Waste Basics
What is waste?
Unwanted materials or garbage that people throw away.
What are decomposers?
Living things that break down dead plants, animals, and other natural waste.
What colour bin is used for recycling in Calgary?
Blue.
What is a landfill?
A place where garbage is collected and buried.
Name three of the 5 R's of waste management.
Any three: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose, Repair.
Solid, liquid & gas.
Name two examples of biodegradable waste.
Leaves, fruit peels, food scraps, or other natural waste.
Which bin should you put fruit peels and leftover food in?
Green bin (compost).
What is an incinerator?
A place where waste is burned.
What does the word repair mean?
Fixing something instead of throwing it away.
Name 3 different types of waste.
What does biodegradable mean?
Something that can be broken down naturally by living things, such as decomposers.
Name three materials that can be recycled.
Paper, cardboard, metal cans, glass jars, or accepted plastic containers.
Name one benefit of using an incinerator.
It reduces the amount of garbage sent to landfills or can produce energy.
What does a hazard symbol tell us?
It warns us that something may be dangerous.
A plastic bottle, spilled gasoline, and waste gases from a car are three different states of waste. Name each state.
Solid, liquid, gas
How do decomposers help plants grow?
They break down natural waste and return nutrients to the soil.
Why is composting better than throwing food scraps into the black bin?
It turns food waste into useful compost and keeps waste out of landfills.
Explain one way landfills can harm the environment.
They can pollute the soil, water, or air.
What is the difference between reusing and repurposing an item?
Reusing means using it again for the same purpose. Repurposing means giving it a different purpose.
Why can waste gases be harmful to our environment, even though we cannot always see them?
They can pollute the air and harm living things and the environment.
Explain the waste in nature cycle, starting with plants and animals making waste.
Plants and animals create waste → decomposers break it down → nutrients return to the soil → new plants grow.
You have a banana peel, an empty cardboard box, an old battery, and a chip bag. Where should each item go?
Banana peel: green bin. Cardboard: blue bin. Battery: Eco Station. Chip bag: black bin.
A city wants to reduce the amount of garbage going into its landfill. Explain two ways it could do this.
Encourage recycling and composting, reduce waste, reuse materials, or use incineration to reduce garbage volume.
You find an old, broken electronic device and a container with a toxic hazard symbol. Explain why these items should not go into regular garbage and where they should be taken.
They may contain dangerous materials that can harm people or pollute the environment. They should be taken to an Eco Station for safe disposal.