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2. CHAPTER 6 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 6.1 Introduction ...

These events are, I believe, a good object lesson in how we live with risk in our daily lives, how society responds to unwanted consequences of risky actions, and how we learn from such events to continually upgrade risk estimates. These same behaviors occur in environmental analyses, albeit with less catastrophic and immediate consequences. This comprehensive environmental management plan (EMP) template is free to use and customisable for your projects and company. An environmental management plan is a plan which is prepared and documented at the beginning of a project in order to plan out and understand how your project will impact the environment, and how you will manage these impacts and risks over the course of a project. Promoting Environmental Management. The Toyota Boshoku group implements environmental management activities on an on-going basis that include convening sessions for the environmental committee in respective regions to confirm environmental initiatives, verifying cases of improvement via genchi-genbutsu (Go, see & study) and actively implementing cross-organisational deployment best practices. However, the ultimate goal in the implementation of environmental management is to re-balance the links between nature and humans in view of the fact that our industrial development has generated.

A separate environmental management cell should be established to implement the management plan. The cell shall report to the Plant manager. The cell shall ensure the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the Environment Management Programme.

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Quick Look

Grade Level: 4 (3-5)

Time Required: 45 minutes

Lesson Dependency: None

Engineering Connection

Engineers are involved in all steps of integrated-waste management. They use smaller amounts of materials to package products as discussed in the relevant activity It's all In the Package, and use recyclable and reusable materials when possible. Chemical engineers develop environmentally friendly, recyclable materials. Engineers investigate ways to accelerate the decomposition process, develop industrial systems that burn trash for energy at power plants, and design innovative landfills that are more economical and reduce pollution. Have students explore how engineers work with composting in landfills by conducting the associated activity Composting – Nature's Disappearing Act. Then have students explore the third 'R', recycling, by conducting the activity Test & Improve: Making Tall & Strong Recycled Towers.

Learning Objectives

After this lesson, students should be able to:

• Explain different methods of waste disposal.
• Explain some of the major problems that waste disposal causes.
• Explain 3RC (reduce, reuse, recycle, compost).
• Describe the different steps involved in integrated waste management.
• Identify ways engineers are involved in 3RC and solid waste management.

Educational Standards

Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards.

All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN), a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org).

In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g., by state; within source by type; e.g., science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc.

NGSS: Next Generation Science Standards - Science

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

• Waste must be appropriately recycled or disposed of to prevent unnecessary harm to the environment. (Grades 3 - 5) More Details

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• The use of technology affects the environment in good and bad ways. (Grades 3 - 5) More Details

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State Standards

Colorado - Science

• Use evidence to develop a scientific explanation about one or more processes that break down and/or combine Earth materials (Grade 3) More Details

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• Create and evaluate models of the flow of nonliving components or resources through an ecosystem (Grade 4) More Details

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Introduction/Motivation

Trash... Did you know that people and industry produced more than 236 million tons of waste in 2003, which is more than four pounds of trash per person per day? Wow, that's a lot of garbage!

What are some different ways to dispose of trash? (Brainstorm a list of answers as a class. Expect students to mention landfills and recycling centers, and maybe dumps, trash cans, compost bins, etc. Write student suggestions on the classroom board.)

The most environmentally friendly ways to dispose of trash are to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost. We call these 3RC. These are the first four steps in 'integrated waste management.' This means that you try to reduce the amount of garbage by the first step (reduce) and with what garbage is left, you venture onto the next step (recycle), and so on, until the garbage or waste is all gone. The key is to have barely any waste left when reaching the last step.

A total of seven steps comprise integrated waste management. (Note: You may want to have an overhead transparency or other classroom copy of the seven steps already prepared and available for reference at this point; see the 7 Steps of Integrated Waste Management Transparency.) In order, the seven steps are: reduce, reuse, recycle, compost, incineration with energy as a result, landfills and incineration with no energy. Engineers are involved at every step of this process. Can you explain how? What might engineers do to make sure that very little waste is being handled by the processes in steps 6 and 7? (Answer: By developing better technologies to help with steps 1-5.) What things might you do to make sure that very little waste is being handled by the processes in steps 6 and 7? (Answer: 3RC: reduce, reuse, recycle and compost.) In this lesson, you will learn more about how engineers help reduce environmental waste and garbage today.

