This document provides the background, materials, procedure, and objectives for an activity where elementary school children learn about recycling and reuse by creating bird feeders out of common household items like plastic bottles. The activity teaches children that everyday items can be recycled or reused to help wildlife, and through creating and decorating their own bird feeders, the children will understand the concepts of reducing, reusing, and recycling household waste.

1. Remarkable Recyclables!
Presented at the 22nd Annual Energy Fair
June 17-19, 2011
Custer, WI

2. Title:
Remarkable Recyclables!
Grade Level:
Elementary (3rd-5th grade)
Abstract:
In this activity, children learn what recycling is and about the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) of
recycling. They then take this knowledge and reuse common household items to create a new item that
can be used for the benefit of wildlife in their backyards.
Goal:
Children will learn how everyday household items can be reused to benefit wildlife in their own
backyards.
Objectives:
After participating in the “Remarkable Recyclables” activity, the children will be able to:
-orally identify 5 common household items that can be recycled.
(Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge)
- create a birdfeeder from recycled household products.
(Bloom’s Taxonomy: Synthesis)
-orally and visually identify appropriate locations for a birdfeeder.
(Bloom’s Taxonomy: Evaluation)
Materials:
70-80 Plastic Bottles of Various Shapes and Sizes
Scissors
Nail
Twine
Wooden Dowels or Chopsticks
Non-Toxic Outdoor Paint
Paintbrushes
Paper Towel
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3. Water
Birdseed
Newspaper or Tarps
Activity Instruction Sheets
Background Information:
In 2009, 243 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste was produced in the United States. Municipal Solid
Waste (MSW) is any form of item that a person uses and throws away, such as product packaging,
furniture, clothing, food scraps, appliances, newspapers, grass clippings and an endless list of other
things. This waste comes from homes, schools, hospitals and businesses. On average, every individual
American generates 1,600 pounds of trash a year. That’s 4.5 pounds of trash a day! Most people throw
their trash out and never think of it again. However, there are many ways to get rid of our trash, some of
which are better than others. Some items are best put into the trash, but we should consider
alternatives when disposing of items. Some items can be recycled.
When something is recycled, it is formed into a new product that can be used again. However, there are
three steps to recycling, commonly known as the Three R’s of Recycling. The first step is to Reduce the
amount of waste you generate. Many simple ways exist to reduce your trash production. You can use
reusable containers, print on both sides of paper instead of just one, use reusable cloth bags at stores
instead of paper or plastic, instead of buying bottled water use a water filter on your faucet, and only
buy the amount of food that can be eaten before it spoils. The second step is to Reuse items instead of
throwing them away. You can do this by donating unwanted items that are in good condition to a thrift
store or charity, old cans or bottles can be used as plant pots or piggy banks or pen holders, torn clothes
can be used as cleaning rags, compost food, and by saving wrapping paper and gift bags for next year.
The last step is to Recycle items that cannot be reused. Instead of throwing away plastic bottles,
aluminum cans, cardboard or electronics, these should be sent to a place where they will break the
items down and reuse them for manufacturing purposes.
Surprisingly, the third step, recycling, is actually the least desirable of the three R’s. In some cases, the
costs of recycling outweigh the benefits. In order to recycle a product, it has to be transported to the
facility and then broken down. This can take a lot of energy, and sometimes more energy than it would
to create a new product. That is why the 3 R’s were created; to make the recycling process more
efficient and beneficial.
Procedure:
Set Up
Before you can begin the lesson, you must first prepare the plastic bottles. Remove the label and
thoroughly rinse each bottle. You may want to practice creating a few bird feeders yourself so that you
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4. will be able to make sure the design works and that you will be able to properly explain to the children
how to construct their own feeder. Also, your bird feeders can be used as examples to show the
children.
Introduction/Pre-assessment (time): 10 minutes
Begin the lesson by having a discussion. Ask the kids if they know where our trash ends up? Do they
know what recycling is? If they do, ask about the 3 R’s, but if they don’t, then describe it to them.
Emphasize the fact that just like the original production process, recycling takes energy in order to break
down the objects to their original state. That is why reusing and reducing our waste is so important. In
order to do that, today we are going to learn how to reuse a common household item to make
something else. In this case, we are going to be making bird feeders out of plastic bottles! Everyone will
get to create and decorate their very own bird feeder that they get to take home to put in their
backyard.
Procedure(time): 40 minutes
Before you begin, make sure each child has a plastic bottle, a nail, scissors, a wooden dowel and a length
of twine. Some items, such as the nail and scissors can be shared among three or four children. Also, be
sure that there is adequate adult supervision in order to help children with the construction.
The first step is to have the children use the nail to carefully poke a hole in each side of the plastic bottle
ear the bottom for the perch. The holes need to be large enough to fit the dowel. Next, they will make a
U-shaped cut 2 inches above the perch hole on each side of the bottle. They must bend each cut area
outward like a little awning. They will then punch two holes just under the top rim of the bottle for the
hanger. Have them thread a piece of twine through the top holes to hang the feeder. That last step for
construction is to insert the dowel through the perch holes.
