lesson 6-4: trash traits

6.4.1channelislands.noaa.gov/education/multicultural.html

Channel Islands MERITO Academy Curriculum

Grades 4 – 7

Teaching Time60-90 mins in class

Teacher Prep1. Read activity back-

ground2. Photocopy handouts3. Clean and check all

trash items before they are handled by students

4. Set up 3 or 4 demon-stration stations:

Station 1:• Position a fan at one

end of a table where items can be placed in front of it to watch them blow.

Station 2:• Fill a bucket with

water.

Station 3:• Fill a large, shallow

container with water and place it in front of the fan.

Station 4:• Find a sloped,

outdoor area and fill a watering can.

Materials• Students’ MERITO

Academy logbook• Plastic, glass, rubber,

metal, paper, wood and food trash items (avoid any sharp objects or harmful chemicals)

• Bucket with water...Continued

Activity SummaryThrough instruction and reading material, students will learn the two main

characteristics of marine debris and how debris reaches the ocean. They will collect and pile various types of trash previously cleaned. Students will discover which items can easily be blown away by placing them on a table and using a fan as the wind. They will then experiment to find how easily certain types of debris float or sink, depending on their density, by using a bucket of water. Lastly, students will determine how certain objects can be blown away in the water by using a large shallow container and a fan.

Focus Questions• What is marine debris?• What characteristics make trash items likely to become marine debris?• What are some sources of marine debris?

Learning ObjectivesStudents will be able to:• Define marine debris• Identify sources and physical properties of trash items that become marine debris• Describe the impacts of marine debris on the ocean and marine ecosystems

Lesson 6-4: Trash Traits

Image Courtesy: NOAA, COSEE SE, SC SEA Grant, SC DHEC-OCRM. Illustrator: Jessie Peter

6.4.2 channelislands.noaa.gov/education/multicultural.html


Marine debris is any man-made object that gets into the coastal or marine environment after it

has been discarded, disposed of, or aban-doned. Examples of coastal and marine environments include oceans, salt marshes, estuaries, and beaches. Creation of marine debris can result from a number of pro-cesses, including careless handling or dis-posal, intentional or unintentional release of materials, storms and natural disasters. Proper collection, handling, and disposal of trash, as well as a reduction of consumption and packaging can help to reduce marine debris, which has become a major pollution problem facing the world’s oceans and wa-terways.

Marine debris includes all the objects that do not naturally occur in the marine environment. Although naturally occurring items such as tree branches and the remains of land animals can be con-sidered marine debris, the term is reserved for articles that have been made or used by people and discarded improperly. The most common categories of marine debris are cloth, glass, metal, paper, plastic, rub-ber, and wood. Ocean and waterway activi-ties, illegal dumping, and behaviors such as smoking cause marine debris. Debris items differ in the potential impact they have on the environment and wildlife; some debris items are much more harmful than others.

Two well-known characteristics of debris are buoyancy - the ability of an ob-ject to float in the water (which often also tends be blown around easily by the wind) and degradability – the ability of an ob-ject to be broken down into smaller pieces by chemical or biological forces. These characteristics affect how easily debris can get in the water and how long it will remain in the marine environment. The more the time the item remains intact in the marine

environment, the greater the threat it poses to people, wildlife, and vessels.

Buoyancy is a factor of density (density equals mass divided by volume). An object that floats in water has less den-sity than water, which is 1gram/milliliter. Buoyant objects are more likely to become marine debris than objects that sink be-cause they are easily carried by wind and water moved by streams, ocean waves, and air currents. Floating debris can be trans-ported long distances across the ocean. Consequently, buoyant debris can affect a wide-ranging area of the ocean. The most buoyant types of debris are made of plas-tic and some types of rubber. It is possible that animals can become entangled or even strangled by this debris. Paper and wood initially float, but have the tendency to sink once they have become water logged (saturated with water). Unless air is trapped inside, articles made from glass, metal, and some kinds of rubber will sink. Cloth items tend to sink as well.

Items that are blown by the wind can also easily find their way into the marine environment. Such debris can be blown di-rectly into the ocean, or can be transported to the ocean if blown into a river or stream that empties into the sea. Objects that can be easily blown around are a particular problem because they can become marine debris even after they are disposed of in a proper manner. Paper as well as some kinds of rubber, plastic, and cloth, are all capable

Materials continued...

• Fan• Large shallow

container with water• Watering can with

water

Handouts:• “Sources of Marine

Debris,” (See page 6.4.6)

• “Trash Traits Results,” (See page 6.4.7)

Note: Teacher can either do class demonstration or provide enough of the above materi-als to allow student groups to conduct experiments.

Vocabularybuoyancydecomposedegradabilitydensitydisposallittermarine debrismunicipal solid wastenon-degradablepersistentstorm draintendency

Related Careerschemistenvironmental

scientistmarine biologistmarine researcheroceanographerwaste management

specialist

Background Information



Resources1. www.vims.edu/

bridge – Click on “Ocean Science Topics,” then “Hu-man Activities,” then “Environ-mental Issues,” then “Pollution.”

