th Edition revised Jan. 2016

ISBN 978-1-4601-2711-7 (print)ISBN 978-1-4601-2704-9 (PDF)

Pub. No. I/691

Alberta Environment and Parks created this Division Iactivity booklet to introduce children to the 4Rs — Reduce,

Reuse, Recycle and Recover. Waste Watchers educatesstudents about waste minimization and hazardous waste.

Copies of this booklet and other educationmaterials are available from:

Alberta Environment and ParksInformation Center

Main Floor, 9920 - 108 StreetEdmonton, Alberta T5K 2M4

Website: www.aep.alberta.ca

100% Recycled Paper

8

reprinted Feburary 2016

58235A01 AB Env pg2 12/31/08 11:57 AM Page 1

Toll Free Tel: 310-3773

11

Who is a Waste Watcher?

You should be if you reallycare about the environment.

Hi! I’mWilly

and I’mWinnie

Meet Willy and Winnie — our slim, trimWaste Watcher Guides.

They care about the environmentand watch for every chance to help.

33

Do you think YOUcould be a Waste Watcher?

Do you think YOUcould be a Waste Watcher?

Check your score!Check your score!

Try the following quiz and see! Score 2 points for YES and 1 point for NO.

1. I care about my environment.

2. I save my juice cans and returnthem for a refund.

3. I put my vegetable and fruit scrapsin the compost.

4. I write on both sides of my paperbefore I put it in the recycling box.

5. I turn off the tap when I’m notusing the water.

6. I take my lunch to school inreusable containers.

7. I put litter in the garbage can.

8. We recycle at home and school.

You might be aWaste Watcher.

Try it!

You can be aWaste Watcher.

Go for it!

You probably are aWaste Watcher.

Excellent!

6–8 points 9–10 points 11–12 points

Yes No

44

Ask your Mom or Dad to help youlook in one bag of garbage at yourhouse. See if there is anything that

need not have been thrown away.Maybe it could have been used

differently.

Did you

know that most

people throw out one large

garbage bag full of waste

each day?

Too much !

Join the dots tofind the answer tothe secret messagebelow.

A B

CD

E

F

G

H I

J

K

L

M

NO

P

Q

R

S

T

UV

W

X

Y

Z

55

What is Waste?What is Waste?Waste is anything you throwaway when you are finishedwith it.

Packaging

Used toysand clothes

Kitchen andyard waste

Reuse things many timesbefore throwing them away

Winnie’s Secret MessageWinnie’s Secret MessageUnscramble the letters in each word below to findout what Winnie’s message is.

P P E O L E

N A C

E A R N L

O T

R E U C E D

P

A

L

D E

N

P

66

Who makes waste?Who makes waste?

We ALLdo!

77

Winnie and Willie see 12 things in this scenewhich are wasteful, dangerous or harmful tothe environment.Circle the ones you can find.

88

Willie’s Secret MessageUnscramble the letters in each word below to findout what Willie’s message is.

P P E O L E

N A C

E A R N L

O T

U S E R E

Make less household wasteby using things that are reusable.

Circle the reusable item in the item pairs below.

Make less household wasteby using things that are reusable.

Circle the reusable item in the item pairs below.

OR OR

OR

OR

OR

OR

Thermos andsnack pack

Juice box andpaper lunch bag

Cloth bag Plastic bag

New books Library booksThrow away

batteriesRechargeable

batteries

Cloth diaper Disposable diaper Paper towel Cloth rag

E E

EN

R

R U

99

Here are some of the new things made from the old things.

RecyclingRecyclingmeans to collect things so thatthey can be made into new things.

Sort the things below byputting them in the correctrecycling bin.

Draw a line to the proper bin.

Roof Shingles Glass bottles NewspaperReinforcing Bar(used in construction)

Plastic flower potsand plastic wood

1010

Start

Glassmakes glass beads

for road paint

Plastics make newschool binders

Steel food cansbecome reinforcing bar

Glass makes new glassjars and bottles

Old newspapermakes newnewspaper

Papermakes

roofingshingles

Papermakes

newenvelopes

1111

Aluminum pop cansbecome new

pop cans

Plasticsbecome new carpet

Old tiresbecome rubber

playground mats

Plasticmakesnewshampoobottles

Old papermakes

new paperproducts

Plasticmakes

plasticwood

Tires makerubber door

mats Finish

Great Job!

Show the collection truck how to reduce its loadby recycling materials instead of sending themto the landfill.

1212

Wa

tch

ou

t fo

rth

ese d

an

ger

sig

ns!

Wa

tch

ou

t fo

rth

ese d

an

ger

sig

ns!

Willy Watcher, Willy Watcher

What do you see?

I see a POISON sign

Looking at me!

Winnie Watcher, Winnie Watcher

What do you see?

I see a FLAMMABLE sign

Looking at me!

Willy Watcher, Willy Watcher

What do you see?

I see an EXPLOSIVE sign

Looking at me!

Winnie Watcher, Winnie Watcher

What do you see?

I see a CORROSIVE sign

Looking at me!

Willy and Winnie

What do you say?

“HANDS OFF!”

1313

Household Hazardous

Waste Round-Ups

Household Hazardous

Waste Round-Ups

Wastes with these symbols and others are hazardous. Thesewastes are collected at Household Hazardous Waste Round-Ups.Then they are sent to a waste treatment plant instead ofhaving them end up in a landfill.

Send the hazardous wastes shown below to the Swan HillsTreatment Centre by drawing connecting lines.

Herbicides

Edmonton

Red Deer

Calgary

Lethbridge

MedicineHat

Swan HillsTreatment Centre

Pesticides

Poisons

Paint

Gasoline

Cleaners

Oven cleaners

1414

Follow the pathFollow the pathto the waste treatment plant. At each stop,

circle the waste item which should besent to the plant.

1515

Wayto go!

Waste Treatment Plant

1616

We can all be kind to ourWe can all be kind to our

Circle all thethings that are

good for theenvironment in

this picture.

1717

environment!environment!

Write a sentence about one

of the things you do that is

good for the environment.

1818

Where does waste go?Where does waste go?

Most of our waste gets buried in the groundin what is called a landfill.

All of the things at the top of the next page should not be in the landfill.Find them in the landfill below and colour them.

1919

phew!

A fast food company withrestaurants all over NorthAmerica uses enough burgerboxes in one year to fillToronto’s Sky Dome 20 times.

A cat eats a can of food a day.Each can weighs 40 grams. Ifthe cat lives 15 years, wethrow out 5,475 cans or 219kilograms of steel.

More than 40,000 trees are cutdown each day to make news-papers for Canadians to read.

Canadians throw away aboutseven million batteries

each year.

2020

Suggestionsfor parents and teachers

Suggestionsfor parents and teachers

1. Take your child or class to thenearest landfill site for a visit anddiscuss ideas of waste.

2. Discuss ways to eliminate some ofthe waste by reducing, reusing orrecycling.

3. Demonstrate how packaging can bereduced by buying in bulk, bringingyour own bags, or refusing bags forsmall items.

4. Find a community secondhand storeto send clothes and toys to, or evenbetter, trade with family andfriends.

5. Keep scrap paper available and useflyers for children’s cutting projects.

6. Start a paper recycling program inyour school or place of work.

Did you know?

This is to certify that

has successfully assisted Willie and Winnie Watcherin caring for the environment

Date Parent/Teacher