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USA - 2006
Students Dig Deep to Put Classroom Learnings into Action
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By evaluating the degradation rate of newly developed plastic products produced by Alcoa, more than 90 middle school students are digging deeper into their classroom learnings to apply scientific concepts to a real-life work project.
Instead of conducting its own evaluation of new biodegradable plastics, Alcoa and Partners in Education created the Securing a Greener Environment (SAGE) project for more than 90 seventh and eighth grade gifted students in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, USA. Funded with a US$12,000 grant from Alcoa Foundation, the two-year program will help increase awareness of careers in science, raise environmental consciousness, and develop the local workforce.
"The project was very eye-opening, and I will use the knowledge I learned (during a tour of the Alcoa plant) through the rest of my schooling and beyond," said Ashley, an eighth grade student at Valley Middle School. "I also realized the major problem that pollution poses. We have to do something about it, and it was cool to be part of something like that."
For the first phase of the project, which began in early 2005, students toured the Alcoa facility to learn about biodegradable products and the thermoforming process. Each class then built a compost bin similar to those used in a backyard. The students next collected food scraps from their school's cafeteria as well as local businesses to fill their bins. Each bin had different variables, such as content type and humidity.
Once the bins were established, the students buried samples of a new biodegradable plastic called polylactic acid (PLA) in each. Every month, they dug up the samples and weighed them to determine the rate of degradability. The data collected showed that PLA needed to degrade in a commercial compost facility since home compost bins couldn't generate enough heat.
The second phase of the project began in September 2005, with students evaluating other biodegradable plastics buried in both the compost bins as well as planting bins (plastic cups with soil and herbs or flowers). Results were again collected monthly, with the students learning how to track the data on Excel spreadsheets. In May 2006, the students returned to the Alcoa facility to present the research project's current status as well as the results of a survey they undertook on plastics in their local community. In late 2006, results indicated slight degradation in the new plastics.
"I learned the importance of finding a biodegradable plastic, and I learned how much work and effort are put into forming and testing a new product," said Olivia, an eighth grader at Drums Middle School. "It made me realize how long plastic takes to decompose and how non-biodegradable products affect the environment."
Adds Bryttani, another eighth grader at West Hazleton Elementary/Middle School, "(This project) has changed my mind about science and the environment, because I now want to help keep the environment clean and safe."
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