Lesson Background and Concepts for Teachers

No simple, single solution exists to solid waste management. The current thinking is that it should be an integrated, seven-step process, including the 3RC process (the first four steps), incineration (waste-to-energy), landfills and incineration (no energy production). It is ideal to combine the first five of these in such a way as to eliminate — or at least drastically reduce — the amount of waste that has to be dealt with in steps 6 and 7.

7 Steps of Integrated Waste Management

(Steps 1-4 represent the 3RC process discussed in detail in this lesson.)

Step 1 Reduce: As a society, we should make less waste overall. For example, buy items with little or no packaging, use rechargeable batteries, use existing products longer, share items with other people, decide not to purchase an additional car or piece of clothing, etc. Refer to the activity It's all In the Package to have students explore the connection of product packaging and reducing waste.

Step 2 Reuse: We should reuse items we normally throw away. For example, using paper lunch bags multiple times instead of throwing them away after just one use. Refer to the activity Test & Improve: Making Tall & Strong Recycled Towers to challenge students to learn about the power and challenges of using recycled materials.

Step 3 Recycle: We should remember to recycle items that are recyclable (paper and plastic items have a recycling code stamped on them to tell us if they can be recycled). Also, we can 'close the recycling loop' by buying items made from and packaged in recycled materials. We must continue looking for new ways to recycle currently non-recyclable items.

Step 4 Compost: We should put our yard waste and food scraps in personal or community compost bins to enrich the soil. Students can use the hands-on introduction activity Composting – Nature's Disappearing Act to learn more about the power of composting.

Step 5 Incineration (waste-to-energy): We should burn trash and use the heat to produce energy for power plants, etc. This should be done on the industrial scale, not at a personal level.

Step 6 Landfills: We should store any leftover waste in a sanitary landfill to reduce the risk to the environment.

Step 7 Incineration (no energy production): We can burn trash just to reduce the amount of space it takes up. This is often done on an individual basis (outside a single home), but it can also be done on an industrial scale. This type of incineration is really the last resort and should be the last thing that we do since it creates and contributes to environmental hazards.

Engineers are involved at every step of this process. This lesson describes their involvement in steps 1-5. Please see Lesson 4 for engineers' involvement in landfill use.

Associated Activities

• It's All in the Package - Students explore the concept of 'reducing' solid waste and how this relates to product packaging. They read about and evaluate the highly publicized packaging decisions of two major U.S. corporations. They evaluate different ways to package items to minimize the environmental impact, while considering issues such as cost, availability, attractiveness, etc. Students explore 'hydropulping' and consider its use as a recycling process.
• Composting – Nature's Disappearing Act - Students explore the idea of biodegradability by building and observing model landfills. This serves as an introduction to the idea of composting. (Note: This activity can be integrated as an extension of Lesson 4's activity: This Landfill Is a Gas.
• Test & Improve: Making Tall & Strong Recycled Towers - Students learn about material reuse by designing and building the strongest and tallest tower they can, using only recycled materials. They follow design constraints and build their towers to withstand an earthquake and high wind simulations.

Lesson Closure

Review the seven steps of integrated waste management. Ask students to describe one way that they could help with solid waste management in their own homes, schools and communities. Which of the seven steps do their responses relate to? Will they help decrease waste for steps 6 and 7? Challenge the class to reduce the trash that they produce and help one other person reduce his/her trash as well.

Vocabulary/Definitions

3RC: An acronym for reduce, reuse, recycle and compost.

biodegradable: The ability to be broken down by natural environmental processes (involving microorganisms) into basic elements like carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water.

composting: A process in which food, yard and animal wastes decomposes into new soil. Engineers often work to optimize the process so that biodegradation takes place more quickly and efficiently.

hydropulping: A process by which aseptic packages are recycled. Water and agitation separate the packaging layers.

organic: Created from or by living organisms.

recycle: Processing waste and using it as raw material for new products; that is, making trash into something useful instead of just throwing it out. It is often called 'resource recovery' because it is actually recovering and reusing natural resources.

reduce: Minimizing the production and consumption of items that are made from new, NOT recycled, materials. Not creating trash in the first place and lessening in amount, number or other quantity (precycling).

reuse: Extending the life of an item by using it again, repairing it, modifying it, or creating new uses for it instead of throwing it away.

