Activity Overview: Can you beat your family by producing the least amount of waste in your household?

Time: 10 minutes for the first lesson; 15 minutes per day over two weeks.

Materials Needed: Trash bags, masking tape, a marker, and a weight scale.

The average American produces 4.4 pounds of waste daily, including recyclable and compostable material. Waste comes from uneaten food, packaging, broken materials and more. So, how much waste do you produce?

Setting the Stage

Give each member of your household a trash bag for their trash. You can place the bags in individual trash cans for additional security. Give each person a piece of masking tape and have them write their names. Have everyone place the masking tape on their trash bag.

Activity Directions

For the next week have each member of your household place their waste in their own individual trash bags. Any material that you recycle or compost properly can be left out of the trash bags. At the end of the week, weigh the bags individually to see what each one weighs. Do the same thing for week two. See who has decreased their waste by the largest percentage.