Requirement 7 (B)
Requirement
Explain resource recovery and why it is important to reduce pollution. Collect samples or take photos of ten items that can demonstrate the principle of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Explain your collection, how these materials are currently handled, and potential improvements.
Resource Recovery
Resource recovery is the process of collecting and reusing materials from waste to make new products or generate energy, rather than sending them to landfills. Paper, metals, plastics, glass, and organic matter are examples of materials that can be used for resource recovery.
Reducing pollution is important because it protects wildlife, natural habitats, and human health. Pollution can contaminate air, water, and soil, making ecosystems unsafe for plants and animals and increasing health risks for people. When pollution is reduced, communities benefit from cleaner environments, lower cleanup costs, and healthier ecosystems that can support life long into the future.
Upcycling Hacks
How To Be a Responsible Consumer
Ideas To Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Mastering the Three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce
Think before you buy stuff: Do I really need it? Can I repurpose something else?
Reuse
Keep items out of landfills and reduce the need to make new products.
Recycle
Turn used materials into new items, saving energy and reducing pollution from manufacturing.
Did You Know:
Did You Know? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency celebrates America Recycles Day on November 15.
Find out more about what you can do to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
How Can You and Why Should You Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle?
Recycling aluminum cans takes 95% less energy than making new aluminum from raw materials.
Composting food scraps and yard waste turns trash into nutrient-rich soil that can replace chemical fertilizers.
Reusing items like bottles, bags, and paper saves energy and water because new products don’t have to be manufactured.
Recycling glass never ends; it can be melted and reshaped into new glass items again and again.
Keeping organic waste out of landfills reduces pollution by preventing the release of methane—a potent greenhouse gas—and toxic leachate (polluted water that forms when water moves through waste and picks up harmful chemicals). In the oxygen-poor environment of a landfill, organic matter cannot decompose naturally; instead, it rots, releasing gases that trap heat and liquids that can contaminate local groundwater.
Helpful Tips
- Follow your community's recycling rules. Don't recycle greasy pizza boxes, holiday lights (tanglers), or other banned objects. These can contaminate a whole truckload, changing it from "recycle" to "landfill."
- Always rinse food containers before recycling them; clean items are much more likely to be recycled instead of thrown away as trash.
- Flatten cardboard boxes to save space in recycling bins and make collection and processing more efficient.
Now that you have learned how to explain resource recovery and why it is important to reduce pollution,
let’s identify five items in your household that will become hazardous waste.
