SAVE THE PLANET
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Each year, FIRST Lego League challenges teams to solve problems that weigh on the world we live in. This year, in the TRASH TREKS Project, teams are asked to:
●● Identify a problem with the way we make or handle trash
●● Design an innovative solution to the problem we select
●● Share our problem and solution with others
Here is what we have to share!
The Task
This year’s challenge is Trash Trek. We have to find a way to help clean the landfills, so we can help wildlife (and not-so-wild life).
Here is some more on Trash Tech:
The Background
We looked to see what the top items in landfills were that could be recycled. EcoEvaluator.com told us that there were a lot of paper products in landfills that could be recycled. We only recycle about 30% of all the trash we throw away. Every ton of recycled paper reduces the production of new paper and energy use by 4000 kilowatts, water use by 7000 gallons, pollution by 60 pounds, and saves 17 trees.
We learned from Denise Ritchie, a Central VA Waste Management Authority associate, that most states, including Virginia, can recycle #1 and #2 recyclables because there are purchasers for the recycled product nearby. For many other types of plastics, however, there are no nearby purchasers. Those items cannot be easily recycled.
We also learned from Ms. Ritchie that you cannot recycle anything with food waste in it because it attracts rodents. In order to recycle these items, they must be washed and cleaned.
The Problem
We found that most products you find in landfills are recyclable. We were confused; “Why would someone put recycling in the trash?” We looked in to it more, and found that most of the materials found in landfills are glass, and the next most are cardboard. We wondered what was keeping people from recycling these products.
We saw that a lot of the cardboard was pizza boxes soaked with grease. At robotics we have pizza all the time! We decided to focus on something that we could relate to!
And grease is why you can't recycle pizza boxes… so why not make an insert to put in the box?
