Weeks 1 & 2 - Introduction, Ecosystems, Symbiotic Relationships, and Human Impacts

4. Human Impacts on the Ecosystem

Lesson 4

Activity 03 - LESSON 3: Human Impacts on the Ecosystem

ACTIVITY A: What You and Your Community Can Do!

Now that you have turned Dumptown into Recycle City it is time to look at how everyone is doing their part to keep human impact on the environment as low as possible.
Welcome to this Virtual Scavenger Hunt! Scattered throughout Recycle City, you'll find all the answers and information you need to answer the questions below. I hope this will also give you more ideas about how to reduce, reuse and recycle in your own home and community. Answer the questions below and begin the Scavenger hunt in Recycle City!

Exercise 1.4: Recycle City

ACTIVITY B: Alberta Recycling & Composting

Alberta is a leader in North America for managing waste. The Edmonton Waste Management Centre at Clover Bar includes the largest co-composter in North America. Waste that could not be recycled was traditionally buried in landfills. In the year 2000, Edmonton began a new era of waste management. Now, 15 to 18% of household waste is recycled in the blue bag program, and all the remaining household solid waste is taken to the new composting facility.

About 65% of all household waste is organic. As it is organic, it can be combined with biosolids (sewage sludge) and processed back into compost.

Also in Alberta, the Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation works with beverage companies to recycle the containers used to package beverages. Find out how many containers are recycled by watching the video "Recycling makes Sense- Beverage Container Recycling in Alberta."