The Recycling Center
4/5/2019
This week we went out into the community and saw first hand how recycling is handled in Anchorage and we talked to experts about what makes Alaska's waste management system unique. On our field trip to the Anchorage Recycling Center, we saw where different materials get piled and sorted after being delivered by the recycling trucks or dropped off by individuals. We saw forklifts, dump trucks, and loaders working to transfer and condense these piles. We learned that all of Alaska's recyclables (except for glass) get baled and sent out on empty barges to recycling centers in Seattle. We watched the big baling machine create bales of cardboard. The Explores enjoyed looking at the bales of different materials: shiny aluminum cans, colorful plastic bottles, and dusty newspapers. Our guide, Mr. Randy, showed us where the mixed paper from the school dumpster (that we helped the 8th graders with) gets gathered. We watched a huge loader with a giant grabber claw scoop it up and load it into the baling machine, He then showed us bales of mixed paper that were ready to get shipped to the paper factory. It was wonderful to see the next step in this recycling process that started at PNA. To end the trip we sorted mixed recycling from our school and homes. We learned to read the signs on the bins and to look in our bags for the right materials. Field trips like this one, help our early kindergarteners understand in real ways their connection to the world around them. To be able to see and experience the huge piles of discarded trash, to see how much work goes into dealing with what we throw away, helps connect them to problems that face our community and to begin to think about solutions. Comments are closed.
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April 2021
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