Additional Resources for Teachers
Key Vocabulary for Lessons:
recover (
verb): to get something back
recycle (
verb): to process old items such as newspapers, glass, plastic, and cans so they can be used to make new products
Recycling Fast Facts
- Today, more than 50 percent of the paper used in the U.S. each year is recovered for recycling. That’s 342 pounds for every man, woman, and child in the country. Also weighing in at 342 pounds: an adult black bear.
- Want to recycle a billion paper bags? Easy! The job would be done in a year if each American family added one paper bag to their recycling each week.
- Every day, American businesses use enough paper to circle the globe 20 times!
- Every ton of paper recovered for recycling saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.
- In a little over a year, 188 fourth- and fifth-grade students at the Towle School in Newport, New Hampshire, recovered 1,300 pounds of paper for recycling. The paper they recovered weighed about as much as the biggest pumpkin ever grown.
Further Background Information for Teachers
For more background information on paper recycling, visit these Web sites:
- www.paperrecycles.org This site has information for teachers on paper and paper recycling and includes interactive features, statistics, and a step-by-step guide for developing or improving a recycling program at your school.
- www.afandpa.org The American Forest & Paper Association’s Web site has information on how to start or improve a recycling program in your school or community.
- www.epa.gov/students
The EPA’s student center has activities and learning tools for students and teachers.
Photo: torn paper: © Don Hammond/Design Pics/age fotostock
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader® software, version 4.0 or higher to view and print items marked PDF. Get Adobe Reader® for FREE
