Refuse and Recycling

Discussion questions:______ask and answer

1. How many different bins, boxes and containers do you have in your home and garden to separate refuse and different items for recycling*, reuse* or repurposing*?

2. How often does your local Council collect refuse and recycling from the street where you live?

3. Does your local Council offer a separate food waste collection? Do you think this should be offered by every council by law?

4. What outlets are there in you town or city for (a) recycling materials (b) reuse of things you no longer want?

5. Are you sympathetic to demands from environmentalists that we should reduce the amount that we consume?

6. Do you take any measures to save on water consumption such as showering instead of taking baths or limiting the amount of water you use when you flush the toilet?

7. Do you take any measures to limit your consumption of electricity?

8. Do you think that your government and local Council are doing enough to address the problems of climate change and global warming ?

*Recycling turns an item into raw materials which can be used again, usually for a completely new product. This kind of reclamation involves an industrial process which uses energy.

*Reuse means using an object or resource material again for either the same purpose or another purpose without changing the object's structure in a significant way. Something which is given away to a neighbour or charity shop can be reused. Repair shops also enable things to be reused.

*Repurposing means giving a new use to something for a different purpose than the one for which it was originally intended. For example, you could repurpose a yoghurt container as a flower pot.