Learn more about waste at www.jointhepod.org

Page 1 of 2 Written December 2017

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Discover lots of amazing facts about food waste and packaging in this fun hide-and-seek game.

How to playThe aim of this Fact-finding mission is for students to find the 10 fact cards hidden around school and use these to answer the questions about food waste and food packaging on the Worksheet (see page 2).

The mission can be undertaken by individual children or in groups, so it’s a good rainy day classroom activity or game for your Eco Club to play.

Before you start If needed, photocopy additional copies of the Worksheet.

Hide the fact cards around school (it’s up to you how hard you make the search!)

Extension activities Follow the activity with a discussion about the facts the children have learnt. What have they discovered about food waste or packaging that they didn’t know before? Have any of the facts made them think differently about what they throw away? What could they do to reduce their own food waste? How could they reuse or recycle more food packaging?

If time, children could write their own pledges on the Waste Week placards and stick these on the wall to show others how they plan to reduce waste.

Homework task: Older – or more able – children could research further waste facts and create their own Fact-finding mission for younger children. This would make a good buddy activity.

Tips for making the mission more challenging:

Set a time limit in which the groups have to find the fact cards. Ask children to find a new waste fact of their own to accompany each picture. Make it a competitive challenge and award a prize

for the first group to complete the mission!

Tips for making the mission easier: Stick numbers on each fact card to guide the children to the right answer. Give the group a sneak peak of the 10 fact cards, so they know what to look for. Position the fact cards closer together around school. Give children hints about where each fact card is hidden.

Fact-Finding Mission: Food waste and packaging

Find more waste facts and activities at www.jointhepod.org/waste

Page 2 of 2 Written December 2017 jointhepod.org

Worksheet

Q4. Fill in the missing number:

...... out of 10 people buy ingredients for a recipe they won’t use up in anything else.Answer:

Name: ......................................................................................................................

Q1. How much money do families in the UK waste on food a year?

Answer: ............................................................................................................................................................

Q2. Fill in the missing word:

Answer: For every two plates of food we eat in the UK, another ........................... is wasted.

Q3. Rotten fruit and veg can be turned into what to help us produce electricity and heat?

Answer: ............................................................................................................................................................

Q5. How many slices of cheese are thrown away in the UK each year?

Answer: ............................................................................................................................................................

Q6. Fill in the missing word:

Answer: It’s thought there will be more ............................ than fish (by weight) in the sea by 2050.

Q8. Where do plastic straws often end up?

Answer: ............................................................................................................................................................

Q7. Food is NOT safe to eat past what date?

Answer: ............................................................................................................................................................

Q9. How many bananas are thrown away a day in the UK?

Answer: ............................................................................................................................................................

Q10. What percentage of aluminium (a type of metal) ever made is still used today?

Answer: ............................................................................................................................................................

Fact-Finding Mission: Food waste and packaging

Fact!Families in the UK throw away

about £700 of food a year.

For every two plates of food we eat in the UK, another plate is wasted.

Fact!

Fact!Rotten fruit and veg can be turned into

a fuel known as ‘biogas’ and used to produce electricity and heat.

Fact!Nearly 9 out of 10 people in the UK

buy ingredients for a recipe that they won’t use up in anything else.

Fact!3 million slices of cheese are

thrown away in the UK each year.

Fact!It’s thought there will be more plastic

than fish (by weight) in the sea by 2050.

Fact!Food is NOT safe to eat past its

‘use by’ date. But you CAN safely eat food past its ‘best before’ date.

Millions of plastic straws end up in landfill or the sea, where they can harm wildlife

or wash up as litter on our beaches.

Fact!

Fact!We throw away 1.4 million bananas a DAY in the UK.

Aluminium can be recycled again… and again… and again! In fact, 75% of the aluminium ever made is still used today.

Fact!