S1: What is sustainability? — A level

Introduction

The recycling bin should only be used for recyclable things. Other things are called “contamination”. If the contamination is bad enough, it can cause a whole truck of recycling to be dumped in landfill instead.

The task

Create a solution to the contaminated recyclables problem.

1. Brainstorm some ideas — maybe with a friend.
2. Choose one of the ideas and add enough detail to turn it into a real plan.

Here are some things to think of:

• Education could be part of a solution, but it isn’t going to solve the whole problem.
• You need to make it easy and obvious to do the right thing, and hard to do the wrong thing.
• There are many points in the recycling process that can be targeted - e.g.
  • packaging and labelling
  • recycling bins
  • the truck that collects the recyclables
  • the plant that processes the recyclables

Show your solution to your teacher and be ready to defend it. He will look for reasons why it won’t work.