Waste and recycling Recycling paper
Waste and recycling Recycling paper Introduction: From rising fuel prices to scarcity of water to climate change and more, the need for creative thinking and action around issues of sustainability has never been more urgent. Consider these facts: Projected world population growth to exceed 9 billion by 2050* By 2050, energy demand could double or triple as population rises and developing countries expand their economies and overcome poverty* Natural resource consumption is expected to rise to 170% of the Earth’s biocapacity by 2040** 60% of the Earth’s ecosystem services have been degraded in the past 50 years** Addressing questions about meeting human needs in a world of finite resources and complex inter-connected systems is a concern that impacts us all. The next generation of leaders must understand the breadth of challenges we face and the tools we need to develop effective solutions. The enclosed one hour lesson plan will equip you with the tools needed to teach students the basics about sustainability. Infused with your first-hand knowledge of the integral role business can play in addressing these global challenges, this lesson equips you with a backdrop from which to inspire young minds to contemplate such critical issues and begin making meaningful contributions themselves. We applaud you for taking an important step in developing our future leaders to be able to address complex issues in the marketplace. We thank you for serving as a PwC ambassador, reinforcing our company’s commitment to sustainability and to youth education. We are thrilled that you have made your time and expertise available to help young people become part of the solution as we work towards a more sustainable future. Lesson description: Students will learn about paper: where it comes from and how we use (and waste) it in everyday activities. Students will learn that paper is usually made of natural fibers that come from trees and plants; that almost half of the trees harvested each year for industrial use go into making paper; that most paper can be recycled, and we can develop strategies to recycle paper, use less new paper, and preserve more trees and forests. Grade(s):3-5 Lesson time: 45-60 min © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Lesson summary: Activity Duration Materials Summary A How much paper do you use in a day? 5 mins Paper, bucket An interactive introduction to the paper discussion demonstrating how much paper is used and wasted yearly. B What is paper? 7 mins Wood samples, Paper samples, Magnifying glass, Cotton balls Discuss the origins of paper and how it is made from tree and plant fibers. Paper making toolkit Discussion about recycling and the benefits to the environment. C Making paper 30 mins Students will use magnifying glasses to identify the plant fibers that make up paper. Demonstration on how to recycle paper and make new paper. Students will make recycled paper to demonstrate how easy the process is and how recycling is beneficial to the environment. This is an interactive activity and all students should be involved. Students will each end-up with their own new sheet of recycled paper. D Reflection and discussion 10 mins Labels showing recycled paper symbol and content, 6 sheets 100% recycled paper, handout A Review of topics and activities covered in activities A-C. Show students Handout A: Image Portfolio to start discussion. Review how much paper we use each year. Discuss the importance of trees in creating oxygen. Discuss how we can reduce the amount of paper we use by creating and using recycled paper. Discuss types of natural resources and the importance of preserving our natural resources including trees. Show students the recycling symbol on sample packaging and discuss recycled content. Show students how to remove their recycled paper from screens when it is dry. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Pre-visit prep: Review the lesson topic and goals, vocabulary and lesson plan. Obtain the lesson materials listed under the “Materials” section below. Order 1 Dip into Papermaking Classroom Kit we recommend this kit or a similar version http://arnoldgrummer.com/dip-into-papermaking-i-classroom-kit.html (#52 $159.95), contains enough materials for 4 classroom stations and 30 students. Read carefully on quantities for other kits. Thoroughly read instructions and watch demonstration video. Prepare materials as described ahead of time. Student learning objectives: Students will: Calculate the amount of paper that we use as individuals in everyday activities. Visualize how much paper is made and used every year. Discuss and understand that paper is made from trees and plants. Define recycling and list examples of products and materials that can be recycled. Examine various kinds of recycled paper. Identify and find recycled symbols on common products. Learn how paper is made by making a sheet of paper using recycled paper. Understand that paper is made out of interlocking plant fibers. Understand that people and animals need trees and forests to live. Define and discuss renewable resources. Understand that trees and forests are being used up faster than they can be replaced. Develop a list of easy ways that we can use less paper and