Green Daily

Chances are that your kids are learning a lot about conservation and the environment at school. However, it doesn't hurt drive the point home ... your home. One exercise that is perfect for the middle school set is to weigh your trash.

If you recycle, you are already used to sorting your trash so this activity will only take a couple extra steps. Brainstorm the type of trash that your family generates and gather the sufficient number of receptacles to sort your household waste. For example, you might want to use the following categories: "Paper," "metal," "plastic," "glass," "food," and "other."

Over the course of a week, dutifully place each item of trash in the proper bin. On the last day, weigh each bag to determine how big of an impact your family makes each week (you can work in further math problems by figuring out how much you send to landfills every month and every year). You may find unexpected results. I know that when we did this, we were surprised by how much paper waste we amassed in just seven days time.

Look at your totals and estimate how much you threw away outside of the home. The national average for waste generated per person is 4.3 pounds. Where does your family fit in?

The next step is to sit down and examine how to cut down on your family's output. If you don't recycle, research recycling centers in your area. If you are already recycling, look at some of the containers that you are throwing out and come up with other uses for them (banks, flower pots, food storage, etc.). Finally, look at the amount of food waste collected and consider composting it (remember that meat, dairy and high fat items are not good for composting).

This project is not only a great educational opportunity but it allows kids some hands-on involvement and asks for their input; two things that kids enjoy most. I'd love to hear from anyone that has tried this before for tips.

Happy sorting!