activity is to match the item to the correct biodegradation time. Biodegradation is the breakdown of materials in the environment. Each material takes a different amount of time to biodegrade based on what they are made out of and what environment they are biodegrading in. Some materials may take as little as a few weeks to break down and others can take years or even never break down! 1. Have participants try to match the items to the times. 2. Offer encouragement or help with some difficult items a. Have them think about what the materials are made out of and how they were made b. Ask them if they think natural items like the apple will take longer or shorter than man-made items 3. Once they are done, share the correct answers and have them compare different items, talking about why they take different times to break down. 3 Conclusion: As you can see, leaving trash around can affect the environment for a long time! Ask: What are some things we can do to help solve this problem? ● The Zero Waste movement is spreading across the globe as individuals and families strive to reduce their consumption and outputs. 1. Refuse: Say no to what you don’t need! Opt out of single-use items such as plastic cutlery, junk mail subscriptions, promotional freebies, straws, etc. These items often go straight into the trash with barely any use. 2. Reducing: We can buy things with less packaging material, or we can buy things that will last for a very long time so they don’t have to buy those things again in the near future. 3. Reusing: A lot of times, we throw away things that can be reused or repurposed into something new! If you haven’t yet already, try out the upcycled art lesson to learn more about reusing! Try donating or selling things you don’t need. 4 4. Recycling: This is the process of taking certain items and remaking them into new items. Recycling things usually saves lots of energy and water as well as landfill space. Recycle what can’t be refused, reduced, or refused. 5. Rot: Compost the rest! Organic waste scraps can make rich compost which then can be used to grow more delicious produce! If you are using compost for a garden, here are the compostable objects: veggie scraps, non-citrus fruit peels and seeds, nut shells, as well as egg shells, coffee grinds, loose tea, brown paper. ● Learn more about reducing your waste at: https://zerowastexchange.org/551/the-5-rs-of- zero-waste-a-practical-guide Many single-use packaging items are only used for a short amount of time, but create a lasting effect on the environment.There are lots of things we can do to reduce our waste so these materials don’t ruin our favorite places. Recycling is good, upcycling is better, and making sustainable choices is best! 5 25 - 50 30 - 40 1,000,000 Years Years Years 20 Years 200 Years 2 - 6 Weeks 450 Years 50 Years 1 - 2 Months 6 .