Environmental Lesson Plan: Paper Recycling
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Grade Level: K-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Overview
Students will be able to name the benefits of paper recycling, summarize the paper recycling process and make recycled paper.
Purpose
Understand recycling in terms of paper use and reuse
Objective
Develop understanding of recycling paper. Students should know the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle – the 3 R’s.
Resources
Discussion of the word recycle. Recycle means to use waste materials again by saving them from the trash and reprocessing them. Reprocessing waste materials involves breaking them down and then reforming them into a new product.
Reduce means to take steps and consciously limit the amount of products you use and finding ways to reduce the need for unnecessary products and packaging which go directly to the landfill.
Reuse simply means to find ways to stretch the life of a product you have used. Giving used clothing to others or thrift shops, finding ways to make useful items from items you are intending on throwing into the trash, donating toys to younger children, using both sides of a piece of paper before recycling it, using scrap paper for notes, etc.
Paper is made from trees, a natural resource. Although trees are grown specifically for paper making in the United States, additional resources are used to make paper. Large amounts of water is used, energy to transport and produce paper and air and water is polluted in the paper making process.
Making paper using recycled paper saves resources, trees, of course, and reduces pollution to our air and water. Reducing the amount of material we throw into the trash can and reusing items we have also reduces the amount of resources we consume.
The importance of conserving resources becomes more and more important with the increasing population growth throughout the world and the increasing drain on resources by Americans and as China is becoming a growing consumer of products and resources. Being good stewards of our air, water and resources will become more and more important as the strain on resources becomes more evident in the coming decades.
Activities and Procedures
Making recycled paper is a simple process and can be done in a number of ways. The process consists of obtaining some shredded paper, or shredding your own, mixing it with water and an ample amount of salt, or letting it sit overnight and then pouring it out onto a surface to shape and allow for water runoff. The new paper should be allowed to dry for 24 hours and it will be safe to pick up.
One option is to put shredded paper into used water or soda bottle, add some water and a tablespoon of salt, shake it vigorously, and pour it into a metal cookie cutter laid over a screen. Press the excess water out, take the cookie cutter off and allow for 24 hours drying time. When pouring the paper pulp into the cookie cutter, a string or ribbon can be added and when dry can be used as a decoration on a tree. (There are paper making kits available on the internet and at some craft stores for making a flat piece of paper using a paper press.)
Optional Extension
- 1. Find out what kind of trees are used in the United States to make paper.
- Where are they grown?
- Are newspapers made from recycled paper?
- Is there recycled paper in your classroom? (Look for the symbol on the tissue box).
- When shopping, look for recycled paper products, such as cereal boxes, egg cartons, greeting cards and other boxes/containers you take home.
- Find out where your local community sends paper for recycling.