recycle the paper that we do use. Teacher tips Prepare ahead: The lesson is not complex, but it is activity based and preparation ahead of time is very helpful. Making the activity materials easy to organize, identify, distribute and use will preserve the lesson time in class for teaching, listening and learning. Get the lay of the land: Talk to the regular facilitators for this class ahead of time. Understand the teaching conditions and physical layout of the classroom or other learning setting where you will teach. Are there tables and chairs? Is there running water? Where can you set up and store your materials? How many students? Can you arrange tables for activity stations ahead of time? What about clean up time and places for garbage and recycling activity materials? etc. Order paper making kit ahead of time from http://arnoldgrummer.com/dip-intopapermaking-i-classroom-kit.html Ask the students to help: Try to identify the class leaders and rely on them for assisting you to organize the kids. During discussions, allow a little time for responses to flow from the students. Acknowledge every response with eye contact and a positive word. Keep the conversation moving and try to summarize their responses briefly after every question. Keep the conversation and questions flowing during activity setup even if just to let the students know what you are doing. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Materials: Class/group Supplies Paper making kit(s) (quantity depends on size of class room) Recommended: 1 Dip into Papermaking Classroom Kit from http://arnoldgrummer.com/dip-into-papermaking-i-classroom-kit.html (#52 $159.95), contains enough materials for 30 students and 4 classroom stations (7-8 students per station) Recycled paper pulp (you can make this yourself following instructions in the paper making kit you choose) Recommended: Order premade recycled paper pulp from http://www.enasco.com/product/9705486?sku=9705486 and follow instructions 30 complete sections of newspapers (10 to 15 pages each) for drying paper Bucket(s) with lid(s) (number dependent on classroom size) - for transportation of premade paper pulp to classroom, these can be purchased at Home Depot or other hardware store (links to recommended bucket and lid are below) Lid Bucket Plastic cups (1 per station for distributing pulp mixture to plastic bins, number needed is dependent on classroom size and number of stations) Plastic bins (1 per station for holding pulp mixture for dipping screen mold, number needed is dependent on classroom size and number of stations) 4 Wooden spoons for blending paper pulp mixture in buckets in classroom. Trays (cookie sheets with sides, 1 per station, for draining water from screens and molds once dipped in pulp mixture, number needed is dependent on classroom size and number of stations) Access to water Towels for clean-up Tip if you add 3 - 4 oz. of corn starch or laundry sizing (optional, to add to pulp mixture to keep ink from bleeding on new paper) Demonstration materials Sample handmade papers and recycled papers Parts of paper packaging (ream covers, notebooks, box or wrapping labels) that show recycled content and recyclable symbol 6 sheets of 100% recycled copy or printer paper (each cut into 6 equal pieces: this is for labels for each student’s handmade paper) 2 or 3 magnifying glasses for identifying plant fiber in paper samples, as strong as you have or can find similar to these: 5x lighted hand magnifier: http://www.seeitbigger.com/Carson_LED_Lighted_Magnifier_5x_p/chh-lm07.htm 10x 2” Loupe magnifier: http://www.seeitbigger.com/Carson_LumiLoupe_Magnifier_p/cdl-ll10.htm © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Items that illustrate the fibers in different plant materials: Wood Cotton balls Corn husks Option 1: Show PPT deck with photos of wood and cotton and other plants Option 2: Print out PPT deck of photos, you will need several copies to pass around the class room Option 3: Bring items into classroom Splintered wood (pine or spruce) 1 package of cotton batting or balls Corn husks Image portfolio (handout A, see appendix): Fresh single tree Trees, water, air Trees for oxygen Logs for paper Paper mill smoke Also included in associated PPT deck for this curriculum. Day before prep for papermaking: Order the Dip into Papermaking Classroom Kit or equivalent paper making kit in advance of your classroom session allowing time for shipping and for you to go through any instructions and/or video demonstration. Prepare your basic pulp mixture as per instructions included in kit or purchase premixed, dry paper pulp from an art and craft supply outlet or online at http://www.enasco.com/product/9705486?sku=9705486. Using premixed dry pulp will cut down your prep time. Organize your materials at least a day before your lesson. The results will be well worth the trouble and you will offer students an engrossing and memorable experience.You may want to do a test run using these basic instructions. More detailed instructions are included in the kit. