RECYCLING DOMESTIC WASTE
INTRODUCTION: What waste do we create?
In the following table you can see what waste does an average student of our class generate in an ordinary day in his/her life .
After having worked this actitity we think we generate much more waste thant we thought originally.
In this link you can see a slide show about the waste created by one of our students, Cristina, and her family.
Waste At Home
1. On average, how much solid waste is generated per day per person in the homes of the students in your school?
Here you have a table showing how much waste is produced in an average household per week (left), the average amount of waste produced per week per person (center) and the the average amount of waste produced daily per person (right). In Environment class we are 12 students, between 14-15 years old. In each household there are 3 people on average. Our data have presented a wide range of variaton. These figures represent the arithmetic mean. We have calculated that the average amount of waste produced at home per person and day is half a kilogram. This is less than we have thought of originally. We are convinced that we produce much more waste in our daily life. We should add every waste we produce at school and other places outside home.
. What is the average percentage (by mass) of different types of the waste produced in students’ homes?
What were the sources of paper in your audit?
The paper waste produced was smaller than me expected. The main sources of paper were: newspapers, magazines, adverts, written papers, letters, food package cardboard, egg cartons...
How much of the metal was aluminium and how much was cans (plated steel)?
Were there other metals in the waste? Most metal waste generated by us was made of aluminium (soft-drink cans, aluminium foil) although we also generate other metal items as sardine cans (tin cans).
Which materials took up the most space in your waste bin?
The materials which took up the most volume in our waste bin were glass and plastic.
Which materials weighed the most?
The materials which weighed the most were organic waste and paper.
Is mass or volume more significant when measuring domestic waste?
Mass is more significant, because volume can be tricky: paper is very heavy, but it takes less room; plastic bottles take up a lot of space but they are very light.
In Europe about three quarters of all waste is dumped to a landfill. The cost of disposing of waste in landfill sites is usually based on the volume rather than the mass waste. Why do you think this is so?
Because many people don't like recycling and they prefer to throw their waste in the regular bank, without sorting it. But landfills spoil the landscape and it is a serious problem in our societies
How might the waste produced differ when comparing households with babies or very young children to households with only adults?
Babies produce a lot of waste as nappies, broken toys, glass pots of their food. Adults, don't produce this kind of waste, they also generate a lot of waste at work.
How might the waste produced differ when comparing households with young children and parents at home with households where everyone is either out at work or in school during the day?
People who live alone or without children generate less waste at home. They don't usually eat at home. These two questions could explain the differences in our data.
Is waste normally collected from students’ homes? Yes ? No • If yes, who collects it?
It is collected by the City hall's dustmen. Every night a truck takes the regular waste and move it to landfills. Once a week, others trucks take the content of the different banks we can see in our streets: o Yellow bank: plastic containers, metal, bricks, cans o Paper (blue) bank: Paper, cardboard, newspapers, etc. o Glass (green) igloo: Glass jars, bottles These classified item go to recycling plants where they will be recycled.
Finally we have an ecopark or collection center, where people can take special waste, (sometimes hazardous) which can't be trown in a normal bank: these materials are: X rays, cook oil, car batteries, old mobile phones, ink cartridges, fluorescent tubes, light bulbs, old computers and so on.
Waste At School
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What type of waste are created at your school?
Our school has launched some campaigns about recycling. We have several recycling containers as you can see in this photograph.
Some of the main waste produced at school is:
- Technology area: Wood, paper, metal, glue...
- Science labs: Chemical products, broken glass beakers, organic waste...
- Computering area: Ink cartridges, paper
- Toilet: Organic waste, dirty water.
- Playground: Organic waste, aluminium foil, paper, juice cartons
- Cafeteria: Organic waste: used oil, plastic, paper...
- Classes: Writing paper, used pens.
This year, our class has visited the plastic treatment plant in Picassent and the adjacent ecopark.
Last year the Environment class made a school audit. We think we need to handle the waste problem in a more responsable way .
What action has your class proposed that the school should take to cut down on the amount of waste or to improve the management of school waste?
This year we made an exhibition about waste and recycling by the end of February 2009. We gathered all types of waste in order to classify them. After that we displayed it in an exhibition and explained how to deal with waste to our classmates. Here you have some videos we recorded:
Types of plastic.
Handling with metals and plastic containers
Collection center (Ecopark)
Briks and cans
Dealing with paper
There was also a small artistic exhibition with items we made reusing useless items
This is the second year that the Environment class has joined a project for collecting ink cartridges for recycling. We have collected several kg. After sending them we got a small amount of money, we'll spend in a small party at the end of June.
Last year our school joined an Etwinning project with a Polish school. Both schools carried out a survey on recycling in our city.(here you have much more information)
Waste in the Community
What are the major issues concerning domestic waste in your community?
Valencia produced 405,228 tons of solid waste in 2008, 5.8% more than in 2004). Every Valencian citizen produced 1.38 kilograms of solid waste per day, slighly above the Spanish average of 1.32 kg per day. Nowadays Valencia has eight landfill sites, three of then already saturated, and six treatment plants. We don't have any incinerator plant yet, due to a strong population rejection of this plant, because of its toxic emissions. The rate of Valencia municipal collection and treatment of urban waste is included in the receipt of Housing Property Tax. So it is paid by every household
A landfill near Valencia
Recycling data are not encouraging in Valencia. Our city only recovered 44% of the total collected glass, 31% of paper and cardboard, 22% of plastics and packaging, a 21% of organic waste and 24% of batteries. That means that our city is far away from reaching the recycling goals required by the Integrated National Plan for Municipal Waste (70% glass, 65% of paper and cardboard, 30% of plastics and other packaging and 60% of batteries). Citizens can deposit their no classified waste in the street containers from eight o'clock in the evening. These containers are emptied every night. This waste travel to distant landfills (40 -50 km).
The classified street containers are emptied each week. After that, the different classified waste is treated in different plants in order to be recycled. This year we visited a plastic treatment plant in Almussafes. There, the useless plastic waste is classified (here you can see different types of plastic) and brought to other factories where it will be transformed into new useful plastic items.
Each type of plastic is packed in order to be recycled
Our city owns the required number of glass (green) "igloos" and cardboard and paper (blue) banks according to the National Integrated Plan for Municipal Waste (the law requires ia minimum of one street container every 500 inhabitants). However, in the case of metal and plastic packaging containers, Valencia has only 0.60 containers per 300 people, where the legislation requires that at least one container per 300 people.
For bulky waste, there are also four ecoparks, one fixed, created last year, and three mobile (by trucks, visiting different areas each weekday) Here (.pdf file) you can see their location in Valencia and the timetable .
In October we visited one ecopark (collection centrer) next to our city. Here you have some photographs about our visit and a video showing how it works. Other students made a report (PowerPoint file) about the new Ecopark (created in 2008) You can download HERE this report
These photographs show us a campaign launched by the Local authorities to heighten public conciousness about recycling.
Here you have some campaigns due to Ecoembes, an enterprise which collaborates with our Local authorities handling the waste collection. We strongly believe that locat authorities should provide more recycling facilities near schools. Educational campaigns are very important promoting a sense of responsibility through environmental education and promoting environmental awareness and motivating people
Some educational Resources
1. Educational resources for primary students (Spanish / Catalan)
2. Ecoembes offers an interactive game for children. (Spanish)
3. An interactive game about recycling and skating. (English)
List the organisations involved in reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering energy from domestic waste in your community and indicate how they are involved. These web sites are only written in Spanish and/or Catalan (sorry)
Valencia, June 2009