8. ECOLOGY AND RECYCLING

What is recycling?

Recycling is a way to take trash and turn it into new products. There are a number of different recycling processes that allow materials to be used more than once.

What can be recycled?

All sorts of materials can be recycled. Some of the most common processes in use today involve recycling plastic, glass, metals, paper, electronics, and textiles. Typical used items made of these materials include soda cans, plastic milk cartons, newspapers, old computers, and cardboard boxes.

The Recycling Loop

The recycling symbol, or loop, has three arrows. Each arrow represents a different step in the recycling process. These steps are:

Collecting recyclable materials, like aluminum cans and plastic bottles.
Processing the old materials and making new items.
Buying items made from recycled materials

Benefits of Recycling

There are a number of benefits from recycling. These include:

Landfills - Recycling materials means less trash and saves space in dumps and landfills.
Resources - When we use materials again, this means we can take fewer resources from the Earth.
Pollution - In general, recycling materials can produce less pollution helping to keep our environment clean.

What can you do?

Be sure to recycle everything you can in your house and school. There is almost always a "recycle" trash can around. Be sure to drop your used aluminum cans and plastic bottles there. At home, be sure to put paper items like the newspaper, cereal boxes, and homework pages into the recycle bin.

Fun Facts About Recycling

Plastics are usually marked with an identification code that shows a recycling symbol and a number from 1 to 7. This indicates the type of chemicals, or polymer, used in making the plastic.
Used paper can be recycled around seven times. After this the fibers get too short and are filtered out by the recycling process.
Some waste material is turned into electricity energy by burning it in modern incinerators.
Glass is one of the best recycling materials. Clear glass can be recycled over and over again.
In 2009, the United States recycled around 1/3 of all its waste. Around 7 million tons of metals were recycled.

QUIZ ABOUT THE INFORMATION ABOVE

Going greenTake this fun quiz to find out how eco-friendly you are—plus, get some tips on how you can help save the Earth!

Earth Day quizTake this quiz to find out how green you are.

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Renewable Energy

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy uses energy sources that are not "used up". For example, solar power from the sun is renewable as we won't "use up" all the sunlight from the sun. Examples of non-renewable energy sources include fossil fuels like coal and oil. Once we use or burn these resources, they are gone forever.

Why is renewable energy important?

Much of the world relies on non-renewable energy to heat their homes, power their electronic devices, and power their cars. Once these energy sources are used up, they will be gone forever. Developing technologies that can efficiently use renewable energy sources is critical to our future.

The Environment

Many renewable energy sources are also better for the environment than burning fossil fuels. They produce less pollution which will help protect the environment and provide us with cleaner air and water.

Major Types of Renewable Energy

Wind Power - Large wind turbines generate electricity from the power of the wind.

Solar Energy - The rays from the sun can help to heat a building or a pool. They can also be turned into electricity using solar cells.

Hydropower - Water from a dam or a river can be used to spin turbines and generate electricity.

Wave and Tidal Power - This new technology is working on ways to harness the vast power of the ocean's waves and tides.

Geothermal Energy - Heat from inside the Earth can be used to heat homes and buildings with heat pumps. Steam from inside the Earth can also be used to generate electricity.

Biomass Energy - Plants gather energy from the sun by photosynthesis. We can harness this energy by burning plants such as trees as well as creating fuel from plants such as ethanol and biodiesel. Even gas from trash and manure can be used to create energy.

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WORD SEARCH ABOUT RENEWABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY

8. ECOLOGY AND RECYCLING

ECOLOGY AND RECYCLING ONLINE ACTIVITIES

environmental issues

land pollution

what is land pollution?

When we first think of pollution we often think of trash by the side of the road. This type of pollution is called land pollution. Land pollution is anything that damages or contaminates the land.

causes of land pollution

There are many causes of land pollution from the trash we throw away in our homes to waste produced at giant factories. Sometimes chemicals from the trash can contaminate the soil and eventually the groundwater we need for drinking.

Garbage - The average person in the United States produces around 4 1/2 pounds of trash every day! That's a lot of trash. Some of this trash gets recycled, but much of it ends up in a landfill or on the ground.
Mining - Mining can directly destroy the land, producing large holes in the ground and causing erosion. It can also release toxic chemicals into the air and soil.
Farming - We all need farms to eat, but agriculture has destroyed many ecosystems and animal habitats. Farming also produces a lot of pollution in the form of chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides. Animal waste from livestock can also pollute the soil and, eventually, the water supply.
Factories - Many factories produce a significant amount of garbage and waste. Some of this waste is in the form of damaging chemicals. There are regulations in some countries to prevent harmful chemicals from getting dumped directly onto the land, but this is not the case in many countries.

effects on health

Different kinds of land pollution have been known to have adverse affects on the health of animals and humans. The harmful chemicals that can get into the soil and water can cause cancers, deformities, and skin problems.

Landfills

Landfills are areas where garbage is placed in the land. Modern landfills in developed countries are designed to keep harmful chemicals from polluting the water. Some of the newest landfills even try to capture methane gas from escaping and use it do produce energy.

WHAT IS BIODEGRABLE?

Trash that is made of organic substances will eventually decay and become a part of the environment. This type of trash is called biodegradable. Different types of materials take different amounts of time to decay. Paper can decompose in around a month, but it takes a plastic bag over 20 years to decompose. Scientists predict that it could take a glass bottle about 1 million years to biodegrade and that some materials, like Styrofoam, will never biodegrade.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

Here are four things people can do to reduce land pollution:

Recycle - Around 33 percent of trash in the United States is recycled. When you recycle you add less land pollution.
Produce less trash - Some ways to reduce trash include not using a napkin or paper towel unless you absolutely need one, drinking water from a cup rather than a plastic bottle, and being sure to properly dispose of harmful trash like batteries and computer equipment.
Pick up trash - Don't be a litter bug! Also, you can help out by picking up trash when you see it lying around. Kids make sure to ask your parents for help before you pick up strange trash.
Composting - Get with your parents or school and start a compost heap. Composting is when you collect organic waste and store it so it breaks down to where it can be used for fertilizer.