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Background: Almost all the paper we use is derived from cellulose fibers from trees and plants. It takes one large pine tree to produce enough paper for a stack of newspapers 3 ½ feet high. Disposable diapers (largely made of paper) consume an astounding 1 billion trees each year. According to Worldwatch Institute, 42% of all the trees harvested for industrial use goes into the production of paper. More than two-thirds of these trees are taken from natural forests that support diverse wildlife. The paper manufacturing business is also the number one consumer of fresh water in industrialized countries and is the third largest industrial producer of harmful greenhouse gasses. In spite of attempts at “paperless” printing and wide use of electronic reading and communications, world-wide paper production is booming and growing every year. Why should we care about all the trees that go into paper production? Trees are a renewable resource, but are being used faster than they can be planted and grow to maturity. Trees are a necessary part of the world’s ecosystem. Besides providing shelter and nourishment to millions of species of animals and other species, including humans, they scrub the air of harmful carbons (in the form of CO2) and manufacture life-sustaining oxygen. One large tree produces all the oxygen that two people will breathe in a year. Trees and plants are nature’s best filters and are a critical part of the earth’s natural cycle of cleansing and recycling water and replenishing nutrients in soil. Without an enormous number of trees to clean air, provide food and shade, and recycle water, it is likely that the earth would soon become an uninhabitable desert. So what can we do to use fewer trees and ensure a healthy future for the planet? Since so many trees are used for paper, we can try and use less paper and we can recycle the paper we do use. Recycling is not hard to do and it has many benefits. For example, the Conservatree organization has calculated that one-ton of copy paper made from 100% recycled paper saves 24 mature trees, preserves 7,000 gallons of fresh water and 60 pounds of air pollution. Recycling paper also saves electricity produced by burning non-renewable resources like coal, oil and natural gas. Thanks to the efforts of many people and concerned organizations, the United States now recycles almost two-thirds of the new paper it produces. We need to do more. Lesson activities: Greeting: The goal of this section is to introduce the students about what we are doing today and understand the importance of recycling. Say: Hi everyone! My name is ---------. Thanks for letting me join your program today. We are going to spend the next hour having some fun learning about a very important resource that we all use every day. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Activity A – How much paper do you use every day? (5 minutes) An interactive introduction to the paper discussion demonstrating how much paper is used and wasted yearly. Materials: Class/group Paper Bucket Ask: Have you ever seen something like this? Show: Hold up a plain piece of paper and let the students react. Say: Of course you have. It’s just a piece of paper. Do you ever think about where paper comes from or how much of it we use every day? Say: Let’s think of all the ways we use paper. Do: Call on students and allow a minute or two for students to list as many ways they use paper as they can. List what they say on a large piece of notepaper you’ve taped to the wall. Say: Wow! We use paper a lot! Ask: How much paper do you think we use at home and in school? I need 12 volunteers. Demonstrate: (Pick and gather the volunteers and line them up so they are facing the rest of class. Choose one student on one end and ask them to sit on the floor.) Say: Now, I want everyone to imagine that (ask the student who is sitting on the floor her name) _______ is a stack of junk mail, catalogues, books, notebooks, toilet paper, copy paper and other paper. (Use your hand to measure up level with her/his head.) Say: (to the sitting volunteer) Put your paper on your head to help us imagine that you are a stack of paper. Great! Say: That is how much paper you each use in just two weeks! Each one of you! Now imagine that all these fine volunteers are stacks of paper. Paper on heads, please. Do you see these huge stacks of paper? That’s how much paper each of us uses in one year! Ask: Can you guess how much all this paper, just used by one person, would weigh? (Allow a few seconds for responses – repeat the numbers you hear.) Say: Some of you came close to guessing. The answer is that the average person in America uses over 700 pounds of paper each year! That’s as much as the 12 volunteers here weigh together. Thanks for being paper for a few minutes. You can join the others now. Everyone gather in close so we can see and talk. Do: Pass out a piece of paper to each student. Say: Now everybody has a piece of paper. Please tear this paper into strips like this: Demonstrate: Tear a thin strip off of a newsprint sheet down its length. Do it again and— Say: I want you to tear up your paper into little, tiny bits. That’s right. Until they look like this Show: A handful of pre-torn paper. The pieces should be ¼ inch or smaller, almost like confetti. Say: When you are done tearing your paper, put your torn bits into this bucket. Do: Place the bucket in the middle of the room. