Training Day

Your Mission: The principal calls you down to his office…

“I need your help. There is a pile of garbage outside of the school and we can’t figure out why there is so much.

It is also making the school smell awful.”

Your assignment: Can you solve the mystery of the massive pile of garbage?

This is going to be a challenge, but you were selected to be a planet protector for a reason.

There are three areas that are under investigation; the classroom, the lunchroom

and the janitor’s closet.

First we will investigate the classroom

This way to the Classroom

The Classroom

You decide to find out if the classrooms caused the big smelly mountain of garbage. You take a look around and see kids getting a new piece of paper and throwing the old one in the garbage when they make a little mistake. Others are only using one side of the page for notes and then starting another one.

Do you explain about recycling paper and using both side of the paper?

Do you leave, thinking paper can’t make smelly garbage, so that can’t be the problem?

Oops, try again!Even though paper may not be smelly,

it’s a big part of the mountain of garbage. What would the pile look like if we reduced, reused and recycled paper

in all the classrooms

Nice choice!Paper is probably half of what’s in the mountain of garbage and it should be reused whenever possible and then recycled. You put two bins in each classroom: one for paper that can be used again on the other side, and another for paper to be recycled. No more paper in the garbage! What effect did your efforts have on the garbage pile?

Great job, but the pile is still there! Next you are going to investigate the janitor’s closet…

This way to the janitor’s closet

The Janitor’s ClosetYou wonder if the janitor made the stinky trash heap and you decide to investigate. In the janitor’s closet, you see half empty cans of paint and old cleaning products in the trash…

Do you convince the janitor to use up the old cleaning products and donate the paint to the art teacher?

Do you think there’s not enough garbage to cause the big pile in the yard and decide to look

else where?

Uh-oh, not quite.Even though the paint and cleaners aren’t a huge part of the garbage pile, they’re toxic waste that is probably damaging rivers and lakes when it leaks into storm drains. They also make the pile smell like chemicals and

can make it hard to breath when you are near it. What would the pile look like if you stopped

toxic waste?

Awesome job!You’ re right to get the paint and the

chemicals out of the trash. They can easily be used up, or given away for someone else to reuse. They are toxic waste and should be used up or disposed of safely. By taking them out of the trash, you are preventing lakes and streams from being polluted.

Great Job, the pile is almost gone! One place left investigate!

This way to the lunchroom

The lunch RoomIn the lunch room, you see students throwing away their leftover from lunch. They are also throwing out can, bottles and plastic bags. This look suspicious…..

Do you set up a system to reduce the garbage coming from the lunch room?

Or do you decided that although the lunch room garbage is smelly and gross, there isn’t enough to make the big pile outside?

Try that one again.Even though the lunch room is not responsible for the whole pile, it’s

the stinkiest kind of garbage.Couldn’t all the food scraps, cans and bottles be put somewhere else?

Excellent!You decided to put an end to the lunch room garbage. You start a litter-less lunch program

in your school, and everyone brings their lunch in reusable containers. You also add a recycling bin for any cans or bottles and a

composter for food scraps.What effects did all your efforts have on the mountain of garbage?

All that composting and recycling made a big difference!

Congratulations! You mission is now complete.

Thank-you for doing such a great job… but how do we keep this from happening again?