Stay Home Litter and Waste – Week A
Monday Activity – Litter and Waste Word-search
Age Group: Primary Junior
Learn about Litter and Waste in this activity by searching for the words hidden in the puzzle.
Tuesday Activity – Eco Footprint Game
Age Group: Primary Junior and Senior
I’m sure you have all heard of our carbon footprint, or perhaps our green/Eco-footprint. The Eco-footprint (or ecological footprint) is a tool we can use to measure our impact and our performance in the environment. If you practice good environmental awareness in everything you do from reducing waste to saving energy, you are well on your way to a smaller footprint. Play our little game and see what your Eco-footprint might be!
Wednesday Activity – Recycling Quiz
Age Group: Primary Junior and Senior
We all try our best to do our recycling, but how much do you know about it? What goes in which bin? I sometimes have to check, does this go in the regular bin or the green bin??? Can you recycle effectively? Take this interactive quiz to find out!
Thursday Activity – Composting at Home
Age Group: Senior Primary and Secondary
It’s that time of year where shoots are starting to grow, in our gardens, our flower pots and forests. But how can we help spring growth and reduce our waste at the same time? Food waste in Ireland is a big issue, but composting some of that waste could help reduce excess waste to landfill. Food waste that rots in landfill is cut off from oxygen and emits methane (a greenhouse gas that is more potent than carbon dioxide).
By composting effectively however, where organic scraps and clippings are exposed to air, methane-creating bacteria can’t live. Composting is a natural process, all we need to do is create the ideal conditions and let nature do the rest. Organisms such as soil bacteria, fungi, moulds, worms and insects work together with air and water to create a thriving compost. Composting is a biological process wherein organic raw materials are transformed by these organism activities into a stabilised soil-like compost material. You can use the compost to help those plants grow for the next season. Why not learn a little about composting? you could even try this at home.
Friday Share – The Circular Economy
Age Group: All
Green-Schools has partnered with MyWaste.ie on the Litter and Waste theme to inform managing our domestic household waste effectively and responsibly. MyWaste.ie is Ireland’s new official guide to waste management. The MyWaste website is a free online resource that offers information on how we can reduce, reuse and recycle every type of item.
The Circular Economy as illustrated below is a model of reduce, reuse and recycle, however currently in Ireland we practice a more linear economy or the “take, make, waste” model. Watch the Circular Economy video below and learn how our collective, waste-less actions as a nation can reduce the stresses placed on our natural environment.