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Activity B – What is paper? (7 minutes) Discuss the origins of paper and how it is made from tree and plant fibers. Students will use magnifying glasses to identify the plant fibers that make up paper. Materials: Class/group Wood (or image alternative) Cotton balls (or image alternative) Corn (or image alternative) Paper samples Magnifying glass Student (one for each student) Student Handout A: Image Portfolio Single tree image, Logs for paper image Ask: Now, while you are tearing up your paper, who can tell me what paper is made out of? (Allow time for responses. It is likely that someone will know.) Say: Almost all the paper we use is made out of trees. Show: Picture of a single tree. Say: The trees are cut down and shipped in trucks like this to papermaking factories. Show: Picture of logs for paper. Say: Here are some pieces of the kind of wood that most paper is made from. Do: Pass a few pieces of your wood sample around. Say: The wood logs are ground down into little chips, sort of like these paper bits, and cooked in water until they have a big vat of mush called pulp. They pour this pulpy mush out on screens and flatten the damp mush into big sheets of thin paper that they roll up in order to make all the kinds of paper we use every day. Demonstrate: Take the bucket of paper bits and pour in some water (hot or very warm is good, but cold may have to do). Say: Let’s look closely at some different kinds of paper. Demonstrate: Take some of your paper samples and arrange them on a table along with your magnifying lenses. Invite the students to the table or if there are a large number of students, arrange to pass the paper samples around. Say: Trees and plants are made up of billions of little fibers like thin hairs. If you look closely through a magnifying glass, you can see these fibers in paper, especially at the edges of torn paper. Here is some cotton. It is made up of the same kind of fibers as wood, it’s just fluffier. Demonstrate: Show how to look through the lens at the paper. Say: Now let’s take turns looking at these different kinds of paper. Ask: What do you see? Can you see the little fibers? Do they look like the fibers in the cotton? Remember what you are seeing because we are going to be using fibers today to make our own paper. Look closely, but quickly and pass the magnifier to your classmate. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Do: While the students are examining the samples get out your materials for papermaking. Be sure to put down paper under the bucket to catch spilled pulp mix. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Activity C – Making paper (30 minutes) Discussion about recycling and the benefits to the environment. Demonstration on how to recycle paper and make new paper. Students will make recycled paper to demonstrate how easy the process is and how recycling is beneficial to the environment. This is an interactive activity and all students should be involved. Students will each end-up with their own new sheet of recycled paper. Materials: Class/group Papermaking supplies All equipment from Materials List Say: Now it’s time to make some of our own paper. Ask: What is paper made from? (Some will say “trees”.) That’s right, but are there any trees in this room? How do you think we can make paper without cutting down trees? Do: Allow time for students to think and voice responses. Ask: Do you know what recycling is? Say: Yes! Recycling is taking something, like the used paper in your hands and turning it into something new. We can make some new paper with the used paper we’ve torn up without using any new trees. Option 1: With blender. If you have brought in a blender, you can take some of the bits of paper the students have torn. Say: I am going to use this blender to help make our pulp. We’ll mix this in with more paper pulp that I blended last night. Demonstrate: Blend a small batch for about a minute or two in short bursts. When you are done, ask for volunteers to help blend this mix in one of your vats along with your prepared pulp mix. Option 2 (recommended): Without blender: Say: We are going to mix some of your paper bits in with some pulp that I blended last night. The more the used paper is soaked and blended, the more the fibers are separated and the finer and stronger the paper will turn out. Help me mix this together. Do: Pass out a few wooden spoons and blend in some (about two or three cups) of the rough torn bits into the pre-prepared pulp mix. When you and the students have put in the 3 cups of torn paper, ask another group to help you pass out the screens. Say: That’s good, keep blending the pulp until the fibers are evenly mixed in. In a paper factory their vat of pulp might be as big as a backyard swimming pool! Do: Check to see that the pulp mixture is fairly even. Say: That’s terrific. We are ready to make new paper out of old paper. