Group Work  –  Recycling Responses:

What does recycling mean?

• to process items such as glass, plastic, newspaper, aluminum and tin cans so they can be used to make new products
• to reduce the amount of things you can use and to reuse things
• to save paper, glass, styrofoam, and cardboard from being thrown away
• to not throw trash on the ground
• to keep our planet clean and reuse stuff. Trash workers take our stuff from the end of our driveways. They take items to the recycling center instead of throwing them away.
• to keep our planet clean by processing old stuff such as cans, glass, plastic and newspaper
• to make used things into new things

What does it mean to reduce using something?

• to decrease something in size, amount or weight
• if we use scrap paper instead of new paper it is reusing something
• use the front and back of a paper to reduce the amount of paper used
• an example is using less paper. It saves trees and the amount of trash we have.

What does it mean to reuse something?

• it means to reuse something again like a plastic spoon
• we can reuse clothes
• it means to use something again and again like clothes and water bottles
• you can reuse cans, paper, plastic and shoes
• to use something over and over again like plastic cups and forks, clothes and water bottles
• we can use plastic forks again, plates, water bottles, clothes, and grocery bags
• you can reuse old cars
• if we reuse stuff we won’t make the trash places bigger

Why should we reduce, reuse, and recycle? How does it help? Who does it help?

• it helps save trees and animals’ homes – especially the earth
• it helps everybody, and we should do it because it keeps the world clean and it would not smell so bad
• it helps keep the earth clean. It helps save animals’ homes when new landfills don’t have to be built
• it helps animals to not choke on trash, and you don’t cut down as many trees
• it helps animals’ habitats, and helps keep our world clean

What types of things can be recycled?

• we can recycle cans, paper, glass, plastic, plastic cups and silverware, polystyrene :)/styrofoam, newspaper, cardboard, aluminum, and tin cans

How can YOU help the earth?

• I can recycle more and not throw away stuff that can be recycled
• we can keep the earth clean
• we should not litter
• we can recycle, reduce and reuse! And pick up trash
• recycle paper, plastic cups, glass, cans and polystyrene
• we can pick up litter

What are some interesting facts you have learned about recycling?

• it takes 500 years for an aluminum can to biodegrade at a landfill
• it takes glass 3,000 years to break down
• recycling is fun
• if you do recycle, you help the earth
• if we recycle paper we won’t have to cut down so many trees
• forty-three thousand tons of food are thrown away in the United States each day
• fourteen billion pounds of trash is dumped into the ocean each year
• every ton of paper that’s recycled saves seventeen trees
• you shouldn’t burn styrofoam due to the fumes
• we can melt plastic and glass and make new things from them
• styrofoam never biodegrades
• plastic never biodegrades
• paper biodegrades the most easily
• when you recycle things, they can get melted and made into new things
• New York City alone throws out enough garbage each day to fill the Empire State Building
• all the people in teh United States throw out enough garbage each day to fill 100,000 garbage trucks
• sixty-five billion soda cans are used each year

Recycled Materials: letters – recycled Styrofoam sheet from construction material; panther – plastic sheet, recycled from making signs; blades of grass – toilet paper/paper towel rolls; background (blue) – recycled from 5-gallon water bottles; sun – recycled twine/string; eyes – ping pong ball and reused AA batteries

Non-Recycled Items: clouds – prime resin used to make film for plastic bags; tempura paint; pipe cleaners; LED lights; wire and battery connectors; wood glue/Elmers glue; 4×6 board; polyurethane spray; polyurethane foam – glue; hot glue; 4 decking nails; green highlighter; black Sharpie

Artists: Entire 2nd Grade Class

[secondary submissions from the same school]

Project Title: Train

Recycled Materials: paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, milk caps, boxes, oatmeal cream pie box, goldfish cracker box, paper, Kleenex boxes

Non-recycled Materials: pipe cleaners, hot glue

Artists: Mrs. Vandenbrand and Mrs. Harmens’ ASD and Kindergarten students