Waste Management:

How to Maximize the Things You Use

• The wastes that come from our kitchen, such as leftover food,
rotten fruits and vegetables, and some paper products are called
biodegradable wastes.
• They decay within a short period of time.
• Some wastes such as glass, plastic containers, tin cans, aluminum
foils and wrappers, are called non-biodegradable wastes.
• They do not decay by themselves and can become pollutants.
SOURCES OF WASTES
1.Household
2.Commercial
3.Industrial
4.Agricultural
Waste Management
 WASTE MANAGEMENT
• Each year, we produce millions of tons of different wastes, and many of these are
sent to landfills.
• You know that some wastes take a very long time to decompose.
• However, managing our waste properly by following the five Rs of waste
management will prevent these wastes from threatening our environment.
 5 Rs
1.Reduce REDUCE

2.Reuse REUSE

3.Recycle RECYCLE

4.Repair REPAIR

5.Recover
RECOVER
 5 Rs - REDUCE
• To reduce simply means to use less of something that we commonly use.
• Reducing the amount of waste that we produce is the best way to help
the environment.
• Example: We can look for products that do not require too much
packaging.
 5 Rs
1.Reduce REDUCE

2.Reuse REUSE

3.Recycle RECYCLE

4.Repair REPAIR

5.Recover
RECOVER
 5 Rs - REUSE
• To reuse is to maximize the use of something that you already have instead of buying a
new one.
• We can replace a single-use item or disposable items with something that we can use
over and over.
• Example: We can use glass or bamboo container bottles instead of plastic ones.
 5 Rs
1.Reduce REDUCE

2.Reuse REUSE

3.Recycle RECYCLE

4.Repair REPAIR

5.Recover
RECOVER
 5 Rs - RECYCLE
• To recycle is to process waste materials into new useful products.
• Recycling helps lessen the use of natural resources for raw materials,
such as trees and minerals.
• It also helps us lessen the amount of space that we use as garbage dump
sites.
 5 Rs - RECYCLE
• Paper products can be sorted based on their quality.
• These are then cut into smaller pieces and washed before turning
them into pulp.
• This pulp is then used to create new sheets of paper.
 5 Rs - RECYCLE
• Glass and plastic products commonly have the same process.
• They are collected, sorted, washed, and then treated with chemicals
to make them look like new materials.
 5 Rs - RECYCLE
• We can also compost bin to dispose some leftover food and
dried leaves over time.
• Compost is good for the soil because it has many nutrients
that plants need.
 5 Rs
1.Reduce REDUCE

2.Reuse REUSE

3.Recycle RECYCLE

4.Repair REPAIR

5.Recover
RECOVER
 5 Rs - REPAIR
• To repair is to fix or restore broken items that have been used.
• We always think that we need to replace broken items by buying new ones.
• When something is no longer useful, we immediately throw it away in the
trash bin.
• Learning how to repair objects prolongs their shelf life. It also saves you
money from buying new materials.
 5 Rs
1.Reduce REDUCE

2.Reuse REUSE

3.Recycle RECYCLE

4.Repair REPAIR

5.Recover
RECOVER
 5 Rs - RECOVER
• To recover means to take energy or materials from wastes that can no longer
be of use.
• It is a way to change materials into resources or fuel to produce electricity
and heat.
• We usually recover materials only after we reused and recycle them.
Activity:
Answer “How Much Do I Know?” and “Sum It Up”
on p. 42-43.
Reference: Science for Smart Learners Grade 4 Textbook,
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