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Demonstrate: Take one of the frames, a screen and a grid. Hold up the screen. Say: Everyone should have a screen. Hold them up. Good! The screen has holes in to let water through, but will hold the paper fibers on top. We are going to make a kind of sandwich with the frames on the outside and the screen in the middle, and a grid on the other like this. Demonstrate: Make your screen sandwich slowly and hold it up so everyone can see. Use plastic cup to pour the newly mixed paper pulp into a bin. Say: Now I’m going to dip the screen carefully in the pulp and let the fibers spread on top and lift it out carefully. I’m holding this tight and letting the water run out. Demonstrate: Dip your screen into the bin, let the fibers settle a bit and pull it out slowly. Let it drain a bit. The dipping and draining process should only take ten seconds or so. Say: Now I’m going to set the screens on this cookie sheet and carefully remove the frame and set it over here. Demonstrate: Set your grid and screen up on the cookie sheet facing up and remove the top frame. Allow additional water to drain. Say: Now I’m going to place this grey cover sheet over the screen and grid and use this sponge to press out some of the excess water. Demonstrate: as above Say: Now I'm going to place a white, "Press n' Dry" cloth on top of a sheet of news paper. I will remove the grey cover sheet and take the screen with the pulp on top with two hands, and move it on top of the "Press n' Dry" cloth on the newspapers and put another "Press n' Dry" cloth on top of the screen. Demonstrate: as above Say: Now I’m going to take a sponge and squish out as much water as I can. Can you help me? Push hard and evenly. We can also use this press bar to squish out even more water. Demonstrate: You may use a small board for this, or a rolling pin, if available. Otherwise just the palms of your hands will do. Say: Let’s take a peek and see what’s happening to the paper pulp. Demonstrate: Slowly remove the top "Press n'Dry" sheet. Pick up the screen. It should look considerably more like paper (or cardboard) at this point. The fibers should be flattened and it should be grey to dark grey. If you’ve elected to put flecks of decoration in, they should be well integrated into the flattened pulp. You may need to use additional "Press n' Dry" sheets to remove excess water. When the new paper is sufficiently dry, pass it around. Say: I’m passing this around so we can all see. Be careful. Ask: Does it look more like paper now? Why do you think it is grey? (They may guess dirt or, correctly, from the ink on the used paper.) What does it feel like? © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Say: It is almost paper, but it still has lots of water in it that will take a day or so to dry out. We are going to wrap them carefully, screen and all, in newspaper and take them home to dry, like this: Demonstrate: Wrap the screen and paper in a fresh piece of news paper. Write your name in crayon on the outside. Say: Remember to write your name on your package so that you can keep track of your own paper. Now, let’s get to work making paper. (Pick a student who looks eager). Will you start first? We’ll all get a chance to make paper. Those of you who are waiting can help make sure we have dry newspaper out, clean frames and well-stirred pulp. Demonstrate: Pick a few students and show them how to help do the tasks you outlined, then— Do: Take the first student through the process, talking about the steps again and enlisting others to clean and organize behind you. Enlist the first students to help. You may want to keep close watch over the pulp vat and keep control over the frame sandwich and dipping which is the most complicated part of the process. Repeat, until all have their paper. You may uncover and use a second batch of pulp, frames and screens. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Activity D – Reflection and discussion (3 minutes) Review of topics and activities covered in activities A-C. Show students Handout A: Image Portfolio to start discussion. Review how much paper we use each year. Discuss the importance of trees in creating oxygen. Discuss how we can reduce the amount of paper we use by creating and using recycled paper. Discuss types of natural resources and the importance of preserving our natural resources including trees. Show students the recycling symbol on sample packaging and discuss recycled content. Show students how to remove their recycled paper from screens when it is dry. Materials: Class/group Parts of paper packaging (ream covers, notebooks, box or wrapping labels) that show recycled content and recyclable symbol 6 sheets of 100% recycled copy or printer paper (each cut into 6 equal pieces (this is for labels for each student’s handmade paper) Student (one for each student) Student Handout A: Image Portfolio Trees for oxygen image, Trees, air, water image, Paper mill smoke Say: Okay! You’ve all done a terrific job at making recycled paper. Let’s review what we did today and talk about why recycling paper is important. Ask: What did we learn that paper is made from? Say: That’s right! Almost all the paper we use is made out of trees. Ask: How much paper did we find out each of us uses in one year? Say: You are terrific! We each use about 700 pounds of paper every year. If all this paper were made from living trees it would take 6 big trees to produce 700 pounds of paper. Just five of us would use more trees than you could count in this picture. Show: Trees for oxygen image Say: Do you know that trees and plants make the oxygen that we breathe? These same trees would make enough oxygen that everyone in this room needs for a whole year of breathing if they were allowed to live and grow. Ask: If they were cut down so that a few of us could have paper what would happen? That’s right. They would stop making oxygen and cleaning the air. Ask: What did we do today that could help us save these trees and still make sure that we had enough paper? Say: Very good! We could recycle more used paper and use fewer living trees. