Directions: Plastic Scavenger Hunt

This scavenger hunt is all about the plastic! The goals are twofold: (1) Discover more fully what is and isn’t recyclable, and (2) Get you thinking about your personal consumption of plastic and if you’d like to change it.

Stage 1

Find 2 items made of each type of numbered plastic (1 – 7) and take a picture of the item AND its recycle symbol showing its plastic composition. (Be sure to get the photos in focus!)

Stage 2

In your hunt to find these plastic items you probably came across many unlabeled items made purely out of plastic. Research 2 of these items (remember they must be 100% plastic – if it looks like, smells like, tastes like, plastic then consider it 100% plastic) and their potential for being recycled. Your research should be thorough enough that you can write 3 – 5 sentences about the product and its ability to be recycled including the reasoning behind your conclusion of recyclable or not. You could also include where it can be recycled.

Stage 3

Over the coming week spend some time thinking about your lifestyle (especially related to plastic) and consider how you feel about it. As a start complete this plastics calculator, https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/content/plastics-calculator. Write 3 – 5 sentences about your current plastic lifestyle and how you feel about it now that you’ve spent some conscious time thinking and reflecting on it.

What are two things you could change that would decrease your utilization of non-recyclable plastics? Remember to keep in mind the packaging/shipping materials as well as the items themselves. (Check out other brands of the same product, other sources of the same product – Amazon vs. Target, an alternative product, could you go without that product?, etc.) Write 3 – 5 sentences about each change including the change you could make, the cost of that change (monetary, time, convenience, health), and the likelihood that you’ll actually make the change (be honest! – there’s no judgement here).