Directions: In this activity, students will think about the types of waste they produce daily and plan a mini-research project to measure the amount of waste they produce for each type. After students collect their data, they will compile and graph their data as a class to identify what categories of waste are the most common for their class and discuss the waste that may have been produced prior to their use of products. Students will then read the Science News article “A fluffy, orange fungus could transform food waste into tasty dishes” before working in groups to identify or create a solution that reduces the amount of waste in a specific category. Finally, students will present their solutions to the class.
Supplies:
- Student Worksheets
- Graph Paper
- Pencils
- Computers
Waste Not, Want Not
To begin this activity, start a discussion by asking students to define the term “waste.” Call on several students to answer the question and encourage students to explore multiple definitions. To help facilitate this discussion, use these guiding questions:
- What is waste?
- What does waste look like?
- Where does waste come from?
- Can we use waste?
As students define waste, students may begin to identify different types of waste. If students do not begin to identify types of waste on their own, ask students to identify examples of waste to move the discussion forward. Students should be able to categorize waste by material. Waste categories may include the following: food, plastic, metal, glass, rubber, paper products, hazardous or chemical (paints, pesticides, etc.), oil, and electronics.
After students have identified different categories of waste, have them answer the questions on their worksheet.
1. What types of waste do you produce daily and why?
Student answers may vary. The majority of my waste can be categorized as food, plastic, metal, or paper products. This is because a lot of my food and drinks come in plastic or aluminum packaging, and I do not always finish my meals. As a student, I also end up throwing away a lot of paper at the end of the school day.
2. What do you think is the most common type of everyday waste? Why?
Student answers may vary. I think that food waste is probably the most common type of everyday waste. This is because food can stick to discarded containers and can go bad. Food prepared from scratch may also produce waste like fruit and vegetable peels, bones, etc.
3. What do you think are the least common types of everyday waste? Why?
Student answers may vary. Hazardous or chemical waste, oil, and electronic waste are probably the least common types of everyday waste. This is because these types of waste usually are produced by less-common activities like painting a room, replacing a phone, etc.
4. What are the most common methods for disposing of waste?
Most waste is thrown out in the trash, where it is later taken to the landfill. In some places, waste is incinerated. However, some waste, like plastics, glass, and aluminum, can be recycled and food waste can be composted.
5. Identify at least two ways to measure the amount of waste you produce. Include metric units.
Student answers may vary. Waste can be measured by volume in m3 or by weight in grams.
6. Scientists like to have as large a sample size as possible when conducting research investigations because that increases confidence in their results. With a small sample size, each individual data point has a large influence on the overall results. Individual data points may cluster out of coincidence, in a way that does not reflect the entire population. Having a larger sample size increases the likelihood that results reflect the population. If you were researching the amount of waste produced by students at your school, how could you achieve a large sample size?
Student answers may vary. Everyone in my class or grade level could collect data.
Shaping a Study
Tell students that they will be conducting a research study as a class to determine their daily waste production. As part of this research study, they will be responsible for categorizing and measuring the amount of waste they produce every day. To do this, students will first need to plan the structure of their research study. This includes coming up with a question to guide their study. Students should discuss each worksheet question as a class and record their answers. All students should have the same answers written on their worksheet by the end of this section of the activity. Students will need their own piece of graph paper to create a figure from their data tables.
As students answer the questions, make sure that their responses are realistic. For example, while students may be able to consistently collect data for several days, they may struggle to consistently collect data for longer periods of time. It is also important to note that students will have difficulty measuring the amount of waste they produce. While question 4 asks students to identify exact or approximate measurements, it is unlikely that students will be able to weigh every item of waste they produce. Furthermore, if they do collect waste to weigh later, they must dispose of anything containing food waste properly. This includes food wrappers that may have residual food traces. Food waste may spoil, and sorting and weighing waste in class may expose students to allergens. Use your judgment to choose the waste measurement method that works best for your class.
After students have answered all the questions on the work sheet, assign data collection as homework.
1. What is the scientific question for your research study? What is your hypothesis?
Student answers may vary. Our scientific question is, “How much waste is produced by students at our school and what type of waste is most commonly produced?” Our hypothesis is as follows: If students measure the amount of waste they produce daily, then food waste will be the most common type of waste produced.
2. What is the duration of the study? How long will you measure the amount of waste you produce?
Student answers may vary. We will measure the amount of waste we produce for three days.
3. What is your independent variable(s)? What categories of waste are you measuring?
Student answers may vary. We will be measuring the amount of food, plastic, metal, glass, rubber, paper products, hazardous or chemicals, oils, and electronics we throw away.
4. What is your dependent variable(s)? How are you measuring the amount of waste you produce? This can include exact or approximate measurements. Include units.
Student answers may vary. We will be measuring the waste by approximate volume in ml or cm3. These units are equivalent, and we can use items including measuring cups or rulers to approximate the volume. One cup is equal to 240 ml or cm3.
5. How do you plan to record your data? Create a data table to record your data on a separate sheet of paper. You will use this table to record your data during the study.
