Ways You Can Use This Website
No matter what you choose to do with your kids, the action piece - actually going out and cleaning up your neighborhood - is key. Facing the problem head on, taking responsibility, then experience how it feels to make a difference, is the goal of Refuse Refuse.
• As a long unit, using all three lesson themes outlined below
• As a short unit using just one of the lesson themes
• As an activity - using the activities below
• As a series of activities - using more than one of the activities below
• Picking and choosing and making your own plan
On our homepage, learn about upcoming cleanups that you can join anytime; you can even sort these by neighborhood or view a map of cleanups. Or you can acquire your own supplies and organize your own students (faculty, staff, and parents) according to their schedule is an amazing way to build community!
Essential Questions
• What is “trash,” and why does it litter the streets of San Francisco?
• What are the different kinds of trash?
• What’s the connection between production, consumption, and trash?
• How do the systems and attitudes contribute to the generation of trash?
The power of community: How can we solve a citywide problem together?
• Experience what tangible action does
• Discover the connection between community action and relationship building
• Identify systems and where we can have influence in those systems
What is the role and responsibility that you have in the world?
• Changing mindsets to affect the world
• Developing a sense of responsibility to act
• Developing habits that foster change
Topic 1 | Understanding our trash
A. Trash collection in our community
• "San Francisco Trash Talk" presentation. 20-minute presentation that covers why SF is so dirty, possible solutions, and how students, teachers, and parents can help
• Pre teaching before going out
- Safety: Do not pick up needles, feces, or other hazardous materials. Do not go into the street to pick up trash; "The street is lava".
- Organization of the materials. Hand out safety vests, trash pickers, rings & trash bags
• How many bags of trash were collected?
• What was in them (tally by category)? Email info@refuserefusesf.org to request a spreadsheet of categories.
• Three rotating activities…story, math/data, scientific make-up
• Why do you think trash is such a problem in our community?
B. Mapping trash collected in the neighborhood
• While collecting the trash, mark off on a printed Google map of the neighborhood where you find the trash
• Create a “trash map” of your neighborhood and discuss findings
• Take multiple readings over a period of time to visualize trends
C. Personal trash infographic
• While collecting the trash, mark off on a printed Google map of the neighborhood where you find the trash
• Create a “trash map” of your neighborhood and discuss findings
• Take multiple readings over a period of time to visualize trends
D. Learn about SF Public Works and Recology
• Watch video/visit dump/have someone present
• Learn about the sordid saga of SF’s trash cans Resources: Artists trash map (ARTICLE)
• Artist Finishes Trash Map of Brooklyn After Walking Every Single Block) (VIDEO)
• Vik Muniz. “www (World Map)”: an atlas of trash (ARTICLE)
• The Sordid Saga of San Francisco’s Trash Cans | KQED (ARTICLE AND AUDIO)
• Waste Management Tour of Recology Recycling in San Francisco (VIDEO)
• Our History - Recology (ARTICLE)
• DPW Corridor Ambassadors
Topic 2 | Trash & Consumption: How did it get here?
A. Trash collection in our community
• "San Francisco Trash Talk" presentation. 20-minute presentation that covers why SF is so dirty, possible solutions, and how students, teachers, and parents can help
• Pre teaching before going out
- Safety: Do not pick up needles, feces, or other hazardous materials. Do not go into the street to pick up trash; "The street is lava".
- Organization of the materials. Hand out safety vests, trash pickers, rings & trash bags
• How many bags of trash were collected?
• What was in them (tally by category)? Email info@refuserefusesf.org to request a spreadsheet of categories.
• Three rotating activities…story, math/data, scientific make-up
• Why do you think trash is such a problem in our community?
B. Mapping trash collected in the neighborhood
• While collecting the trash, mark off on a printed Google map of the neighborhood where you find the trash
• Create a “trash map” of your neighborhood and discuss findings
• Take multiple readings over a period of time to visualize trends
Topic 3 | Changing the future of trash
A. Trash collection in our community
• "San Francisco Trash Talk" presentation. 20-minute presentation that covers why SF is so dirty, possible solutions, and how students, teachers, and parents can help
• Pre teaching before going out
- Safety: Do not pick up needles, feces, or other hazardous materials. Do not go into the street to pick up trash; "The street is lava".
- Organization of the materials. Hand out safety vests, trash pickers, rings & trash bags
• How many bags of trash were collected?
• What was in them (tally by category)? Email info@refuserefusesf.org to request a spreadsheet of categories.
• Three rotating activities…story, math/data, scientific make-up
• Why do you think trash is such a problem in our community?
B. Mapping trash collected in the neighborhood
• While collecting the trash, mark off on a printed Google map of the neighborhood where you find the trash
• Create a “trash map” of your neighborhood and discuss findings
• Take multiple readings over a period of time to visualize trends