Introduction
We are all used to having to separate our rubbish at home so that it can be taken away and recycled.
Do you know how much rubbish your family generates and how much of this is packaging waste? How do you tell what the packaging is made out of? How do you know what can be put in the recycling and what shouldn’t?
This project will help you answer these questions!
The Brief
Carry out an investigation in to the packaging that you and your family or your group/class throw away each week.
Think about what the different packs are used for (e.g. food & drink, healthcare & cleaning products, or anything else), what materials they are made from and whether they can be put in the recycling.
Points to consider
- What different shapes of packaging can you find?
- What different colours of packaging an you find?
- What different ways are packs labelled (e.g. printed on pack or separate paper/plastic label), can you remove the label?
- Which material is used for the most packaging by the number of items?
- Which material is used for the most packaging by weight.
Materials
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Sort your rubbish in to metal, glass, plastics, paper-based packaging and keep a separate pile of packaging made from a mixture of materials.
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How can you tell the difference between steel and aluminium?
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How can you tell between the different types of plastics?
Submission Requirements
Pupils are required to submit the findings of their investigation as either:
- A A3 poster
- A short booklet
- A 3 minute video
The submission should cover the questions in the ‘things to consider’ and ‘materials’ areas of the brief.
Teams of up to 4 pupils may submit a group project.
Please see conditions of entry for further information
