Recycling & plastic separating

A great lesson pack for year 2 that links to the topic of everyday materials. The pack highlights some of the different things that our rubbish can be turned into and how a recycling plant sorts glass, plastic, paper and metal. Pupils will get the chance to conduct an experiment that separates different types of plastics using water and salt. This will get them thinking about different types of plastics, about floating and sinking and will introduce them to the concept of density, based on weight and volume.

The downloadable pack includes:

• A differentiated lesson plan, starting with a discussion about rubbish and culminating in a hands-on plastic-sorting experiment, including a scientific explanation
• A PowerPoint presentation explaining what recycling is, as well as the instructions for the experiment
• A recycling board game
• Instructions to make recycled paper
• Silly Science SPAG activity

Simple to resource! The items you will need:

• A variety of plastic
• A large glass or another container
• Salt