By: Jennie Malonek @ Alhambra High School, LAUSD & and Sylvia Kliever @ Kentwood Elementary, LAUSD
Objective:Students will learn which items will naturally decompose and which will not.
Materials:
- Clay/plastic flower pot
- Potting soil
- Pair of scissors
- Plastic gloves
- Stick
- Small stone or pieces of styrofoam
- Assorted litter
- Water
- Plastic wrap and a rubber band
- Newspaper
Procedure:
- Cover the hole in the bottom of the flower pot using the small stone or the styrofoam pieces to keep water from draining out too rapidly.
- Fill pot (or other appropriate container) about 1/3 full of soil.
- Cut, break or tear the litter into quarter-size pieces. This litter should include: foil, vegetable food scraps, paper, plastic from a baggie and polystyrene foam.
- Scatter a piece of each type of litter over the soil.
- Cover the litter with potting soil until the pot is almost full.
- Sprinkle with water until dampened. DO NOT SOAK.
- Cover the container with plastic wrap and hold in place securely with a rubber band.
- Place in a warm, dark place. (i.e. a closet, paper bag, box, etc....)
- Check periodically; add additional water if needed.
- After four weeks pour the contents out onto an open newspaper.
- Use the stick and your gloves to spread the soil and investigate what has happened to the litter.
- Observe which materials decomposed and which did not.
Concluding Questions:
1. Which materials decomposed? Which did not?
2. What special problems are posed by plastics and polystyrene foam?
3. What can we do to reduce the amount of waste we dispose of?
Extensions:
1. Make a model compost column using 3 2-liter plastic beverage bottles. (See Activity Sheet.)
2. Build a compost bin for your school.
3. Repeat the above activity using:
- no water
- school soil
- placing all of the items in a sealed plastic baggie first
4. Compare and contrast with the original activity.
Waste Not, Want Not is a part of LAEP
Learning Exchange.