Beyond Recycling

Created by: Bonnie Monteleone

Outline: Beyond Recycling

• Beyond recycling

• Landfills

• Life Cycle

• Recycling of Commodities

• Product Stewardship

• Packaging design

• Larger Dilemma

• Sustainability

Outline: Teaching Forward

• Why STEM is a perfect platform for Sustainability?

• Teaching Forward

• Curriculum Example

• Curriculum Resources

• Inspiration

• Change Maker

Question:

Where do you think your stuff will be? 1._____________________________ 2._____________________________ 3._____________________________

Question:

Where do you want your stuff to be? 1._____________________________ 2._____________________________ 3._____________________________

Vision:

If we cannot envision the world as we would like to live in, we cannot work towards its creation. If we cannot place ourselves in it in our imagination, we will not believe it is possible.

Chellis Glendinning, author of My Name is Chellis and I'm in Recovery from Western Civilization

Travis County

Creative Commons https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnymutton/7315266200

VISION FOR TRAVIS COUNTY Travis County’s vision for the county is one of an open, diverse community where all people are safe and healthy and can fulfill their hopes and dreams; where people enjoy a good quality of life and natural and cultural resources are protected for us and the future generations.

Definition of Sustainability:

Development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 2013)

© naturepl.com / David Fleetham /

WWF

Americans throw away about 6,750 blue whales worth of garbage every single day. (Environmental Protection Agency MSW Factsheet 2012)

Management of

Materials

• 1½ lb. per person a day of material is recovered

• 3 lbs. per person a day is landfilled.

• Energy recovery is the incineration of trash to power facilities such as cement plants.

Environmental Protection Agency Municipal Solid Waste Fact Sheet http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/2012_msw_fs.pdf

Where does all of

our garbage go?

Copyright © King County, WA

Material Recovery

• Packaging makes up 30% of Municipal Solid Waste

• In 2012 75 million tons was generated

Recycling Types

Not all Recycling is Equal

Traditional recycling Upcycling Full circle-recycling

Sustainable

Packaging

What are plastics?

Polyethylene Terephthalate #1

High-density Polyethylene #2

Poly Vinyl Chloride #3

Low-Density Polyethylene #4

Polypropylene #5 Polystyrene #6 Mixed Plastics #7

What do the symbols on plastics mean? By Brian Clark Howard recovered from http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/green-living/recycling-symbols-plastics-460321#slide-1

Material Recyclability

https://www.flickr.com/photos/landotter/

http://www.sarthakahuja.com/2013/09/being-your-plastic-bag.html

Plastic Life Cycle

Larger Dilemma

Children on the beach of the Versova Creek in India. The plastic unearthed is probably from the garbage dumped upstream along Malad Creek.

Photo: Ravi Khemka

National Treasure Trashed

May 24th 2014 • 1,312 lbs. of trash

• 191,739 plastic fragments

• 562 bottle or container caps

• 93 toothbrushes

• 64 beverage bottles

• 48 hagfish traps

• 35 buoys and floats

• 3 refrigerator doors

• 3 G.I. Joe Real American Hero Toys

Ka’ehu Beach in Waiehu

Sharkastics.org

Ocean and Human Health

• 24,000 tons of plastic is ingested by fish.

• Plastic releases noxious chemicals that harm aquatic animals

• Diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) contained in some plastics, is a toxic carcinogen

Sustainability and

STEM A Natural approach for Sustainability Education

Question:

What makes sustainability important?

1. _____________________________

2. _____________________________

3. _____________________________

4. _____________________________

Teaching Forward:

Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them. - Albert Einstein

Curriculum Example

Lesson 2: Trash Traits

• Examination of Density and Buoyancy

• One Handout

• Extensions available

• Opportunity to go further with use of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) website.

• http://marinedebris.noaa.gov

Curriculum Resources

1. Buy, Use, Toss? A closer look at the Things We Buy. An interdisciplinary Curriculum Recommend for Grades 9-12.

• Facing the Future: Global Sustainability Curriculum & Teacher PD Http://www.facingthefuture.org/

Curriculum Resources Cont.

2. Bigger Than the Bin: Focus on the Recycling Industry

Activities and lesson plans for grades 1-12

• The Jason Project a partnership with National Geographic and Sea Research Foundation.

http://www.jason.org/

Inspiration

1. Sharing big ideas on how things can be better

2. Sharing the work with others

3. Taking action

Inspiration:

““Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Webinar Resources

Books

• Chasing Molecules, Grossman

• Shopping our way to Safety, Szasz

Websites

• http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/education/index.htm

• http://www.plasticdisclosure.org/

• http://www.earth911.com/tech/shrimp-bioplastic-promising-approach-plastic-recycling/

• http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/posters

• http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/marinelitter/

Webinar Resources Cont.

Articles and Journals

• http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/business/energy-environment/raising-awareness-of-plastic-waste.html?_r=1&

• http://www.epa.gov/solidwaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/ghg/folder.htm

• http://www.epa.gov/solidwaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/ghg/folder.htm

• http://www.globalstewards.org/quotes.htm#instruments

• http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/cub_/activities/cub_enveng/cub_enveng_lesson05_activity2.xml#intro

• http://www.theinternational.org/articles/353-trashed-can-we-stop-global-waste-before

• http://www.theinternational.org/articles/353-trashed-can-we-stop-global-waste-before

Thank you.

Shaun Auckland Masters of Sustainability:

Texas State University

Conservation Coordinator Sr.

Travis County

shaun.auckland@co.travis.tx.us

Dr. Gwen Hustvedt Gwendolyn Hustvedt, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Presidential

Fellow

Graduate Advisor for Sustainability

Studies

gh21@txstate.edu

http://www.txstate.edu/rising-

stars/hustvedt.html