Lesson plan: Why is only 9% recycled? (ages 12–14)
A 60-minute chemistry lesson on plastic as a limited resource, resin codes, real recycling data and designing a school monitoring method.
Ages 12–14
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5 Gyres: Trash Academy video series and TrashBlitz app
Two seasons of short YouTube episodes (English and Spanish) and a community-science litter-logging app.
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Family plastic footprint calculator: how it works and the weights we use
The full method, per-item weights and country benchmarks behind our calculator, so families and classes can check every number.
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Science fair: Which shopping bag is strongest per gram? (ages 10–16)
A fair-test experiment comparing failure load and load-per-gram for five bag types, linked to published reuse break-even data.
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Science fair: How many fibres come off our clothes in a wash? (ages 11–16)
A two-session experiment capturing laundry microfibres on filter paper and comparing fabrics or wash settings.
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Science fair: What happens to plastic, paper and ‘compostable’ packaging over eight weeks? (ages 10–16)
An eight-week degradation trial in soil, water, sunlight and dark, with a photo log and an honest discussion of the ‘450 years’ myth.
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Convince your parents: 12 conversation cards
Twelve printable cards, each with a claim a child can make, the evidence sentence with its source, a reply to objections and a family…
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30-day Swap Challenge: day-by-day tracker
One swap a week for four weeks plus a wild-card, with daily ticks, weekly ‘did it stick?’ checks and grams avoided at the end.
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School pledge: Starter, three-item and Plastic Clever tiers
Ready-to-sign pledge text for a class or school in three tiers, mapped to the Plastic Free Schools and Plastic Clever Schools targets.
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Letter template: asking the head teacher, principal or canteen for change
A one-page, fill-in-the-blanks letter with sourced facts, a menu of specific asks and an offer to help, plus a catering-company version.