2. NOAA’s Marine Debris 101: www.marined-ebris.noaa.gov

3. EPA’s Marine Debris site: www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/debris

4. Ocean Conser-vancy Coastal Cleanup: www.oceanconservan-cy.org/our-work/marine-debris

5. “Addicted to Plastic,” 2008 (documentary).

of being carried by the wind. During storms and other periods of high winds, almost any kind of trash (including glass, metal, and wood) can be blown into the ocean. The characteristics of buoyancy and the ability to be blown around are generally correlated. Lightweight objects tend to float and are also the items that are easily blown around.

In nature, materials are most com-monly broken down through a process known as biodegradation. Biodegradation occurs when microorganisms (such as bacte-ria and fungi) decompose a material, caus-ing it to be broken down into compounds (such as nutrients) that can be reused in the environment. Temperature and moisture lev-els affect the rate of biodegradation. Gen-erally, the higher the temperature and the greater the moisture levels, the faster the rate of biodegradation. Natural materials tend to be more biodegradable than synthetic mate-rials. Examples of biodegradable debris are food scraps, beverages, cotton fabric and wood.

Some materials are broken down by chemical interactions (for example, rust on steel) or by physical forces such as erosion and weathering. Debris that does not eas-ily degrade remains in the environment for a long time and is labeled as “persistent.” In general synthetic materials such as plas-tic, vinyl and rubber are the most persistent types of marine debris. Non-degradable debris does not decompose or chemically break down into smaller pieces and remains in the environment for a long time. Exam-ples of non-degradable debris include plastic water and soda bottles, plastic bags, plastic food wrappers, nylon fishing line and nets, and car tires.

There are many places and activi-ties that generate the debris that enters the marine environment. Any trash that is im-properly disposed of, as well as any materi-als that are improperly transported or stored, have the potential to become marine debris.

There are several sources of marine debris, including beachgoers, litter from people liv-ing inland, storm drains, combined sewer overflows, commercial and recreational ves-sels, industrial facilities, waste disposal ac-tivities, and offshore oil and gas platforms.

The United States generates signifi-cant quantities of trash- otherwise known as municipal solid waste, or garbage, every year. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2005, U.S. resi-dents, businesses, and institutions produced more than 245 million tons of municipal sol-id waste, which is approximately 4.5 pounds of waste per person per day. Although the U.S. represents roughly 5% of the world’s population, we generate 40% of its waste. At 34%, paper and paperboard made up the largest component of generated solid waste.

Practicing the “3 Rs” (reduce, reuse, recycle) plus proper disposal of trash will go a long way towards reducing the amount of marine debris. Adopting pollution pre-vention strategies that produce less waste in the first place is an even better solution than recycling alone. Some methods to pro-duce less waste include reusing materials, using reusable items rather than disposable ones, and reducing the amount of packaging that is used. For example, when shopping, use fabric bags instead of the plastic or pa-per bags provided by stores, and purchase items that have less packaging. Carry water in a reusable bottle rather than buying mul-tiple bottles of water. Use cloth napkins and kitchen towels rather than disposable paper products.

Recycling is one way to reduce the amount of trash that must be disposed. Re-cycling is the collection and reprocessing of materials so they can be used again. Marine debris can only be truly managed by chang-ing the behavior that causes it to enter the environment. Proper disposal of trash is the responsibility of every business, boater, and person.

http://www.vims.edu/bridge

http://www.vims.edu/bridge

http://www.marinedebris.noaa.gov

http://www.marinedebris.noaa.gov

http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/debris



http://www.oceanconservancy.org/our-work/marine-debris






California Standards

Fourth Grade• Science; Earth

Sciences 5.c• Language Arts;

Written & Oral English Language Conventions

Fifth Grade• Language Arts;


Sixth Grade• Science; Resources

6.c, Investigation & Experimentation 7.a-c, e

• Language Arts; Written & Oral English Language Conventions

Seventh Grade• Language Arts;


Ocean Literacy Principles

3. The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate. (g)

Learning Procedure1. Pass out the Trash Traits Results Worksheet.

2. As a class, separate the different types of trash into piles based on the material used to manufacture each item (plastic, glass, rubber, metal, paper, wood, and food).

3. Ask students to label the piles of trash. Write the student-created label names on the board and have the students fill in the “Item” and “Type” columns of their worksheet.

4. Set up the fan at one end of a table. Tell students that the fan represents the wind. Place each trash item in front of the fan, one at a time, to see if it is blown around.

• Ask students which items are easily blown around. • Have students fill in the “Can It Be Blown Around on Land?” column on their

worksheet.• Have the students observe tendencies: is there a tendency for all of the articles

of the same type (plastic, paper, metal, etc.) to be blown around in a similar way? What effects might pieces that can easily be blown around have on the environment?

5. Fill the bucket with water. Place each trash item in the water and ask the students the following questions:

• Which items float? Which do not? (Make a list on the chalkboard and have the students fill in the “Does it float?” column on their worksheet.)

