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Municipal Solid Waste Activity 5 – Waste-to-Energy

Students will learn how a waste-to-energy facility functions by using a case study approach. Participating in a democratic decision making process, students will discover the many factors involved when a community makes decisions regarding municipal solid waste facilities.

This is one of 8 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Municipal Solid Waste. To get the activity, attend a training and receive PLT’s Municipal Solid Waste secondary module. Below are some supporting resources for this activity. 

Municipal Solid Waste Activity 6 – Landfills

Students will create “miniature landfills” to simulate the movement of leachate in a landfill and demonstrate the importance of liners. By experimenting with different soil types and liners, students will learn about how landfills are constructed to prevent pollution.

This is one of 8 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Municipal Solid Waste. To get the activity, attend a training and receive PLT’s Municipal Solid Waste secondary module. Below are some supporting resources for this activity. 

Municipal Solid Waste Activity 7 – Where Does Your Garbage Go?

Students will consider the waste management program of a typical municipality, then will study their own community’s program. Through exchanging data with students in another community, both groups will gain additional insights into different waste management programs.

This is one of 8 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Municipal Solid Waste. To get the activity, attend a training and receive PLT’s Municipal Solid Waste secondary module. Below are some supporting resources for this activity. 

Municipal Solid Waste Activity 8 – Take Action: Success Stories and Personal Choices

Students will analyze and try to improve their own waste generation habits. In addition, they will develop and implement a plan to reduce waste generated in their school.

This is one of 8 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Municipal Solid Waste. To get the activity, attend a training and receive PLT’s Municipal Solid Waste secondary module. Below are some supporting resources for this activity. 

Focus on Risk Activity 1 – What Is Risk?

We encounter many types of risks every day. What is meant by the term risk? What types of risks do we encounter daily? Are all risks equally likely to occur? Are they all harmful? Why are we willing to take some risks but not others? Is anything really 100 percent risk free? In this activity, students will work together to explore these and other questions as they discuss, develop, and refine their definition and concept of risk and of risk assessment.

This is one of 11 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk. To get the activity, attend a training and receive PLT’s Focus on Risk secondary module. Below are some supporting resources for this activity. 

Focus on Risk Activity 2 – Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

Students will identify their perceptions of the relative degree of risk associated with technologies, environmental hazards, and everyday activities. They will also have the opportunity to share their ideas as they compare and contrast their perceptions with those of others, such as experts and lay people.

This is one of 11 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk. To get the activity, attend a training and receive PLT’s Focus on Risk secondary module. Below are some supporting resources for this activity. 

Focus on Risk Activity 3 – Chances Are…Understanding Probability and Risk

The concept of probability, or chance, plays an important role in risk assessment. In this activity, students will conduct a series of experiments, such as tossing coins, to develop an understanding of probability. They will then apply their knowledge of probability to a scenario about the potential risk of using cellular phones.

This is one of 11 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk. To get the activity, attend a training and receive PLT’s Focus on Risk secondary module. Below are some supporting resources for this activity. 

Focus on Risk Activity 4 – Risk Assessment: Tools of the Trade

When attempting to determine the degree of risk associated with an event, experts rely on a variety of tools of the trade to generate a risk estimate. In this activity, students will learn about the applications of some of these tools, interpret information generated from using different tools, and understand how the information obtained can be used to set priorities and make decisions.

This is one of 11 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk. To get the activity, attend a training and receive PLT’s Focus on Risk secondary module. Below are some supporting resources for this activity. 

Focus on Risk Activity 5 – Communicating Risk

Understanding risk is an integral part of the risk management process. It is critical that risk information is communicated effectively to all interested parties. This activity allows students to explore how timely and responsible communication among experts, the media, and lay people can lead to improved risk management decisions.

This is one of 11 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk. To get the activity, attend a training and receive PLT’s Focus on Risk secondary module. Below are some supporting resources for this activity. 

Focus on Risk Activity 6 – Weighing the Options: A Look at Tradeoffs

Managing risk includes deciding which option is best for reducing risks. The process requires incorporating the data obtained from risk assessments plus the social, ethical, cultural, economic, and political values of the time. In this activity, students will explore the risk management process for personal choices while “grocery shopping.” They will also debate the use of cost/benefit analysis for making public policy decisions using the protection of endangered species as an example.

This is one of 11 activities that can be found in PLT’s Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk. To get the activity, attend a training and receive PLT’s Focus on Risk secondary module. Below are some supporting resources for this activity.