Now that the bird feeder is constructed, the children can have a chance to decorate. Have a variety of
non-toxic, outdoor craft paint and paintbrushes available for the children to decorate their feeder. Be
sure to have lain down some paper on the work surfaces and have water and paper towel handy inorder
to aid in clean up. Tell the children that they can paint anything they want on their feeder, as long as
they do not paint to dowel, the cap, the inside of the bottle or the edges around the openings for the
birds to get at the food. Even though the paint is non-toxic, we do not want to risk getting paint into the
food or have it interfere with their perches etc…
Once the children are all done constructing and decorating their bird feeders, have them fill their
feeders with birdseed and tightly screw the cap back on. Their bird feeders are now ready to take home
and hang in order to observe the wildlife!
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5. Conclusion/Post-assessment (time): 10 minutes
To end the activity, gather the children around and ask them what they plan to do with their bird
feeders. If they plan to hang them up in their backyards, ask them where. Inform the students that bird
feeders can be placed near windows in order to view the birds, as long as there is no danger from cats.
Also, it is advisable to have bushes, trees, or shrubs nearby as that is natural habitat for birds and
provides cover and shields the feeder from the wind. Another thing to consider is that bird feeders can
be messy because of feces, discarded seeds and feathers.
Wrap up by giving the children a chance to share their feeders with the others. Also, hand out the
instruction sheets for other recycling activities.. Show an example of each one of these as well and
encourage them to do them with their parents.
Multiple Intelligences:
Naturalistic
Kinesthetic
Key Concepts:
Energy: a source of powers; the capacity for work or vigorous activity; the capacity of a physical system
to do work
Municipal Solid Waste: a waste type that includes predominantly household waste (domestic waste)
with sometimes the addition of commercial wastes collected by a municipality within a given
area
Recycle: process of returning waste material to a previous stage in a cyclic process so that it can be
reused
Reduce: make smaller or less in amount, degree or size
Reuse: the action of using something again
Waste: any material or substance that is no longer useful or needed
Standards:
Art and Design
C.4.5 Look at nature and works of art as visual resources
Environmental Education
A.4.4 Communicate their understanding to others in simple terms
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6. B.4.2 Illustrate how they use energy* in their daily lives
D.4.2 Identify and give examples of short-term and long-term solutions to a problem
D.4.5 Explain how they can influence an environmental issue
Science
F.4.1 Discover* how each organism meets its basic needs for water, nutrients, protection, and
energy* in order to survive
D.4.8 Ask questions and make observations to discover the differences between substances that
can be touched (matter) and substances that cannot be touched (forms of energy, light,
heat, electricity, sound, and magnetism)
References:
Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 10ed. Print.
“Recycling | Reduce, Reuse, Recycle | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency.Web. 17 May 2011.
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/recycle.htm
"TLC Family "Bird Feeding Station"" TLC "Guides" Web. 17 May 2011.
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/easy-science-activities-for-kids2.htm
Author: Christine N. Kuhn
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7. Attachment(s):
Empty Can Planters
Empty cans from your pantry can be used in countless ways. Once you clean them out and add a
decorative coat of paint, they make attractive pen/pencil holders, candleholders, or flower planters.
Materials
-Empty aluminum cans
-Drill
-Paint
-Paintbrushes
-Potting soil
-Rocks
-Plants
-Popsicle sticks
-Permanent marker
Procedure
1. Remove the labels and thoroughly rinse each can.
2. Make sure the top is completely removed from each can.
3. Drill 4 holes in the bottom of each can to let water drain from planter.
4. Decorate the outside of the can using paints, spray paints or other decorations as desired.
5. Place a layer of rocks at the bottom of the can about a quarter of the way.
6. Fill the can another two quarters of the way with potting soil.
7. Select a plant and carefully pot it.
8. Place more potting soil around the plant as needed and water.
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8. Wonderful Wind Chimes!
Wind chimes make a lovely addition to any garden area! You can make them out of almost anything you
have lying around your house, as long as it is metal and will make a sound when it lightly hits other
objects.
Materials
-various small metal objects (silverware works very well)
-topper (aluminum can, old pot/pan, wicker basket etc…)
-thin wire
-wire cutters
-needle nose pliers
-wire hanger
Procedure
1. Gather objects from your house that are light-weight and will clang together like a chime. Also, locate
an object for the topper that you can tie your “chimes” to. For example, use silverware as the chimes
and an old metal strainer for the top.
2. Use the needle nose pliers to bend the handles of the silverware in a loop that you can tie around.
3. Tie slightly different lengths of the wire to the handle of each utensil.
4. Tie the utensils to the strainer, making sure that each one is close enough to hit the others.
5. Use the hook of wire hanger to hang your wind chime by attaching it to the top of the strainer with
wire.
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