Molehill or Mountain

Talk about what we throw away in a trash can or recycling bin, including packaging, boxes, paper, plastic, food waste, and more. 

Ask what they already know about what happens to that trash when it leaves our homes. 

To find out whether they have an accurate picture of the process, examine the process from a garbage truck to a landfill. Here is one site about how landfills work.

Landfills keep our communities clean, and they are engineered to process waste with maximum efficiency and minimal environmental impact. But there are still problems:

• We create a lot of trash.
• Landfills may leak poisons into the water system.
• Landfills cover a lot of space that could be home to wildlife and make the space unattractive and smelly. 
• Noxious gases are released into the air in the process.
• They decrease land value.
• They are often built in places where people have lower incomes. 

Draw a cross-section of a landfill and label it with features and hazards. 

Discuss and make a group list of ways we can reduce how much trash we create and throw in a landfill. Examples:

• We can make careful decisions about what we throw away. Maybe something can be fixed instead of getting thrown away.
• We can buy groceries with a plan to eat them all instead of throwing them away.
• We can shop for foods that aren't packaged. This may include healthy fresh foods. 

Brainstorm simple actions people can take to reduce the amount they throw away. Each person makes an advocacy poster to share one action idea with the community. This guide helps with making effective advocacy posters. 

This guide helps people use reusable water bottles.