Page 26 The Earth Scientist

© 2019 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

While many of us assume that recycling is now entrenched in our 21st century culture, 

analyzing recycling bins in public places, such as schools, quickly dispels that notion. This 

article describes an action project completed by 5th grade students in New York State as 

they focused their attention on their school’s recycling bins and worked to increase recycling behavior in their school community. Students first collected photographic evidence 

of the use of recycling bins in classrooms and then used a variety of methods to educate 

fellow students on the importance of recycling. Two months later, they collected additional photographic evidence of bin use, and saw an increase in the number of bins used 

correctly. Students concluded that recycling behavior can be increased through education.

Introduction

To become a NOAA Climate Steward, I was asked to complete an action project that would involve 

my students taking steps towards mitigating climate change. In return, I would receive free professional development in climate science, funding for school projects and conference attendance, and 

support from climate experts at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association). Little 

did I realize at the time of joining that I would continue on with the NOAA Climate Stewards 

Education Project, becoming a mentor to new members, and a continued presence in this powerful 

network of formal and informal educators who are working to get climate science into the schools, 

and engage children in environmental stewardship. 

For my action project I focused on recycling in my school. There are recycling bins throughout the 

building, but as is often the case, they were often not being used correctly. With that in mind, the 

stage was set for my students to discover the problem, educate themselves about recycling, and take 

action to affect change. As far as my students were concerned, the goal of our project was to see if 

our school community was recycling correctly. Once answered, the goal became to determine if it is 

possible to alter recycling behavior through education. Additionally, my goal was to introduce my 

students to basic scientific data gathering and methodology, and the art of effective dissemination, 

while heightening their own awareness of the importance of recycling. This project involved two 

classes of 5th graders but would have been just as effective in middle school or high school.

Recycling at School: 

An Action Project

Kottie Christie-Blick, 

South Orangetown Central 

School District, New York State

In late 2017 the NOAA 

Climate Stewards 

Education Project changed 

its title to the NOAA Planet 

Stewards Education 

Project
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© 2019 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

As part of our Earth Science Unit (NGSS Earth and Human Activity), my students discussed ways in 

which humans impact Earth’s systems (ESS3.C). They brainstormed ways to reduce air pollution to 

mitigate climate change. They researched online (see Resources for a link to a list of child-friendly 

websites). And they visited the local recycling center, learning that it takes less energy to re-make 

an item out of plastic, glass, metal, or paper than it does to manufacture it from scratch. They 

concluded that recycling to help the environment was a no-brainer. That led them to wonder: Is our 

own school community disposing of trash properly, that is, in an environmentally friendly way? Are the school’s 

recycling bins being used correctly so items can be recycled? 

My students set out to find the answer. Once they determined that the bins were often not used 

correctly, they worked to alter the community’s behavior. The aim was to increase the recycling 

behavior of the community. They looked at trash in each type of bin (trash bin or recycling bin) as 

proxy evidence for recycling behavior. They gathered baseline data, worked to educate the school 

community, and then collected additional data to see if the bins were now being used correctly 

more often.

Methods

My students collected baseline data by photographing classroom trash bins and recycling bins in random classrooms around the school. This was done once a week, at the 

end of the school day, for three weeks. I had emailed all the teachers ahead of time, 

letting them know that my students would be photographing bins as part of a class 

project. I asked them not to discuss it with their own students yet. If their students 

asked, they would just tell them it was for a project for one of the other classes. I 

assured teachers that we were not interested in any individual’s results, and that there 

would be no identifying features in the photographs. We were only interested in the 

aggregate results. Students took one photo of each bin in each classroom, pointing 

the camera straight down into the bin (Figure 1). They did not photograph any bins 

that were empty. 

My students analyzed this photographic evidence at the end of three weeks. I 

projected each photograph on the Smartboard. We could distinguish bins by their 

color. All paper recycling bins in our school are blue; all hard, plastic recycling bins 

are green; all trash bins are grey or black. The children tallied all bins that had correct 

items in them: only paper products in the paper bin, only hard, plastic bottles (with 

no water in them) in the plastic bin, only non-recyclables in the trash bin. If there 

was even one incorrect item in the container, the tally mark went into the column 

showing that it was not being used correctly.

We discovered that out of 50 usable photos (some were so blurry that they were unusable), 14 pictures showed the bins had been used correctly (paper in the paper bin, 

empty plastic bottles in the bottle bin, garbage in the trash bin). That meant that only 28% of the 

bins were being used correctly on a typical school day. While analyzing the photos, it became clear 

that even my science students were confused about the correct use of recycling bins. Common 

misconceptions: it’s alright to put partially filled drink containers in the plastic recycling bin if the 

lids are on; tissues and paper towels go in the paper recycling bin; paper plates with food on them 

go in the paper recycling bin. 

Using this as our baseline data, the students brainstormed ways to increase recycling at school. They 

hypothesized that if students were taught how to recycle properly, and understood the importance 

of recycling, they’d dispose of their trash properly (in an environmentally friendly way) at school. 

