Classroom Presentations
The outreach group offers a variety of presentations and tours for students in grades kindergarten through 12. Experienced environmental educators will travel to your school to talk with classes, clubs, or entire grade levels. The outreach team also hosts tours of South Wake Landfill and Sonoco Recycling.
How to Book a Program
Open the tabs to explore program descriptions and correlations to the NC science standards. Landfill tours are only available for students aged eight and older, and should be requested using the form on the Landfill Tours page. Use the form on the Recycling Center Tours page to request a tour of Sonoco Recycling. Use this form to request a presentation at your school.
All tour and presentation requests should be submitted at least two weeks in advance. If you have questions, please email the outreach supervisor at bianca.howard@wake.gov.
Programs for Grades K - 2
Indoor Composting with Worms
Length: 20 to 30 minutes
Earthworms in the soil help plants to grow, and some worms help people by
transforming our trash into compost. No worms? No problem! The outreach instructor will bring a vermicompost bin to your classroom. Students will learn simple worm anatomy and identify the three life stages of worms commonly found in a healthy bin. Instructor will help students identify foods that are safe to feed worms. If desired, students can touch worms and castings (worm manure).
Science Objectives: LS.K.1.2, LS.1.1.1, LS.2.1.1
Material Recovery Facility Tour
Where: Sonoco Recycling, 111 S. Rogers Ln, Raleigh 27610
Length: 1 hour
Maximum Group Size: 20 people
Learn how people and machines separate paper, bottles, and cans into bales bound for manufacturing facilities in this indoor tour. Observe the sorting process, from the arrival of trucks through the loading of bales, from large windows in the education room. Participants will play a sorting game to decide whether items are recyclable. Instructor uses video clips to explain sorting processes in detail.
Science Objectives: PS.K.1.1, ESS.1.3.1, ESS.1.3.2
Recycle Relay
Length: 20 to 30 minutes
Introduce students to recycling to build habits that can last a lifetime!
Students will move through an obstacle course in a friendly, team competition to
correctly sort waste. Students will learn to identify items that can be recycled or
composted. During this visit, the instructor can also deliver informational posters, bin decals, and recycled-content promotional items to reinforce recycling messages.
NOTE: This activity requires unobstructed space such as an athletic field, gymnasium or a classroom clear of desks and chairs.
Science Objectives: ESS.1.3.1
Programs for Grades 3 - 5
Deep Dive into Decomposers
Length: 30 to 45 minutes
A compost pile can be a thriving ecosystem and a window into the complex world of soil. This program can take place inside, but also works well in an outdoor classroom or school garden. A Wake County Solid Waste outreach coordinator will bring a model compost bin with magnetic critters such as earthworms, sowbugs and other decomposers commonly found in healthy compost bins. Students will predict which types of decomposers will be found in their school’s bin. Following a brief presentation from the instructor, students will take samples from their school compost pile and use hand lenses to look for macroinvertebrates.
Science Objectives: LS.4.1.1, LS.5.2.2
Material Recovery Facility Tour
Where: Sonoco Recycling, 111 S. Rogers Ln, Raleigh NC 27610
Length: 1 hour
Maximum Group Size: 20 people
Learn how people and machines separate paper, bottles and cans into bales
bound for manufacturing facilities. Observe the sorting process, from the arrival of trucks through the loading of bales, from large windows in the education room.
Participants will play a sorting game to decide whether items are recyclable. Students will also learn what items should never go in the recycling bin, and why. Instructor uses video clips to explain sorting processes in detail.
Science Objectives: ESS.4.3.2, ESS.4.3.3
Recycle Relay
Length: 20 to 30 minutes
Introduce children to recycling to build habits that can last a lifetime! Students will move through an obstacle course in a friendly, team competition to
correctly sort waste. Students will learn to identify items that can be recycled or
composted. During this visit, the instructor can also deliver informational posters, bin decals, and recycled-content promotional items to reinforce recycling messages.
NOTE: This activity requires unobstructed space such as an athletic field, gymnasium or a classroom clear of desks and chairs.
Science Objectives: ESS.4.3.2
Recycling Walkabout
Length: 45 to 60 minutes
Take your school’s recycling collection program to the next level with a visit from
an expert! A Wake County Solid Waste outreach coordinator will walk with your
recycling club members as they empty classroom bins into roll carts. Students will learn how to identify contaminants and leave reminder tags to help school community members improve their recycling habits. During this visit, the instructor can also deliver informational posters, decals and recycled-content promotional items to reinforce recycling messages in your school.
Science Objectives: ESS.4.3.2
Programs for Grades 6 - 8
Exploring the Resource Cycle
Length: 45 to 60 minutes
Students will assume the role of a recyclable item and travel through the waste
cycle. They will use large dice to visit different stops, collecting beads as they discover what happens when people dispose of them. After the exercise, students will compare their journeys and brainstorm ways to influence the journey of waste generated at their schools.