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Ask: How many different kinds of natural resources do you see in these pictures? Show: Trees, air, water image Do: Allow time for students to answer. Acknowledge their responses. Say: Yes. Trees and plants are natural resources. So are water and air and even some animals. These are all natural resources that people depend on to live. Most living things in the world are dependent on trees in many ways. Show: Recycling symbol on a paper package sample. Ask: Have you seen this symbol before? Where have you seen it? Do you know what it means? (They may or may not respond to these questions – if they do, then have them list recyclable products and add more to the list yourself.) Say: It is a symbol that means that the product is recyclable. Show: Recycled content symbols. Say: These are symbols that show that the product was made from other recycled material. The number inside or next to them shows how much recycled content is inside. Ask: If a package of paper says “100% recycled,” what does that mean? Say: It means that all of the new paper was made from used paper, just like we did today. Ask: What percent of the paper we made today was recycled? Say: That’s right! 100%! Ask: And how many living trees did we need to cut down to make our paper? Say: You are right again! We didn’t use any living trees to make our paper. We used just a little bit of water. Say: You have all been terrific recyclers and paper-makers today. There are some handouts, printed on factory-made 100% recycled paper, with some other fun activities and information about recycling our resources that you may take home with your paper today. When you get home, unwrap your paper and screen. Throw your newspaper wrap into the paper-recycling bin. Find a nice sunny windowsill to put your screen and paper on so it can dry out. In a day or so, check to make sure it is dry and you are ready to peel it off the screen. Start at the edges and carefully lift up a corner and peel it slowly off the screen. Demonstrate: Take the demonstration paper you made earlier and carefully imitate peeling your paper off the screen. Say: Once you’re done, and after you’re sure that the paper is really, really dry, you can use it for a note card, or art project or anything you’d normally use special paper for. You can even wash your screen and use it again. Ask: Did we learn something today and have some fun? Say: Great. Now let’s clean up! Optional: Clean up with class. (5-8 minutes) Say: Let’s put our unused paper into this bag so it can be recycled. Let’s store the equipment so it can be reused again. Let’s keep our tools separate so they can be reused for another workshop. And let’s think about using a little less paper every day! Do: Help the kids put the used materials into appropriate bags for recycling or reusing. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Closing reflections (5-8 minutes) Say: Today we learned about the importance of using recycled paper products to conserve trees and forests. We also learned how recycled paper is made by actually making it ourselves! Ask students to share the most interesting thing that they learned today. Use the following questions to prompt student discussion, if necessary. What is the difference between recycled paper and paper that is not recycled? Why is it good to use recycled paper? How can you recognize recycled paper when you shop for paper in the store? Before today, have you always used recycled paper? After today, do you think you will try to use recycled paper more often? After the discussion, say: Thank you for allowing me to spend this time with you today. I think we learned a lot and also had a great time. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Recycling the paper you use—or buying paper that has been recycled—isn’t really hard. But I think you have a better understanding of why it’s important. Additional sustainability curriculums Conservation: Water Waste and recycling: Recycling and energy recovery Waste and recycling: Carbon credits © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Appendix Evaluation/assessment of student learning During lesson/in-class: Each student observes paper up close to see the materials from which it is made. Each student makes recycled paper from stocks of used paper. Each student learns how to read packages to identify paper that is recycled. Ideas for post-lesson assessments: Students look at the labels of several different kinds of paper products (e.g., paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, copy paper, notebooks), and determine which ones they would buy based on recycled content. Each student makes a graphic organizer that lists the major steps in making sheets of recycled paper. Extensions/enrichments Have students