Figure 1. Student gathers photographic evidence 

to determine if the recycling bin is being used 

correctly
Page 28 The Earth Scientist

© 2019 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Brainstorming and planning during science 

class, and after school on their own, the 

children came up with a number of ways 

to help educate the student community 

about recycling. They designed posters, 

which they mounted in the school hallways (Figure 2). They wrote “Public Service 

Announcements,” reminding students to 

recycle properly. Individuals read these 

over the intercom to the entire school 

once a week for two months. They talked 

to students around the school about the 

importance of recycling. They created 

amusing, educational skits about recycling properly, which they performed at a 

school-wide assembly. They had a family 

member photograph them at home recycling 

and performing other actions that would 

demonstrate environmental stewardship. Parents emailed the photographs to me, and I uploaded 

them to make Animoto videos, one for each of my two science classes. (See Resources.) The videos 

were also shown at the assembly. Our goal was to educate the student community about recycling, 

while also adding a bit of societal pressure, making concern for the environment seem cool, and 

recycling the right thing to do. Children have the ability to achieve this in a way that is unattainable 

by adult presenters.

Results

Two months later, my students again photographed bins around the school 

for three weeks, accumulating another fifty usable photographs of classroom 

bins. Did their actions make a difference? Did they affect change in the recycling behavior of our school community? Analyzing the photographs, the 

students tallied the number of bins that had been used correctly, and those 

used incorrectly. The criterion was the same: if even one piece of trash in the 

bin was inappropriate for that bin, the children had to consider the bin used 

incorrectly. This time, out of 50 photos, 26 showed the bins had been used 

correctly; 24 incorrectly. That is, 52% of the bins were used correctly, up from 

28% before the students’ recycling campaign (Figure 3).

Discussion

We celebrated that there had been a marked increase in correct recycling at 

school. At the outset of this action project, we had hoped that after educating 

the school community there would be close to 100% of the trash bins and 

recycling bins used correctly. While we were disappointed that the results 

indicated only 52% were being used correctly after our education campaign, 

we concluded that the evidence of change from 28% to 52% of bins used correctly showed that my 

students’ dissemination of information, and their acting as role models of environmental stewardship, had significantly increased the recycling behavior of our school community. 

Anecdotal evidence also showed that my own science classes developed an appreciation for the 

scientific methodology. They were able to explain the need for quantifying information in order to 

Figure 2. Students created posters to hang in the school hallways to encourage recycling

Figure 3: After educating the school community, 52% of the 

trash and recycling bins were used correctly, compared with 

only 28% used correctly before the start of our recycling 

action project
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© 2019 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

measure change. They demonstrated an understanding of the importance of recycling. In class, they 

discussed what they saw in bins around the school, expressed their dismay at egregious offenses 

against responsible disposal of waste, and excitedly planned creative ways to educate the community. They also, voluntarily, worked on posters, skits, and an Animoto video outside of class time. 

Additionally, their own heightened awareness of the importance of recycling meant that my own 

classroom recycling bins were now being used properly by students every day.

Class discussion provided insights into probable reasons why there wasn’t higher compliance of 

correct waste disposal. We concluded that habits are difficult to break, especially one that is as automatic as throwing away a piece of trash. However, measuring positive change in behavior during the 

limited time of our action project suggests that additional repeated encounters with the recycling 

message and societal pressure would yield additional increases in recycling behavior. This was a simple 

action project designed for elementary students in the 5th grade. I would welcome information from 

middle school and high school teachers who replicate this project with older students in a larger 

school, and, if possible, over a larger period of time with more recycling education for the students.

Note that we did not count or weigh the recyclables, as has been done in other action projects 

involving students. That data would be irrelevant to this study. We were not looking to generate 

more recyclable trash, nor less garbage. Our goal was to have people categorize their waste correctly, 

no matter how much or how little, so they would become conscientious recyclers at school. People 

don’t like to think of themselves as being hypocritical, so there’s reason to think that if they understand the importance of recycling to the degree that they actually recycle correctly at school, they 

will also recycle at home.

Conclusion

I once attended a presentation by Alan Alda, early in life a famous actor (think M.A.S.H.), and now, 

later in life, a famous communicator of science to the general public. In his talk, “Getting Beyond a 

Blind Date with Science,” (Columbia University, May 6, 2015), he explained that getting the public to 

appreciate science is like dating. There are three stages: attraction, infatuation, and then commitment. 

To get children to appreciate the importance of environmental science and the need for stewardship, 

first we need to attract them to the topic, next help them become infatuated with the concept of 

helping the planet, and then, with continued exposure, will come personal responsibility. 

Acknowledgements

I’m grateful to NOAA’s Climate Stewards program for the professional development they offer, 

as well as for the opportunities they afford teachers as we work together to get climate science 

into schools.

Resources

NASA Climate Kids: climatekids.nasa.gov/

NOAA Planet Stewards Education Project: oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/planet-stewards/

National Geographic: natgeokids.com/uk/discover/geography/general-geography/what-is-climate-change/

The Climate Reality Project: climaterealityproject.org/blog/

just-kids-what-climate-change-and-what-can-i-do

Kids Against Climate Change: kidsagainstclimatechange.com/

Animoto video: animoto.com/play/jr1fazm1aPgrObEFuMXL1Q

Reference

NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For states, by states. Washington, DC: The 

National Academies Press.

About the Author

Kottie Christie-Blick is 

a teacher in the South 

Orangetown Central School 

District in New York State

She is also an educational 

consultant who specializes 

in teaching educators how 

to teach about climate 

change. She is the creator

of the children’s blog 

kidsagainstclimatechange

com. She is a NOAA Climate

Stewards Educator and a 

Distinguished Fulbright Teacher

Kottie can be reached at 

kchristieblick@socsd.or