10+ Common Recycling Myths and Mistakes

 

So much misinformation out there about recycling! I'm an environmental science teacher, and even I discovered, after doing some more in-depth research, that I was harboring some misapprehensions. 

Why are we so ineffective at communicating recycling do's and don'ts? Feel like part of the reason is that we often don't explain the WHY behind these imperatives. People are much more likely to follow rules when they understand the reason for them, or the consequences likely to ensue if the rules aren't followed. 

To that end, the following list contains not just recycling recommendations, but explains the reasoning behind each recommendation. Unlike other posts on this site, I encourage folks to borrow and repost this info at will, because when everyone recycles responsibly, we all win!  

1. MYTH: Filmy plastics (shopping bags, newspaper bags, ziploc bags) can be recycled like other plastics. REALITY: False! These thin plastics get tangled in the sorting machines or accidentally end up in bales of separated paper.  If just 0.5% of a bale is contaminated with other materials, it can't be sold to reuse companies. There *are* processes for recycling filmy plastics, but specialty companies handle these types of materials - which is why you'll find some grocery stores collecting these types of plastics separately.
2. MYTH: Envelopes/boxes with film windows aren't recyclable. REALITY: False! I know I just said that filmy plastics shouldn't be placed in recycling, but the small pieces of film employed in envelopes and pasta boxes generally aren't big enough to cause issues with the machinery. If you can remove the windows, do - but don't let this stop you from recycling paper products that are almost all paper.
3. MYTH: You don't need to remove food remains/stains from recyclables. REALITY: False! The recycling process isn't designed to remove organic compounds. Food/oil stains can degrade materials, introduce bacteria, create sticky surfaces that interfere with sorting, and attract bugs/pests. While a few small stains may not be a deal-breaker, plastic or glass products should be well rinsed before they are recycled, and paper products that are stained with food shouldn't be recycled at all, but composted. 
4. MYTH: Rinsing out recyclables wastes so much water, it's not worth it. REALITY: False! Most people who ask this question are only considering the water required to remove food stains from their recyclables, overlooking the enormous amounts of water (and other resources) required to transform virgin materials into packaging.  Even factoring in rinsing, the process of recycling consumes much less water than manufacturing from scratch. 
5. MYTH: Recycling uses more energy/resources than it saves. REALITY: False! The Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed that recycling always has its environmental benefits, whether we’re talking about saving water, energy, resources, or money.
6. MYTH: A recycling symbol on a plastic product means that the product *is* recyclable. REALITY: False! There are over 9 different resins that can be transformed into plastic: polyethylene, polyvinyl, polypropylene, polystyrene .... Some of these resins are recyclable, some aren't. The number inside the recycling symbol is the important thing, as this identifies the specific resin used. Check with your local recycling provider to confirm which types of plastic resin they can/can't process, as this can vary among providers. One of the reasons our country struggles to keep up with plastic recycling is that so much of the incoming plastic debris is contaminated with non-recycleables that require time and money to remove  - enough time and money to make plastics recycling so unprofitable, potential providers get scared away.
7. MYTH: Coated food boxes are recyclable. (They're made of paper, right?) REALITY: Depends! Those "waxy" coatings - used to strengthen the packages or render them moisture-resistant - are made of plastic and, as discussed above, not all plastic resins are recyclable. The good news: food containers are usually coated with polyethylene, a plastic that is recyclable. The bad news: that doesn't mean that all suppliers have the facilities to handle polyethylene-coated paper. For one thing, the plastic coating has to be stripped off the paperboard it is affixed to, which some recycling facilities aren't equipped to do. You'll need to check with your local recycling supplier to see if coated food containers are allowed. 
8. MYTH: Water bottles are recyclable, but not the caps. MYTH: False! While it's true that bottles and bottlecaps are often manufactured from different resins, water companies generally ensure that both are made of plastics that are recyclable. (In fact, the resin used to create the bottle caps is even more desirable for recycling than the resin used to create the bottles.) However, please don't remove the tops before you toss them in the bin, and don't flatten the bottles themselves. 3D bottles are easier for mechanical sorting machines to recognize and successfully sort. 
9. MYTH: Store receipts are recyclable. (They're made of paper, right?) REALITY: False! The vast majority of store receipts are made of thermal paper (thermal paper feels like thin film rather than notebook paper), which contains chemicals called BPA and BPS, both of which have been linked to health issues in humans. (They throw human endocrine system/hormones out of whack.) Moreover, these chemicals easily transfer from the paper to anything that the paper touches. The best way to ensure BPAs don't transfer to recycled products - especially recycled products used to store food? Throw ALL your store receipts in the trash, not the recycling bin! 
10. MYTH: All glass is recyclable. REALITY: It's complicated. Pretty much all glass can be recycled, but different types of glass have different melting points. That's why most residential recycling company accept ONLY container glass. You absolutely should recycle windows, mirrors, etc., but you'll probably have to drop those items off at a municipal recycling center. Depending on your local provider, you may also be required to sort your glass by color. Why? This allows recyclers to more efficiently control the color of recycled glass products they produce. 
11. MYTH: Broken glass is recyclable. REALITY: It's complicated. Glass is, of course, recyclable, but broken glass poses so many dangers, most recycling companies refuse to accept it. Broken glass can slash the people who sort the recyclables and damage the machines that process them. Moreover, broken glass can be harder melt and reforge into new products. Some recycling companies will accept shards as long as they are large enough (ex: over 3"), but be sure to check with your local provider rather than make assumptions. And definitely DO NOT wrap your broken glass in newspaper or a cardboard box, hoping that the recycling company "won't notice"! 
12. MYTH: Materials can only be recycled once. REALITY: It's complicated. Some materials (plastics in particular) do lose quality over time, and often plastics are "downcycled" into items like clothes or lumber, substances that can't be further recycled. But other materials - glass, aluminum, paper - can be recycled multiple times. In other words, *do* continue to toss those goods labelled "made of recycled materials" in the recycling bin
13. MYTH: Some companies will recycle textiles (clothes, sheets, blankets, fabrics, etc.). REALITY: It's complicated. In general, it's not worth the effort to recycle textiles. Why? Textiles, like plastics, are fashioned from a variety of materials, some of which are recyclable (wood, cotton), some not (spandex, rhinestones). The effort of identifying the textiles used, separating the items by textile, and removing/sorting trim is so labor-intensive, few companies are interested in taking this on.  However, textiles are imminently reusable: just drop them off at a local thrift store! Every item you donate may prevent the need to manufacture a comparable item from scratch. 

