Bringing Rubbish to Life
by Cecille Son-Nazareno, Scientist-in-Residence (October 2012)
Photo from the article "Recycling Around the World"
posted by Witzki, November 6, 2011.
Yes, what you are looking at is a photo of a woman resting on a mound of plastic bottles. Thankfully, those plastic bottles are actually situated in at a recycling center in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, in China.
Rubbish is a big problem all over the world, especially in Hong Kong. According to the Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong, as much as 13,458 tonnes of solid waste was generated everyday in 2011! Can you fathom how many tonnes that is in a year? Do the math!
That is why REDUCING rubbish is the most important thing to do -- even more important than RECYCLING. How can we reduce rubbish? By REUSING what we have, such as using a refillable BPA free water bottle rather than buying bottled water or bringing a reusable shopping bag rather than taking a store bag (even if you have to pay HK$0.50).
Reducing rubbish is a personal choice because it involve a big personal commitment. It asks you to sacrifice personal convenience, which is something some of us find hard to do.
Mr. Tait's 7EIP English class had just completed their play about rubbish. I was very impressed by the way he gave "life" to rubbish. They said that some rubbish are hurt when they are thrown away with some of the contents still in them. For instance, there are many drink bottles in the bin that are still half full! They also said that some rubbish are angry at not being thrown in the proper bin. To add on the their rubbish knowledge, we had a discussion about the amount of rubbish in Hong Kong and how reducing and reusing are important. To end the lesson, the students made a decorative container out of used plastic bottles. They then created a poster about their product and wrote a short write up about their learning experience.
Below are some of their work examples...
Rubbish is a big problem all over the world, especially in Hong Kong. According to the Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong, as much as 13,458 tonnes of solid waste was generated everyday in 2011! Can you fathom how many tonnes that is in a year? Do the math!
That is why REDUCING rubbish is the most important thing to do -- even more important than RECYCLING. How can we reduce rubbish? By REUSING what we have, such as using a refillable BPA free water bottle rather than buying bottled water or bringing a reusable shopping bag rather than taking a store bag (even if you have to pay HK$0.50).
Reducing rubbish is a personal choice because it involve a big personal commitment. It asks you to sacrifice personal convenience, which is something some of us find hard to do.
Mr. Tait's 7EIP English class had just completed their play about rubbish. I was very impressed by the way he gave "life" to rubbish. They said that some rubbish are hurt when they are thrown away with some of the contents still in them. For instance, there are many drink bottles in the bin that are still half full! They also said that some rubbish are angry at not being thrown in the proper bin. To add on the their rubbish knowledge, we had a discussion about the amount of rubbish in Hong Kong and how reducing and reusing are important. To end the lesson, the students made a decorative container out of used plastic bottles. They then created a poster about their product and wrote a short write up about their learning experience.
Below are some of their work examples...
RUBBISH
by Wallace
Today, Mr. Tait invited Mrs. Naz to come to talk about “RUBBISH” we use. First she asked us about our feelings about doing a drama” LITTLE GANG”. It was also about rubbish! Next, we talked about the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. Mrs. Naz said that the first choice is to reduce, second choice is to reuse and the last choice is to recycle. After that, we talked about the water bottle.
At last, Mrs. Naz gave some simple examples to us to see. I am very happy that I can know more about recycling, because it also can help me to improve my English and I think that it is lots of fun on the journey.
At last, Mrs. Naz gave some simple examples to us to see. I am very happy that I can know more about recycling, because it also can help me to improve my English and I think that it is lots of fun on the journey.
How Rubbish Feels...
by Jimmy
Today Mrs. Naz came to Mr. Tait's class to talk about garbage. Mrs. Naz. is a funny teacher and her lesson was fun. First she asked, ''In the garbage cart how would you feel?''
We answered, ''Garbage would feel sad because people throw garbage into the garbage bin before they finished with it.''
Mrs. Naz: ''Oh,you are so clever! Do you know who Ming Cheung is? He is a scientist who made a machine that can change plastic into oil. This oil can be a source of energy Ming Cheung took many plastic bottles to make oil to sell to make money."
School bell: De do de do the class are done We say goodbye and go to the next class.
We answered, ''Garbage would feel sad because people throw garbage into the garbage bin before they finished with it.''
Mrs. Naz: ''Oh,you are so clever! Do you know who Ming Cheung is? He is a scientist who made a machine that can change plastic into oil. This oil can be a source of energy Ming Cheung took many plastic bottles to make oil to sell to make money."
School bell: De do de do the class are done We say goodbye and go to the next class.
Product Posters (some samples)
(Click on poster to make it bigger!)
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