Assessment

Pre-Lesson Assessment

Brainstorming: As a class, have students engage in open discussion to brainstorm different ways to dispose of trash. Remind students that in brainstorming, no idea or suggestion is 'silly.' All ideas should be respectfully heard. Encourage wild ideas and discourage criticism of ideas. Write student suggestions on the classroom board.

Post-Introduction Assessment

Question/Answer: After going through the seven steps of integrated waste management, ask the students and discuss as a class:

• How are engineers involved in each step?
• What might engineers do to make sure that very little waste is being handled by the processes in steps 6 and 7. (Answer: By increasing technologies to help with steps 1-5.)
• What might you do to make sure that very little waste is being handled by the processes in steps 6 and 7? (Answer: 3RC: reduce, reuse, recycle, compost.)

Lesson Summary Assessment

Performance: Teach students the Recycle Now Song, which uses the melody from 'Three Bind Mice.' Have each student sing a line until every student has had a chance.

Quick Quiz: Ask students to:

• Write down what 3RC stands for. (Answer: Reduce, reuse, recycle, compost.)
• Describe one way you can be involved in 3RC. (Accept all reasonable answers.)
• Describe how an engineer might be involved in one of the 3RC steps.

Homework

Math Assignment: Hand out the 3RC Math Challenge Worksheet as a challenge activity for students. Review the answers during the next class period.

Lesson Extension Activities

Arrange to teach a younger class about recycling (natural and human). Pair each student with a student in a younger class. Have the older students teach the younger students the Recycle Now Song.

Share some of the stories in Recycling (Making a Better World) by Gary Chandler and Devin Graham (published by 21st Century, 1997).

Try using some of the 'Recycle City' activities at the EPA website at: https://www3.epa.gov/recyclecity/. Be sure to check out the 'Information for Teachers' in the Activities section.

Have students take the 'It's not all garbage!' quiz at EEK (Environmental Education for Kids) at http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/recycle/notgarbage.htm

Try out some of the activities in 'Recycling and Beyond' at http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/recycle/index.htm

Check out pictures of Simon Rodia's 'garbage sculptures' at http://www.wattstowers.us or from online searches of 'Watts Towers.' Mr. Rodia spent 33 years creating garbage sculptures, of which some parts are more than 60 feet tall! Ask students what effect they think his efforts had on the surrounding community. How was engineering knowledge useful to him in creating his sculptures? (Note: Encourage students to consider structural and material engineering ideas.) Discuss similar activities in your community.

Invite a local artist/artisan to discuss how they recycle or reuse material in their artwork or profession.

Continue learning about recycling through playing games, taking trivia quiz challenges, doing arts and crafts projects, watching videos and even hearing a new song. Recycling for Kids is filled with fun resources for all these activities and more. You can find this information at: https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/recycling.html. Other resources include a recycling game at https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/games/action-and-adventure/recycle-roundup-new/ and the Kids Super Guide to Recycling at https://www.reusethisbag.com/articles/kids-guide-to-recycling/.

References

Blashfield, Jean F. and Black, Wallace B. Black. Recycling (SOS Earth Alert). Chicago, IL: Childrens Press, Inc., 1991.

Chandler, Gary and Devin Graham. Recycling (Making a Better World). New York, NY: 21st Century, 1997.

7 Steps to Shrink Your Trash. Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin. http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/recycle/index.htm

An Introduction to the Life, Earth and Physical Sciences. Student Edition, Glencoe Science. Blacklick, OH: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Sterling, Mary Ellen and Keith Vasconcelles. Thematic Unit – Ecology (Intermediate). Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Materials, Inc., 1991.

EPA. Land, Waste, and Cleanup Topics. 14 July 2020, www.epa.gov/environmental-topics/land-waste-and-cleanup-topics

Woodburn, Judith. Garbage and Recycling. Milwaukee, WI: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 1992.

Acknowledgements

The contents of this digital library curriculum were developed under grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation (GK-12 grant no. 0338326). However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Education or National Science Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: January 19, 2021

“Environmental education provides important opportunities for students to become engaged in real world issues that transcend classroom walls. They can see the relevance of their classroom studies to the complex environmental issues confronting our planet and they can acquire the skills they’ll need to be creative problem solvers and powerful advocates.”
— Ms. Campbell, California’s Superintendent of San Mateo County Schools

Environmental education benefits students, schools, and our larger world.