40+ Earth Day Activities for Middle Schoolers

Earth Day (April 22) is a great opportunity to introduce kids to the idea of environmental stewardship.  And there are, in fact, a number of environmental stewardship projects that lend themselves to school-wide initiatives. I haven't bothered to add a lot of detail to this list of project ideas, because I'm sensitive to the fact that every school will have unique social, cultural, economic, and environmental factors that will impact how projects can realistically be implemented. Never fear: you'll find any missing information out there on the web, waiting to be useful. 

So, why even bother to compile yet another list of Earth Day projects?  Because while good ideas are out there, too many of the lists I kept finding during my teaching career were what you might call "stewardship-adjacent." While they might teach kids about nature or science, or involve generating non-specific "Save the World" messages, they're not designed to actually help the Earth (or teach the kids how to help the Earth) in any authentic way.  To the extent possible, I've tried to keep this list focused on realistic, actionable initiatives.  

Hope there's something here that you'll find helpful! 

Planting Things. (Keep in mind that gardens don't have to be dug into the ground; rooftops, raised beds, and containers can all facilitate planting projects.) 

1. Challenge students to identify keystone plant species in their community and use the information to plan and participate in planting projects (ex: re-introducing native species into areas that have experienced a loss of biodiversity)
2. Have students plant native fruits, vegetables, and/or spices to reduce the quantity of goods that must be trucked across long distances. (Bonus: implement a plan for growing the foodstuffs organically)
3. Have students make and deploy seed bombs (utilizing seeds from native species, of course)
4. Have students raise native plant seedlings and give them away. 

Helping Animals.