• What will happen to buoyant items when they get into the ocean? What effects might buoyant marine debris have on ocean life and the environment?

• What will happen to items that don’t float when they get into the ocean?• What effects might marine debris that sinks have on ocean life and the

environment? • Is there a tendency for all of the articles of the same type (plastic, paper, metal,

etc.) to float or sink?

6. Fill the large, shallow container with water and place it in front of the fan. Put each article of trash in the container one at a time and turn on the fan. Ask the students:

Which items are easily blown around in the water? • Have students fill in the “Can It Be Blown Around in the Water?” column on

their worksheet.• What effects might items that are easily blown around in the water have on

ocean life and the environment? • Is there a tendency for all of the articles of the same type (plastic, paper, metal

etc.) to be blown around in the same way?

7. Fill the watering can with water. Take the watering can and the trash pieces out-doors, and find a slightly sloped, smooth area (a paved surface on a slight hill would work well). Place the trash pieces on the sloped area, and sprinkle water on them one at a time.

8. Which items does the sprinkled water easily move? (Once back inside, make a list



CreditAdapted with permission from NOAA Marine Debris Program from Turningthe Tide on Trash: A Learning Guide on Marine Debris, Trash Traits.

on the chalkboard and have the students fill in the “Can Sprinkled Water Move It?” column on their worksheets.)

9. Discuss how the characteristics examined (whether an item floats, is blown around, or is carried by sprinkled water) affect whether an item is likely to become marine debris. As a class using the worksheet rate the likelihood that each trash item will become marine debris as a result of the experiment, i.e., highly likely, somewhat likely, or unlikely.

10. Go over the student reading handout on Sources of Marine Debris. Have students identify on the worksheet what possible source each item came from. Also discuss how natural forces like running water, wind, and rain can cause trash to become marine debris.

Assessment1. What is marine debris?

2. Name at least three places marine debris can come from.

3. Give at least two examples of the impacts marine debris has on ocean animals.

4. What can we do to prevent marine debris?

Extensions1. Have students draw pictures that illustrate how a piece of trash (paper bag, cof-

fee cup, soda can, etc.) on a street can be moved by rain into a storm drain, into a nearby stream, and then into the ocean. Or the picture can show a beach that is clean and free of trash, contrasted with a picture of a beach that has marine debris.

2. Students can write a short story about the journey a piece of litter takes as it is blown from land into the ocean. The story could be formulated from one of the main sources for marine debris listed.


Lesson 6-4: Trash TraitsStudentHandout

Where Does Marine Debris Come From? Marine debris comes from many different sources. Any trash that is improperly disposed of, as well as any materials that are improperly trans-ported or stored, have the potential to become marine debris.

Main sources of marine debris:• Beachgoers – Many beachgoers leave behind

materials that can become marine debris, such as food packaging and beverage containers, cigarette butts, and toys like shovels, sand pails, and Frisbees. This trash can be blown into the ocean, picked up by waves, or washed into the water when it rains.

• Improper disposal of trash on land – Trash can be blown or washed directly into the oceans if it is littered or disposed of carelessly. Even if trash that is generated hundreds of miles inland can become marine debris if it is blown or washed into rivers or streams and carried to sea.

• Storm drains and combined sewer overflow – Storm water runoff (the water that flows along streets or along the ground as a result of a storm) can carry street litter into sewer

pipes, which carry this water and debris to a nearby river or stream, or even directly to the ocean. Combined sewer pipes cause problems when heavy rainstorms cause too much water to enter the sewer system. When this happens, the amount of water in the sewer pipes ex-ceeds the sewage treatment plant’s handling capacity.

• Ships and other vessels – Although it is il-legal in the United States to put any type of plastic trash into the navigable waters of the U.S. sometimes trash is thrown overboard on purpose.

• Industrial facilities – can contribute to the marine debris problem when waste items gen-erated by industrial processes (i.e. production scraps, flawed products, and packaging mate-rial) when disposed of improperly.

• Waste disposal activities – can cause a problem when trash is lost during collection or transportation, or when trash blows or is washed away from disposal facilities.

• Offshore oil and gas platforms – Because offshore oil and gas platforms are surrounded by water, any items that are lost from these structures can become marine debris.

Sources of Marine Debris

The Ocean Conservancy conducts an annual, interna-tional beach cleanup. Here’s a top ten list of the most commonly found debris items over 25 years of beach cleanups.

Data originally published by Ocean Conservancy, “Tracking Trash, 25 Years of Action for the Ocean, 2011 Report.


Lesson 6-4: Trash TraitsStudentHandout

Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________

Trash Traits Results

Item

Material (plastic,

paper, metal, etc.)

Does it

float?

Could wind move

it?

Could water move

it?

How likely is it to become

marine debris?

What is the likely source of the item, and how could

you prevent it from becom-ing marine debris? Refer to “Sources of Marine Debris,”

(See page 6.4.6)1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.


NOTES

Channel Islands MERITO Academy Curriculum

lesson 6-4: trash traits

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