Circular Economy Curriculum Activity

Circular Economy
Curriculum Activity

Victorian Curriculum Links

Science Understanding

Changes to materials can be reversible, including melting, freezing, evaporating, or irreversible, including burning and rusting (VCSSU077)

Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to inform personal and community decisions and to solve problems that directly affect people’s lives (VCSSU073)

The growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment (VCSSU075)

Science Inquiry Skills

Suggest improvements to the methods used to investigate a question or solve a problem (VCSIS087)

Communicate ideas and processes using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena and to identify simple cause-and-effect relationships (VCSIS088)

Key Learning Intentions

Students will develop a deeper understanding of what linear and circular economies are, as well as the impact each has on the environment. They will also understand why some materials (thermoset plastics and electronic circuitry) are unable to become part of a circular economy and the impact of these materials on the environment. They will be able to design an alternate packaging solution to contribute to the circular economy.

Background

Our society creates and disposes of an enormous amount of plastic, and a great deal of this comes from unnecessary or excessive packaging. Our drive for convenience is so great that it often comes at the expense of logic and the impact on the environment is forgotten. Many plastics can be recycled, but some cannot due to their design for work in high heat or friction environments, however, even though many plastics are recyclable, the majority end up in landfill or in our oceans.

Packaging waste pollutes our air, water and soil. In fact, 1.9 million tonnes of packaging waste produces the same amount of greenhouse gas as 860,000 cars. The litter it creates also ends up in many places that it shouldn't – blocking our stormwater drains and causing serious problems for our wildlife.

In nature resources are used in a circular fashion, things come from the earth and eventually make their way back to the earth. Our industrial focus on production has created a linear model, which takes and never gives back. Is it possible to take a leaf out of nature's book to produce and create in a way that mimics the circular systems of nature?

Instructions

Materials

Some physical examples of items packaged in unnecessary plastics and fruit packaged on polystyrene trays for discussion and comparison.

Tune In

What is the Circular Economy?https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/circular-economy

BTN Plastic Packaging https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4z7GKGBVYk

Activity
Use the Project Design Criteria card to present the problem statement: Design an alternative packaging for one these products.

Divide the class into work groups of two or three students each.
Tell students to follow the design process, beginning with defining and researching the problem. How much of this packaging ends up in landfill? How can we change this?
Students then can begin to imagine possible solutions by brainstorming and designing possible natural packaging alternatives. Remind them to make no final design decisions right away; this is the time for groups to explore and build off ideas contributed by every team member, discuss the pros and cons of functionality and materials, and agree as a team on a final "best" design solution that meets all the constraints.
Have groups create drawings of their packaging that include descriptions such as dimensions and materials.
Students then present their designs to a small group of peers, explaining the uses and reasons behind the design and gather feedback for improving their design using the feedback form.
Students use the feedback to improve their design.
Students share their final design idea with the class and teacher explaining the problem and how their design works towards solving it.