Recycling Presentation for Kids

Recycling

Landfills

Are you a NIMBY type of person?

• NIMBY stands for Not In My Back Yard!
• Everyone wants their trash GONE.
• Most people do NOT want it in their city or town
• How do you think the people at Camana Bay or Bodden Town feel about all our trash being dumped in their backyard?

Where Does Other Trash Go?

Incinerators

• Not as bad as they used to be
• After stricter regulations, all of the incinerators in the US put out less toxins per year then one single backyard bonfire
• Ash turns trash into a non-toxic, compact substance that can be put into landfills easier
• Still questions about how safe ash is, especially the finer ash, which may cause cancer
• Steam produced can sometimes be converted into energy
• Still uses a LOT of energy
• Emits greenhouse gases.

Landfills vs. Incinerators

What do YOU think?

Litter

Runoff

Great Pacific Trash Patch

How long will litter last in the ocean?

Aluminum Can- 200-500 years Glass- 1-2 million years Plastic Bottles- 450 years

How can we help?

By Recycling!

It is possible to recycle up to about 75% of our total trash

They recycle about 32.5% of their trash in the US

What is Recycling?

Recycling is when you take old materials and break them down

so they can be used to make new materials

Glass

Broken down

Up to 70% of glass can

be made from recycled glass

In Cayman, our glass is reused rather than recycled - just as good!

Metal

Melted down, like glass

Made into blocks called ingots

Each ingot is made up of 1.6 MILLION drink cans!

That's a lot of soda!

Ingots are used to make new cans

Unlike other recyclables, aluminum can be used over and over again

Plastic

Not easy to recycle

Many different types

What can be recycled?

Paper

Shredded and mixed with water to make pulp

Made into paper

Paper can only be recycled about seven times, as fibers start to break down

Other Recyclable Things

Start small.

Think Big!

What Are Landfills?

• A way to "get rid" of our trash by burying it
• Not just a hole in the ground
• Complex
• Layers and systems are put into place to prevent environmental harm

So, what's wrong with landfills?

Money!

System Failure

Carbon emissions

• The costs to keep such a complex system running are very high
• We, the taxpayers, have to pay for it
• Even after a landfill is closed, it still costs money to be monitored and repaired.

• If any little part of this big system fails, the impacts could be catastrophic
• What parts could fail and how woud they impact the environment?

• Think of all the heavy machinery used to run a land fill, and how much fossil fuels they burn
• The landfill itself emits gasses, including carbon dioxide and methane
• However, methane gas can be captured and used as an energy source.
• Any runoff water has to be treated; think of all the energy that takes!

Landfill Legacy

• Because a landfill is airtight, things decompose inside very slowly
• Newspapers dug up from old landfills can still be read FORTY years later!
• Not a permanent solution
• No one wants a landfill in their city!

Most of Paterson's trash goes Greentree Landfill in Kersey, Pennsylvania. That's 278 miles away; a five hour trip!

Other ways to help

Follow The Three R's

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Composting

Reuse

Reduce

Nature's original way to recycle

• Try to use less of trash-causing items
• Use less paper. Try using the computer instead
• Try not to eat out as much. Think of all the trash you create when you do!
• Be more conscious when buying things; what kind of packaging are things in?
• Use less transportation. Aside from being better for the environment, things like bikes create far less trash than cars.
• Reduce as much as you can, but when you can't...

• Try to reuse things on a day to day basis
• Instead of disposable water bottles, use reusable ones
• Instead of plastic grocery bags, try reusing cloth ones
• Try using rechargeable batteries
• Pass on, give away, or sell old things that are still good, but that you no longer need. Examples are clothes, old electronics, furniture, etc.
• Freecycle: A website where you can post things you no longer need and other people who need them will take them, keeping stuff out of the landfill.
• Keep packaging material you receive in packages and reuse it when you send out your own packages.
• Try reusing used plastic food containers as Tupperware

Other ways to reuse

Useful

Artistic

Extreme

Can you think of other ways to reuse?

Try to reuse as much as possible, and things you can't reuse, try to recycle as much as possible. Use trash only as your last option

It Takes.....

What Can YOU do?

At home and school

• Use less
• Re-use
• Recycling bins
• What else?

We can change the world!

Create a recycling programme at your school to recycle aluminum, plastic, glass, and paper!

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world" - Gandhi

Batteries

Computers, Cell phones, and TVs.

Ink Cartridges

• Ink cartridges can be reused over and over again
• Many places now give you an envelope to send back your empty cartridge
• Cartridge Smart will refill ink cartridges