Increase Recycling
Articles/Websites
Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APEarth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Project Drawdown
What it is
- This article discusses the environmental benefits of recycling, how the recycling rate can increase in cities worldwide, and the positive impact that can occur if the global recycling rate increases substantially.
- Students will learn the financial implications and reduction in emissions that will arise if a more aggressive recycling program is adopted.
- The article includes separate sections for talking about metals, paper and cardboard, plastics, and glass recycling.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The article includes graphics that help students understand the material.
- Students will benefit from seeing how this article organizes data, considers various factors, and discusses the study's limitations.
Prerequisites
- Students need to understand how landfills contribute to climate change.
- Some students, especially ELLs, may benefit from having the terms municipal, organic, post-consumer, extraction, and others defined before they read the article.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Students can use this article and others from Project Drawdown's Solutions Explorer to evaluate and compare climate solutions.
- This article can accompany a brainstorming session where students consider how they can increase recycling rates in their community.
- This article can support a classroom discussion on how businesses produce goods and how to regulate this production to protect the environment.
- Economics or science teachers can use this article as a starting point for a lesson about circular business practices. Teachers can challenge students to design a product with the end of the product's life in mind.
From the scientist review
This resource from Project Drawdown explains how society can cut carbon emissions and save money by adopting different recycling methods. The recycling sector is not currently meeting its full potential for emissions reductions, but changes like the ones suggested can impact climate change considerably. The information in this resource is accurate, though its citation is a bit outdated, and newer information is available. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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