NOTE: While this program is classroom based, it will require up to nine stations
representing different stops along the waste cycle. Stations must be spread out so that students have enough space to move freely.
Science Objectives: ESS.4.3.2
Garbage Pizza
Length: 30 to 45 minutes
Why is it important to know exactly what we are throwing away? Students will
work individually to reflect on items they have recently consumed and use their answers to collectively generate broad categories of materials. Working in small groups, students will predict the size of each “pizza slice” in pie graphs depicting Wake County’s waste stream. The instructor will help students compare their predictions to actual data from a waste characterization study. Using photos and videos, students will gain an awareness of how waste characterization studies inform decisions about solid waste management in Wake County.
Science Objectives: ESS.6.3.1, ESS.7.2.1
Material Recovery Facility Tour
Where: Sonoco Recycling, 111 S. Rogers Ln, Raleigh NC 27610
Length: 1 hour
Maximum Group Size: 20 people
Learn how people and machines separate paper, bottles and cans into bales
bound for manufacturing facilities. Observe the sorting process, from the arrival of trucks through the loading of bales, from large windows in the education room.
Participants will play a sorting game to decide whether items are recyclable. Students will also learn what items should never go in the recycling bin, and why. Instructor uses video clips to explain sorting processes in detail.
Science Objectives: ESS.6.3.1, ESS.6.3.2, ESS.7.2.1, ESS.8.4.4
Recycling Demystified
Length: Should I leave the cap on plastic bottles? Can I recycle a greasy pizza box? Learnt the answers to all these questions and more in this slide presentation of what, how and why to recycle in Wake County. Students will learn what common items can be recycled and how to prepare them. They will also learn where materials go and the benefits of recycling them.
Science Objectives: ESS.6.3.1, ESS.6.3.2, ESS.7.2.1, ESS.8.4.4
Recycling Walkabout
Length: 45 to 60 minutes
Take your school’s recycling collection program to the next level with a visit from
an expert! A Wake County Solid Waste outreach coordinator will walk with your
recycling club members as they empty classroom bins into roll carts. Students will learn how to identify contaminants and leave reminder tags to help school community members improve their recycling habits. During this visit, the instructor can also deliver informational posters, decals and recycled-content promotional items to reinforce recycling messages in your school.
Science Objectives: ESS.6.3.1, ESS.6.3.2, ESS.8.4.4
Programs for Grades 9 - 12
Exploring the Resource Cycle
Length: 45 to 60 minutes
Students will assume the role of a recyclable item and travel through the waste
cycle. They will use large dice to visit different stops, collecting beads as they discover what happens when people dispose of them. After the exercise, students will compare their journeys and brainstorm ways to influence the journey of waste generated at their schools.
NOTE: While this program is classroom based, it will require up to nine stations
representing different stops along the waste cycle. Stations must be spread out so that students have enough space to move freely.
Material Recovery Facility Tour
Where: Sonoco Recycling, 111 S. Rogers Ln, Raleigh 27610
Length: 1 hour
Learn how people and machines separate paper, bottles and cans into bales
bound for manufacturing facilities. Observe the sorting process, from the arrival of trucks through the loading of bales, from large windows in the education room. Students will learn what items should never go in the recycling bin, and why. Students will also explore the benefits of recycling. Instructor uses video clips to explain sorting processes in detail.
Science Objectives: ESS.EES.5.5
Recycling Demystified
Length: 45 minutes
Should I leave the cap on plastic bottles? Can I recycle a greasy pizza box? Learn the answers to all these questions and more in this slide presentation of what, how and why to recycle in Wake County. Students will learn what common items can be recycled and how to prepare them. They will also learn where materials go and the benefits of recycling them.
Science Objectives: ESS.EES.5.6
Recycling Walkabout
How Long: 45 to 60 minutes
Take your school’s recycling collection program to the next level with a visit from
an expert! A Wake County Solid Waste outreach coordinator will walk with your
recycling club members as they empty classroom bins into roll carts. Students will learn how to identify contaminants and leave reminder tags to help school community members improve their recycling habits. During this visit, the instructor can also deliver informational posters, decals and recycled-content promotional items to reinforce recycling messages in your school.
Science Objectives: ESS.EES.5.6
They Don't Build Landfills Like They Used To
Length: 45 minutes
The South Wake Landfill receives more than 500,000 tons of trash from Wake
County residents and businesses each year. This slide presentation provides an overview of the science and technology used at the landfill, from design and daily operation through to the monitoring required decades after the landfill’s eventual closure.
Science Objectives: ESS.EES.5.6
Waste Reduction
Length: 45 minutes
Reduction is the first step in the waste management hierarchy, and every day
brings opportunities to use our purchasing power to make better choices. This slide presentation provides useful tips on how to prevent waste at the source and help people reduce the waste they generate at home and school.
Science Objectives: ESS.EES.5.6