Environmental Education Benefits Students by…

• Improving Academic Achievement. EE improves test scores by providing students with engaging lessons about the natural world that can be applied to all subject areas and grades.
• Breaking the Indoor Habit. EE offers an antidote to the plugged-in lives of today’s generation, which is the first to grow up indoors. Children who experience school grounds or play areas with diverse natural settings are more physically active, more aware of good nutrition, more creative, and more civil to one another.
• Improving Student Health. EE gets students outdoors and active, and helps to address common health issues in children today, such as obesity, attention deficit disorder, and depression.
• Supporting STEM. EE offers an engaging platform for gaining and applying knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
• Meeting 21st Century Needs. EE emphasizes skills essential for succeeding in tomorrow’s world, such as questioning, investigating, defining problems, analyzing, interpreting, reasoning, developing conclusions, and solving problems.
• Cultivating Leadership Qualities. EE emphasizes cooperative learning with others, critical thinking and discussion, and a focus on action strategies with real-world applications.
• Improving Focus and Cognition. EE increases the ability of students to focus and improves their cognitive abilities. Children with attention-deficit disorder also benefit from more exposure to nature–the greener a child’s everyday environment, the more manageable are their symptoms.

The Top 10 Benefits of Environmental Education lists more examples of how EE benefits learners of all ages.

Cached

“Right now, in the second decade of the 21st century, preparing our students to be good environmental citizens is some of the most important work any of us can do. It is for our children, and our children’s children, and generations yet to come.”
— US Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Sep 2010

Environmental Education Benefits Schools and Educators by…

• Creating Enthusiastic Students. EE offers opportunities for rich, hands-on, real world and authentic learning across the curriculum. This relevance to students’ lives engages and inspires them more than traditional pedagogy.
• Fostering Innovative Teacher-Leaders. EE gives educators the confidence to take students outdoor and to design more dynamic, interactive learning experiences that spark students’ engagement.
• Addressing Academic Standards. EE offers an engaging way to meet the content and skills identified in Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and mathematics, as well Next Generation Science Standards and C3 Framework for Social Studies.
• Saving Schools Money. When students investigate and take action to improve the environmental performance of their school buildings and grounds, they often cut costs in electricity, water, waste management, and more.

It is estimated that by 2030, the world population of 7 billion will demand twice as many resources as the planet can supply (The Economist). Meeting the needs of our global citizenry—ecologically, economically, culturally, spiritually, and more—requires understanding and creative problem solving. Environmental education equips learners with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to address complex environmental challenges in the 21st Century.

Environmental Education Benefits the Larger World by…

• Fostering Healthier Schools. EE empowers students to lead the way in creating greener and healthier learning environments inside and outside their school buildings.
• Supporting Sound Decision-Making. EE ensures citizens are informed about sound science and equipped to make decisions that are critical to ensuring the US and greater world have the natural resources on which our economy and quality of life depend.
• Contributing to Sustainability. EE builds the knowledge and skills needed to address complex environmental issues, as well as take action to keep our natural world healthy, our economies productive, and communities vibrant.
• Conserving our Natural Resources. Higher levels of environmental knowledge correlate significantly with a higher degree of pro-environment and conservation behavior. The more people know, the more likely they are to recycle, be energy efficient, conserve water, etc.

View a list of sources for Research into the Benefits of Environmental Education.

How Project Learning Tree Makes a Difference

CHAPTER 6 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 6.1 Introduction ...

• PLT encourages students to improve their schools, homes, and neighborhoods based on what they learn in the classroom.
• PLT provides educators with peer-reviewed, award-winning curriculum materials to engage students in learning about the environment. We show teachers how easy it is to bring environmental education into their everyday lesson plans using our hands-on, multi-disciplinary materials aligned to state and national academic standards. Our trainings also focus on developing teachers’ confidence and skills for taking students outdoors to learn.
• More than 675,000 teachers have received training in Project Learning Tree since the program began in 1976, making PLT one of the most widely-used environmental education programs in the United States.
• By teaching students how to think, not what to think, about complex environmental issues, PLT is helping young people learn the problem-solving skills they need to make informed choices about the environment. We are also helping to prepare a 21st century workforce faced with increasingly complex environmental issues, like climate change and energy.