1. Arrange for students to build and install bird or bat houses
2. Arrange for students to build bee or bug hotels (ex: dead wood habitats)
3. Have students plant a pollinator garden to support the health of local pollinators (bees, moths/butterflies, hummingbirds, bats, etc.) 
4. Challenge students to create mini-ecosystems to restore/promote biodiversity (ex: dead wood habitat, water garden habitat) in their community 
5. Have students create wildlife feeding stations (birdseed, peanuts, salt)
6. Arrange for students to raise and release native ladybugs or butterflies
7. Arrange for students to raise and distribute worms for people who would like to use them for composting
8. Challenge students to select a specific endangered species, conduct research to become familiar with the factors that are threatening them, and then brainstorm actions that they can take to help address those threats 

Helping the Earth

1. Help students organizes and participate in a watershed or roadway cleanup
2. Have students protect and/or repair an area that is experiencing erosion. (Most campuses have areas of grass loss due to high traffic - the perfect place to start)
3. Arrange for students to label local storm drains with "anti-dumping" reminders
4. Help students educate themselves about invasive species and then provide an opportunity for them to remove them
5. Have students research local community environmental issues (ex: erosion, water/air/soil/noise/light pollution, overuse of fertilizers, destruction of habitats, flood plain destruction, sustainable development) and then write letters to their local legislators advocating for realistic solutions
6. Arrange for students to participate in a citizen science initiative, gathering data that will inform environmental stewardship initiatives
7. With storms expected to increase in severity, challenge students to identify potential local flooding issues and brainstorm solutions 
8. Encourage students to identify an environmental cause that they feel passionate about and organize a fundraiser to support their chosen activity.   

Educating Themselves & Others

1. Challenge students to create an activity that will educate members of their community (school or beyond) about an environmental issues and what needs to be done to address the issue
2. Have students research local community environmental issues and brainstorm actions that could address the issues presented (or, better yet, identify actions that they can personally take to address problem)
3. Arrange for students to research a specific environmental issue (ideally something an issue that is nuanced, with multiple stakeholders, such as infrastructure development) and then organize a class-wide or school-wide debate 
4. Encourage students to calculate their family's carbon footprint and, based on the results, brainstorm ways to reduce their family's greenhouse gas emissions.
5. Encourage students to calculate their family's water footprint and, based on the results, brainstorm ways to reduce their family's water usage. 
6. Organize a school-wide book club focusing on books with environmental themes. Challenge students to brainstorm actions that could address the issues presented. 
7. Host a school-wide watch party of an environmental documentary then, afterwards, challenge students to brainstorm actions that could address the issues presented. 
8. Arrange to have a speaker talk to your class or school about an environmental issue that requires addressing, then challenge your students to brainstorm actions that need to be taken to address the issues

Living a More Sustainable Life

1. Have students research stewardship ideas, choose one, and sign a pledge committing to implementing the practice in their personal lives
2. Have students create reusable bags that they can use for shopping 
3. Arrange for students to build composting bins and/or implement a compositing program at school or home
4. Arrange for students to upcycle items that would otherwise be destined for a landfill
5. Challenge students to make a plan for sustainable buying. (Ex: have kids list everything they're planning to buy in the coming month and then brainstorm sustainable sources or alternatives)
6. Challenge students to keep track of all the trash they generate in a day and then brainstorm changes they can make to generate less trash in future. 
7. Challenge students to brainstorm ways to reduce food waste at home or school
8. Arrange for students to research vegetarian recipes and/or create a collaborative vegetarian cookbook
9. Challenge students to create a plan to reduce energy use in the classroom or at home 
10. Challenge students to create a plan to reduce water usage in school or at home
11. Organize a "bike or bus to school" day with the object of limiting individual car trips
12. Have students sponsor an "e-waste collection" event and appropriately dispose of the waste they collect

Book Look: The Overstory, by Richard Powers

 This is a gorgeously written, important book. It’s emotionally complex, morally challenging, and intellectually fecund - all of which makes it an eminently worthwhile read, though I’m not entirely sure I found it to be a particularly satisfying read.

