Carton Landfills
Grade Level: 3-5
Time: 2 days, 45-90 minutes
Subject: Language Arts,
Science, Math
Objective: To inform students
about trash generation and
disposal and learn the benefits
of recycling.
Goal: Students will be able to
identify materials that can be
recycled and those that need
to be disposed of in a landfill.
Students will be able to identify
ways in which recycling and
composted is beneficial.
Materials to create the landfill:
•2 single-serving cartons per student
•Potting soil
•Small bag of grass seed or several packets of cat grass seeds (usually oat or
wheat grass seeds)
•1 small piece of garbage
Materials to sort (at least one item per student):
•Paper
•Metal
•Glass
•Plastic
Containers for sorting:
•Waste Basket
•Recycling Container
Teacher Background
According to the EPA, in 2012 Americans generated about 251 million tons of
trash. While 87 million tons of this material was recycled or composted, there
is still much room for improvement, which is why students should learn the
importance of being responsible with their waste. In this lesson students will
explore what happens to materials that are disposed of in landfill and the benefits
of composting and recycling instead.
Laying the Groundwork
Ask students,
What are the 3 Rs?
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle*
*Composting is recycling food and yard waste back into humus.
What does it mean to recycle?
Recycling means taking old materials and making new things from them.
Why is it important to follow the three Rs?
Recycling and reducing waste helps the environment. Creating new materials
from the old keeps materials out of landfills, takes less energy, saves natural
resources like trees, and saves people money.
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Exploration
Step 1. Divide students into groups or work as a whole class to categorize
waste. Ask students to sort items and consider what a particular item
was used for and how it could be recycled.
Examples:
•A plastic bottle can be made into a fleece jacket
•Fruits and vegetables be made into compost and put back into the
garden
•Paper can be recycled into more paper, paper towels, or toilet paper
•Glass can be made into new bottles or jars
•An aluminum can will become another aluminum can or foil
•Clothing can become new clothing, rags for cleaning, or other textiles
Step 2. Class Discussion: Ask students:
What items cannot be recycled?
What happens to these materials? Where do they go?
Step 3. Introduce a mini-landfill activity to your class.
•Provide one single-serving carton per student. Ask students to open
the top of the carton.
•Discuss with students that everyone is going to create their own
Figure 1. Layers of a Landfill*
landfill. Every student is going to choose one item that can either be
recycled or thrown away.
•Ask students to select a small item for each carton landfill from the
previously sorted items.
•Show students a diagram of how to construct their landfill. (See
Figure 1).
•Each student should receive:
– 2 cups of soil
– 2 tablespoons grass
Step 4. Each student should document what is going to happen inside their
carton landfill. Consider: Over time what will happen to the material?
Step 5. Have students put together the landfill according to the diagram,
sprinkling grass seed on the top and adding a small amount of water.
Place near a windowsill.
Step 6. Have students observe the mini landfills over the course of two weeks,
watering to ensure that grass grows.
Step 7. Once the grass has sprouted ask students what they think happened
to the item inside their landfill. Consider: What do you think the material
you buried will look like? Will it have changed? Do environmental
factors like water or plants change the material?
Step 8. Supply each student with a tray or newspaper to allow students to dig
up their carton landfills. Ask: What happened to the materials? Was
your hypothesis correct?
Step 9. Have students responsibly dispose of their carton landfill.
sponsored by
with support from
© 2014 The National Gardening Association. All rights reserved.
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Digging Deeper
•To conclude the activity, make a list of items that can be recycled and
composted. Revisit questions about the importance of reducing waste and
recycling. Moving forward, have students document any and all waste they
generate in one week in the classroom. This exercise can be repeated in the
home environment. Provide a posterboard to write down or draw what is thrown
away, recycled, and composted (if applicable.)
•Start a school wide recycling campaign. Have students create informational
posters about recycling based on their study.
•Older students can explore recycling, composting, and garbage laws and
regulations in their community, state, neighboring states, or different countries.
Have students develop presentations that compare and contrast rules from
different locations.
•Ask students to consider the following: Does our school comply with recycling,
composting, and general trash disposal? Do you follow these rules in the home
environment? What happens to our town/city/county waste, recycling, and
compost?
Additional Resources:
Recycle City: http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/mainmap.htm
Making Mountains out of Landfills: http://www.pbs.org/america-revealed/
teachers/lesson-plan/8/
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© 2014 The National Gardening Association. All rights reserved.