Before class begins, make a pile of trash somewhere visible to all; you will also need this trash for Step 4. As students enter, encourage them to add anything they might need to throw away to the pile. As everyone settles in, ask about their families’ or schools’ recycling practices. What do they recycle? Bottles? Cans? What do they reuse? Plastic containers? Do they throw away things that really should be recycled?
- Why is recycling such a big deal? (We don’t want to put stuff in landfills that could be reused, we need to take care of the earth, etc.)
- What sorts of things do you know of that get made from recycled materials? (Answers will vary and could include recycled paper, certain plastic products, etc.)
Recycling methods are getting more and more innovative and exciting. Companies are making all sorts of new things out of stuff that seems worthless and would otherwise end up in a landfill. Check out this company’s use of old plastic bottles.
Share the following video clip with your students [:45]:
Used plastic bottles are being turned into clothes
- Would you wear clothes made out of old bottles? Why or why not? (Answers will vary and might include: Yes, it’s an easy way to be more earth-friendly; yes, you can’t even tell the fabric used to be bottles; no, that’s just weird, etc.)
Based on the brands the video listed, chances are good that we have already worn clothes made out of old bottles, or we will soon. And we probably won’t have any idea!
But what about us? Can we be “recycled”? Our lesson today introduces us to a religious teacher who had some big questions about change for Jesus. The change Jesus suggests is way bigger than turning bottles into fabric. It involves our whole being. Let’s find out more.