The novel leads off with eight extremely long vignettes that introduce the characters (or sets of characters) that the story will trace over the course of the next 500 pages: a biologist who specializes in plant communications, a troubled young woman who experiences a life-altering rebirth, a solitary artist whose muse is nature, a socially awkward lad who grows up to be a psychologist fascinated by why people engage in futile behaviours, a modest intellectual property attorney & his sensation-seeking wife, a rough-around-the-edges-but-heart-of-gold Vietnam vet, the daughter of a Chinese emigree father who becomes an engineer, the son of an Indian emigree father who becomes a coding genius.

The thematic link between these backstories is that each tale references trees – sometimes in a direct way (there’s a lovely bit about a chestnut tree in the vignette about the artist), sometimes in more symbolic ways (trees as metaphors for family, memory, time, nature, hope, creativity, growth & rebirth, wisdom, salvation, etc.). Honestly, a part of me wonders if Powers didn’t lift large portions of this from short stories that he’d written earlier and separately … which isn’t meant as a critique, but would explain why so much of this section, while absorbing, doesn’t end up having much relevance to the subsequent tale.

From these seeds germinates the rest of the novel, in which the author’s protagonists separately and collectively embark upon journeys that will culminate in an understanding of the profound ecological significance of the largely unappreciated kingdom plantae. Worth recognizing Power's effort to incorporate cutting-edge botanical and ecological science into this part of the narrative. These pages hammer home, again and again, the message that earth is a single, interconnected biosphere, that healthy ecosystems perform ecological services that are key to sustaining Earth’s habitability, that ecosystems are sentient in ways we are only just beginning to understand, that preserving biodiversity is essential to preserving functioning ecosystems, and that - in our capacious and thoughtless appetite for resources - humans are likely to end up driving all life (including themselves) to extinction.

Powers’ other, equally important message: that forests serve a profoundly important aesthetic and spiritual purpose, reminding us that the true art of living isn’t about the resources we acquire, but about the connections that we make during our lives and the legacy that we leave in our wake – the nutrients that nature recycles to create new life, the enduring ideas and memories that humans recycle to create understanding.

A frequent issue I have with novels is that the characters neither reflect nor grow, so it feels strange to be dinging Overstory for the opposite problem! The time Powers spends tracing the complex inner journeys of each character comes (I felt) at the expense of creating a consistent and engaging external journey. Some of the characters do end up dabbling in activism, but this aspect of the novel never develops in any sort of important way. By the end of the novel, you understand that the consciousness of each character has been altered in profound ways, but they’ve largely failed to translate those weighty new understandings into any sort of useful action. Which is clearly enough to win you a Pulitzer Prize, but not particularly gratifying if, as a reader, you’re itching for a bit of inspiration or hope.

FYI, I recommend that this be read within easy reach of internet access, and that readers take the time necessary to look up the individual species that Powers references throughout. The background knowledge I brought to this as a biology/environmental science educator substantially heightened my ability to appreciate that wonders that Powers describes throughout –the spiraling bark of the bristlecone pines, the swollen bellies of baobob trees, the mesmerizing way that mimosa leaves furl at the slightest touch. At the very least, do a quick image search on “unusual trees” and take the time to appreciate the truly remarkable diversity and evolutionary cunning of these ancient and indispensable organisms.

60+ Environmental Stewardship Project Ideas for Students

As a life science teacher, I am perhaps even more freaked out than "normal people" about the various environmental dooms overtaking us even as I type this: climate change, sustainability, water availability, mass extinction. Never has it been more important for our youngest generation to understand the role they can and must play in acting as responsible stewards of Earth and Earth's resources. 

Towards this end, I require my students (10-14yrs old) to perform four acts of environmental stewardship per year (one per quarter). You'd think this would be met by groans and complaints, but the truth is that most students are full of passion and idealism - they *want* to save the world, they're just not sure how! Which is why I've pulled together this continually-updated list of projects that are student friendly but that directly map to challenges that are facing our Earth today. 

Please - if you have any suggestions of activities that I might add to the list, leave me a comment below. I'm hoping this blog post will prove genuinely useful to other teachers hoping to implement or grow the emphasis on environmental stewardship in their own classrooms. 

