Name _____________________________________
My Garbology
Introduction: Garbology is the study of where your garbage goes. The average American
throws out 4.4 lbs of garbage a day! So where does it all go? Do you recycle or reuse any of
your garbage? How much of your garbage goes to a landfill? Do you have a compost? A
compost is a container or space where egg shells, fruit and veggie scrapes are place to naturally
decompose to soil. In this activity you will find out where certain items should go to reduce
your ecological footprint and help our environment.
Procedure- Part I: Go to the following website: http://www.naturebridge.org/garbology.php
Click on “play”, then drag the garbage item to the correct bin. Answer the questions below
about each garbage item.
Banana
1. What does FBI stand for? ___________________________________________________
2. What does compost turn into? ______________________________________________
Water bottle
1. How much plastic is made each year for water bottles?
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2. How many water bottles do Americans use each year? ___________________________
3. How many gallons of oil does it take to make and ship plastic bottles around our
country? ________________________________
T-shirt
1. How many gallons of water does it take to grow 1 T-shirt? ________________________
2. How does the making of a T-shirt affect climate change?
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Bag of Chips
1. What percent of the world’s waste do Americans make (even though we are only 5% of
the population)? _________________________________________________________
2. How much does the average American throw away per year? ____________________
3. How much does the average American throw away per day? _____________________
Cell Phone
1. How many cell phones are recycled or reused every day? ________________________
2. What percentage of toxic waste comes from electronics? ________________________
3. What health concerns are linked to this waste?
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Ziplock Plastic Bag
1. How many plastic bags are thrown away every second in California? ________________
2. What is the name of the large garbage mass in the Pacific Ocean?
__________________________________ How large is it? ________________________
3. What concept (you learned it in our ecology unit) is shown in the animation?
____________________________
Procedure- Part II:
1. Pick 4 items from the list of garbage items below.
Re-write them into
the chart provided.
2. Then research and determine if the item can be recycled, reused, composted, or put in a
landfill. You must try to find the most environmentally-friendly answer. Therefore, not
every item should be placed in the landfill. Place make a check mark in the chart in the
column that applies.
3. You may have more than one check mark per item.
4. If the garbage item is able to be reused, then you must also find one item it could be
used for or turned into.
5. If the garbage item is appropriate for the landfill, then you must also find out if the item
is toxic or not? Circle the answers that apply. Toxic items must be disposed of
differently than other garbage.
Aluminum cans
Plastic shopping bags
Wrapping paper
Wine corks
Used tires
Pizza boxes
AA Batteries
Plastic milk jugs
CFL Light bulbs
Styrofoam
Leftover Medications
Newspaper
Egg shells
TV
Computers
Ecofoam
Junk Mail
Conclusion Questions:
1. Of your 4 items, which one(s) surprised you to learn it was recyclable, reusable, compostable,
or a landfill item? Why?
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2. Why is it important to classify toxic vs. nontoxic materials that are put into a landfill?
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3. Why is disposing of materials in a landfill the least desirable option?
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4. What changes could you make or have you made to reduce the amount of garbage you
make?
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