Student answers may vary. We will be recording the amount of waste we produce at different times during the day. We made sure to include specific hours for each time. This will help us stay consistent in our data collection, as we will be collecting data for multiple days and there are many data collectors participating in our study.
| Day 1 | |||||
| Waste Category | Morning 5AM-12PM | Afternoon 12PM-5PM | Evening 5PM-9PM | Night 9PM-5AM | Total |
| Food | |||||
| Plastic | |||||
| Metal | |||||
| Glass | |||||
| Rubber | |||||
| Paper Products | |||||
| Hazardous | |||||
| Oil | |||||
| Electronics | |||||
| Unidentified | |||||
| Day 2 | |||||
| Waste Category | Morning 5AM-12PM | Afternoon 12PM-5PM | Evening 5PM-9PM | Night 9PM-5AM | Total |
| Food | |||||
| Plastic | |||||
| Metal | |||||
| Glass | |||||
| Rubber | |||||
| Paper Products | |||||
| Hazardous | |||||
| Oil | |||||
| Electronics | |||||
| Unidentified | |||||
| Day 3 | |||||
| Waste Category | Morning 5AM-12PM | Afternoon 12PM-5PM | Evening 5PM-9PM | Night 9PM-5AM | Total |
| Food | |||||
| Plastic | |||||
| Metal | |||||
| Glass | |||||
| Rubber | |||||
| Paper Products | |||||
| Hazardous | |||||
| Oil | |||||
| Electronics | |||||
| Unidentified | |||||
6. How can you graph the class data once it has been collected? Include information about any calculations needed prior to graphing the data.
Student answers may vary. We will total the amount of waste we produce for each category across the whole class before graphing the data using a bar graph.
7. How could you scale your class results to know how much waste your class would produce in a year? Explain any uncertainties that may exist in your data.
Student answers will vary but will likely include a mathematical calculation of their average trash data per day multiplied by 365 days. They may point out uncertainties in that daily average such as the fact that the average weekday waste amounts might be different than weekend waste amounts.
Sharing Samples
Students will record data in the data tables they created during the Shaping a Study section of the activity. Once they have finished collecting their data, they will need to aggregate their data to find class trends. To help students aggregate their data, use a whiteboard or Excel sheet to help students organize their information and either sum or average their data for each category and collection period.
After aggregating their data, students should only have one data point for each category of waste. Using their answers from question 6 in the Shaping a Study section of the activity as a guide, each student should graph their data on their own sheet of graph paper.
Students should then discuss the results of their study as a class, identifying whether their data supports or fails to support their hypothesis. As students reflect on their results, start a discussion about whether their data accurately reflects their impact on the environment and introduce the concept of “invisible” waste. To help facilitate the discussion, use the following guiding questions:
- Do you think your data is accurate? Does this data show all the waste we produce as a class?
- Is there any waste produced prior to us receiving our food or other products?
- What type of waste might our data not show?
Fungal Solutions
Instruct students to read the Science News article “A fluffy, orange fungus could transform food waste into tasty dishes” before assigning students to groups. There should be the same number of groups as the number of waste categories identified. For example, there should be nine groups if students identified the following waste categories: food, plastic, metal, glass, rubber, paper products, hazardous, oils, and electronics. Assign each group one category of waste.
Tell students that just as the fungus Neurospora intermedia was used to process soybean pulp and coffee grounds, which would otherwise be food waste, there are many unique solutions to processing and preventing waste from entering the landfill. Each student group must find a solution for their category that reduces the amount of waste entering the landfill. Their solution can address one specific item, or it can cover all waste within their category.
Students may research solutions online or may come up with their own solutions to reduce their category of waste. However, solutions to reducing waste cannot include composting or the three Rs of waste management (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). An exception is when an additional processing step discovered by research is used to enable recycling or reuse. If students are searching for solutions online, direct students to use the Science News archive as a resource.
Tell students that they will be presenting their identified solution to the rest of the class. To prepare for their presentation, students should answer the questions on their worksheet.
1. What type of waste are you trying to reduce?
Student answers may vary. We are trying to reduce the amount of plastic waste.
2. What is the solution? As part of your description, identify the source where you found your solution or that you came up with your solution yourself.
Student answers may vary. Insects, including superworms and mealworms, can be used to eat several types of plastic. This solution came from the Science News article “Here’s how long it would take 100 worms to eat the plastic in one face mask.”
3. Does your solution reduce all of your type of waste, or does it only reduce specific waste items? If it only reduces specific waste items, what waste items does it reduce?
Student answers may vary. Superworms and mealworms can digest multiple types of plastic including polypropylene and polyurethane, among others.
4. How effective is your solution at reducing waste in your category?
Student answers may vary. Using superworms and mealworms to digest plastic is a fairly slow process. It would take 100 mealworms over four months to eat a single facemask. However, this still reduces the amount of plastic that enters the landfill, and insects like mealworms reproduce quickly. This could potentially make them part of a realistic solution to reduce plastic waste.