WASTE MANAGEMENT
COMPOSTING
PLASTICS IN THE OCEAN
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Student Assignment:
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Anne Arundel County's Recycling Process
WHAT DO YOUR RECYCLABLES BECOME?
WASTE MANAGEMENT PROJECT IDEAS
1. Start a composting system at school (CCPS will buy a composting bin), at your home, in your neighborhood. Include instructions for maintaining the system and what can and can’t go in there.
2. Start a cell phone recycling program at NMS including advertising in NMS school bulletin, Bobcat news, and NMS website. Decide what company you will use and provide bin(s) for school collection site.
3. Repurpose some item(s) (called Upcycling). For example, make items with old blue jeans that you can sell at a craft fair or give away at the school store or other venue. Refinish a furniture item and donate to a person (or organization) in need. There are lots of other things you can do.
4. Take a survey at NMS to determine how many families recycle and/or compost. Then develop a recycling campaign to get more families to begin recycling and/or composting.
5. Research whether CCPS uses recycled paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, copier paper, etc. If they don't, research the cost of making the change and the benefits of using recycled paper products to the environment. Then write a letter to the superintendent with your proposal for making the change to recycled paper products. If they do buy recycled products, find out when they made the change and why. Does it cost more, less or about the same. Write a letter to the editor of the Calvert Recorder (or other local paper) letting the citizens of Calvert County know how proud you are of the school system helping our environment by using recycled products and why this is important.
6. Research whether a business of your choice uses recycled paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, copier paper, etc. If they don't, research the cost of making the change and the benefits of using recycled paper products to the environment and write a letter to the owner or store manager with your proposal.
7. Join an environmental group or on your own, plan to pick up trash in your neighborhood, along the bay or river, etc. You must spend at least 2 hours. This can occur on more than 1 trip and/or at more than one locate. Record the type of trash you find, how do you think it got there, and is there anyway to prevent it from occurring again.
8. Research septic systems, their effects on the environment, and ways to minimize negative environmental effects. Determine how Calvert County deals with potential septic system issues since we are located between the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay. Interview someone from the county government or a septic system business about environmental and/or health issues they encounter related to septic systems and what is done to correct or minimize the problems. Ask what happens to the waste that is pumped out of people's tanks. What is the best way for a homeowner to maintain their septic system to minimize environmental concerns. Then discuss what you learned with at least 2 different homeowners who have septic system . Record what they do to maintain their systems and anything that you taught them regarding the environment and septic systems.
9. What happens to our waste (household trash, recyclables, old chemicals/paints, old electronics, old appliances, etc) once it reaches the Appeal Landfill in southern Calvert County? Research the topic; interview waste management leaders in the county. Determine if the programs cost the county money or if they make money. Present your information on a colorful, logical, well-organized Weebly page. Present this information to a group (HOA, church, neighborhood get-together, family discussion, lunch plus group, boy scouts, girl scouts, community group) http://www.co.cal.md.us/index.aspx?NID=1324
10. The average adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year and about 1/2 get straight to the landfill. Evaluate how much junk mail your family gets in a week, then determine how much they get in a year. Contact companies to stop sending unwanted magazines and advertisements . You can call or email companies directly to request to be removed from their marketing list, and there are also a number of websites that manage junk mail on your behalf (GET APPROVAL and ASSISTANCE FROM YOUR PARENTS BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ON THEIR BEHALF). If your family receives a lot of offers for credit cards, visit the OptOutPrescreen website (WITH YOUR PARENT) to be removed from the lists used by creditors and insurers. Then write up instructions for other families to follow suit.
2. Start a cell phone recycling program at NMS including advertising in NMS school bulletin, Bobcat news, and NMS website. Decide what company you will use and provide bin(s) for school collection site.
3. Repurpose some item(s) (called Upcycling). For example, make items with old blue jeans that you can sell at a craft fair or give away at the school store or other venue. Refinish a furniture item and donate to a person (or organization) in need. There are lots of other things you can do.
4. Take a survey at NMS to determine how many families recycle and/or compost. Then develop a recycling campaign to get more families to begin recycling and/or composting.
5. Research whether CCPS uses recycled paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, copier paper, etc. If they don't, research the cost of making the change and the benefits of using recycled paper products to the environment. Then write a letter to the superintendent with your proposal for making the change to recycled paper products. If they do buy recycled products, find out when they made the change and why. Does it cost more, less or about the same. Write a letter to the editor of the Calvert Recorder (or other local paper) letting the citizens of Calvert County know how proud you are of the school system helping our environment by using recycled products and why this is important.
6. Research whether a business of your choice uses recycled paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, copier paper, etc. If they don't, research the cost of making the change and the benefits of using recycled paper products to the environment and write a letter to the owner or store manager with your proposal.
7. Join an environmental group or on your own, plan to pick up trash in your neighborhood, along the bay or river, etc. You must spend at least 2 hours. This can occur on more than 1 trip and/or at more than one locate. Record the type of trash you find, how do you think it got there, and is there anyway to prevent it from occurring again.
8. Research septic systems, their effects on the environment, and ways to minimize negative environmental effects. Determine how Calvert County deals with potential septic system issues since we are located between the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay. Interview someone from the county government or a septic system business about environmental and/or health issues they encounter related to septic systems and what is done to correct or minimize the problems. Ask what happens to the waste that is pumped out of people's tanks. What is the best way for a homeowner to maintain their septic system to minimize environmental concerns. Then discuss what you learned with at least 2 different homeowners who have septic system . Record what they do to maintain their systems and anything that you taught them regarding the environment and septic systems.
9. What happens to our waste (household trash, recyclables, old chemicals/paints, old electronics, old appliances, etc) once it reaches the Appeal Landfill in southern Calvert County? Research the topic; interview waste management leaders in the county. Determine if the programs cost the county money or if they make money. Present your information on a colorful, logical, well-organized Weebly page. Present this information to a group (HOA, church, neighborhood get-together, family discussion, lunch plus group, boy scouts, girl scouts, community group) http://www.co.cal.md.us/index.aspx?NID=1324
10. The average adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year and about 1/2 get straight to the landfill. Evaluate how much junk mail your family gets in a week, then determine how much they get in a year. Contact companies to stop sending unwanted magazines and advertisements . You can call or email companies directly to request to be removed from their marketing list, and there are also a number of websites that manage junk mail on your behalf (GET APPROVAL and ASSISTANCE FROM YOUR PARENTS BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ON THEIR BEHALF). If your family receives a lot of offers for credit cards, visit the OptOutPrescreen website (WITH YOUR PARENT) to be removed from the lists used by creditors and insurers. Then write up instructions for other families to follow suit.