Planting & Growing

1. Build a bird or bat house
2. Create a vertical garden
3. Create a container garden
4. Create an indoor window garden
5. Plant a butterfly, bee, or bat garden
6. Plant a vegetable, flower, spice, or medicine garden
7. Build a small greenhouse so that you can continue to grow your own vegetables throughout the winter
8. Plant a tree or bush (just make sure you pick an indigenous species!) 
9. Install a rain barrel
10. Build/create a composting program
11. Start composting
12. Use tree/plant identification guides to positively identify 10+ plants in your yard or neighborhood. Then figure out which ones are native vs. non-native to Virginia
13. Collect  & remove invasive species
14. Implement new landscaping techniques that will reduce either erosion, fertilizer use, or invasive species in your lawn
15. Create seed balls (native seeds only!) and disperse them around your community
16. Raise ladybugs (indigenous species) and set them lose in the community to eat bugs
17. Raise chickens
18. Raise bees 
19. Learn to identify local birds, and participate in a sponsored bird count project.

Water Quality & Conservation

1. Create a rain garden
2. Find an area where soil is eroding and entering the local watershed and implement a solution (erect a barrier, plant grass, etc.)
3. Pick up litter so that it doesn't wash into the local watershed
4. Begin taking 3-minute showers
5. Calculate your family’s water footprint. (There are many water footprint calculators online that you can use.) 
6. Mark local storm drains with stickers that remind people not to use them as chemical dumps
7. Acquire a lead water test kit and check the water at local public areas (libraries, schools, etc.) to make sure it is safe
8. Monitor water quality in a local watershed (pond, stream, or lake)

Sustainability

1. Reduce the amount of packaging that you accumulate when shopping by
1. Buying products that are sold in recycleable containers
2. Buying products that come in reusable packinging
3. Using reusable shopping bags (including bags for produce) 
4. Refusing straws, lids and excess plastic packaging
2. Brainstorm and implement strategies for reducing the amount of trash that your family produces
3. Identify a common single-use plastic pollutant and take an action that will help reduce the production/use of that plastic
4. Upcycle something that you would ordinarily throw in the trash
5. Donate/freecycle reusable items instead of throwing them away
6. Educate your community about what items are not recycleable
7. Purchase previously owned goods vs. buying new
8. Learn how to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive at home, and share this information with the community using a website, a brochure, or a newsletter.
9. Come up with a plan to reduce food waste in your house (or at your school)

Putting the Breaks on Climate Change 

1. Conduct an energy audit of your school or classroom
2. Eat more vegetarian meals
3. Eat more locally grown produce
4. Calculate your family’s carbon footprint
5. Reduce your family’s car trips
6. Reduce your family’s electricity use
7. Figure out the cost of switching your house to solar (you don’t have to switch to solar! Just research it)
8. Compare and contrast normal cars vs. hybrid cars vs. electric cars and figure out which one would make the most sense for your family.
9. Switch something in your house to an alternative energy source that doesn’t create Co2 pollution
10. Encourage members of your community to use natural vs. man-made fertilizers. (The production of man-made fertilizers is a major source of the greenhouse gas NO2.)

General Stewardship & Activism

1. Join a local club or organization dedicated to making your community more environmentally friendly
1. Organizations that plant trees and/or protect natural areas
2. Organizations that promote green architecture & development
2. Volunteer to help support an environmental stewardship project at a local park or nature center
3. Attend an event that showcases local environmental initiatives
4. Create flyers, posters or infographics to hang in your school, educating students about an environmental issues that concerns them
   
5. Initiate a project that will make your school greener. For example:  
1. eliminate plastic bottles by installing water fountains that refill reusable water bottles
2. Create a program that increases the number of students who bike to school (rather than getting dropped off by cars)
3. Advocate to install solar energy at your school
4. Clean up trash around your school
5. Plant trees on school property
6. Sponsor an athletic shoe recycling drive
6. Write your Congressman and tell them how you want them to vote on environmental issues impacting your neighborhood, town, or state
7. Become a citizen scientist - many websites offer opportunities for students to support ongoing scientific research by participating in bird counts, monitoring local water quality, logging local species, or other age-appropriate activities. 
8. Participate in a protest 
9. Conduct a fundraiser to raise money for an environmental issue that you are passionate about