list the steps of the papermaking procedure so that they can try the papermaking activity at home with members of their family. Encourage students to take part in family paper recycling, or to help their family start recycling paper if they do not do it already. Also suggest that students encourage family members to buy recycled paper products. Recycling is only successful if consumers buy recycled products to complete the cycle. Students and their families can consult the Environmental Protection Agency’s web page entitled “Buy Recycled” (http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/buyrecycled.htm ) for tips on buying products with the most post-consumer recycled content. Students and their families can take a look at “A Shopper’s Guide to Home Tissue Products” at the NRDC website (http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/gtissue.asp ) for a ranking of brands of paper products (e.g., toilet paper, napkins, paper towels) in terms of their recycled content and “clean” manufacturing processes. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Handout A Single tree © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Trees, Water, Air © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Paper mill smoke © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Logs for paper © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Trees for oxygen © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Vocabulary: Fiber: A long and thin object like a hair or a thread. Cellulose fiber: The kind of fiber that comes from trees and plants. Tiny interlocking threadlike objects that are part of a plant’s basic structure and which give the plant strength and flexibility. Paper pulp: Usually made from grinding trees and plants into small particles and mixing with water to separate the cellulose fibers. Filter: Any material that will allow liquid or gas to pass through while trapping solid particles. Trees absorb harmful carbon and other pollutants from the air and soil and convert these substances into wood, leaves and fruit. Trees also filter water through their roots, clean it, store some and give it off in the atmosphere as oxygen and water vapor. Greenhouse gas: Any number of naturally and human-made gasses that promote heating of the atmosphere (like a greenhouse). Too many artificially produced greenhouse gasses contribute to pollution and global warming. Pollution: Harmful objects, materials, or chemicals that have contaminated a natural resource, usually air, water or soil. Landfill: Human-produced garbage and trash that is not recycled or reused that is collected and dumped in enormous pits or mounds. Nearly half of landfill is composed of paper and paper products that might take 500 years or more to naturally break down into soil. Recycle: To take a product that is no longer useful and reprocess all or part of it into another useful product. Paper can be recycled and reprocessed up to 10 times. Reuse: To use the same thing more than once for the same or different purposes, without reprocessing it and remanufacturing it. Using the empty back of paper for notes or artwork is an example of this. Using the box from a shipment you received as a storage bin, is another example. Reduce: Lessening the amount of something. Choosing to read a book or magazine online instead of buying a paper version might reduce the amount of paper you use. Natural resource: Any organism or material found in nature that can be used by people to fill a need or want. Plants and animals for food, trees for wood, fuel and paper, oil and coal for energy, water for drinking and cooking, etc., are all natural resources. Renewable resource: Any natural resource that can renew or replace itself through natural reproduction and growth, faster than it is consumed. Living things, like plants, trees and animals can renew themselves naturally under good conditions; non-living things like oil, coal, minerals, and water cannot make more of themselves and are nonrenewable. © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. Sources: * “Facts and Trends to 2050: Energy and Climate Change.” World Business Council for Sustainable Development. (http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/xxSdHDlXwf1J2J3ql0I6/ Basic-Facts-Trends-2050.pdf) ** “Sustainable Consumption: Facts and Trends from a Business Perspective.” World Business Council for Sustainable Development. (http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/ I9Xwhv7X5V8cDI HbHC3G /WBCSD_Sustainable_Consumption_web.pdf) Worldwatch Institute: http://www.worldwatch.org/ Conservatree : http://www.conservatree.org/ Enviromentalpaper.org: http://environmentalpaper.org/ Yahoo! Kids Dictionary: http://kids.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/english About.com: http://forestry.about.com/od/treephysiology/tp/tree_value.htm Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Answers.com: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Natural Resources Defense Council : http://www.nrdc.org/ © 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the United States member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/ further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.
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