Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Understanding the circular economy

15 minutes

Find Out: Transitioning to a circular economy

30 minutes

Take Action: Community survey

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions and success criteria

Students will:

know what the circular economy is and how it applies to waste
recognise how a community survey can be used to understand and change waste reduction behaviours.

Students can:

explain key elements of the circular economy theory as it applies to waste
design and conduct a survey
analyse survey results to draw conclusions and make recommendations for action

Tune In: Understanding the circular economy

Step 1

Using the attached visual explainer, share the image of the linear economy model with your students. Invite them to discuss the model in pairs and fill in the first column of the table in their student worksheet.

	Linear model	Circular model
What does this model represent?
How does this model deal with waste?

Step 2

After giving them a couple of minutes to discuss, show your students the next image of the circular economy model on the visual explainer. Again invite them to discuss the model filling in the second column of their table.

Step 3

Invite your students to share the main points of their discussion with the class and prompt them by asking

Which model do they think is the prevalent model in our society today?

Step 4

Watch the following video with your class, which explains the difference between the two models

Explaining the Circular Economy and How Society Can Re-think Progress | Animated Video Essay - Ellen MacArthur Foundation - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCRKvDyyHmI)

Step 5

You might like to watch the following video with your students, which shows how businesses are changing their actions to be a part of the circular economy

Unilever 2025 plastic packaging commitments - Unilever (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmZi-w95xk8)

Find Out: Transitioning to a circular economy

Step 1

Divide your students into pairs and direct them to the graphic of the circular economy model on their student worksheet. In their pairs, students should discuss each segment of the circular economy model and think about what some barriers to a successful circular economy would be at each stage.

Displaying the circular economy model on the board, bring the class back together to share their responses and discuss what some barriers to having a completely circular economy might be.

You can find some suggested responses to this question in the Teacher Content Information.

Step 2

Explain to your students that one of the challenges in transitioning to a circular economy model is to get consumers to see their waste as a resource rather than something that should be disposed of, however producing less waste in the first place is another important feature of the circular economy

Ask your students: who is responsible for producing less waste over the lifecycle of a product?

Suggested response: The consumers who use the products might be first to come to mind, but some might argue that it shouldn’t be up to the consumers to have to deal with waste - it should be up to the manufacturers to act responsibly by making products with minimal waste, or up to governments to legislate that all companies produce zero waste.

Have a look at this webpage from our friends at Unilever to see some examples of how businesses can make changes in the design and manufacturing process to reduce waste.

Step 3

Explain to students that as individuals we can control our behaviour and try to influence others more easily than we can influence government regulations and big companies. Awareness and education are two powerful tools that can empower people to make a mental shift around how they consume goods.

Suggested discussion points: For some people, it might be that they have a strong commitment to environmental health, and with a bit more knowledge, it would be simple for them to make that mental shift. Some people might need financial incentives, while others might need tighter rules around what should be recycled.

Invite your students to have a look at the top actions they can take today to support all stages of the circular economy courtesy of our friends at Clean Up Australia.

Take Action: Community survey

Step 1

Explain to students that they will design a survey to find out what would help the people in their community to rethink waste as a resource.

Divide students into equally-sized groups (mixed ability groups would work well here) and allocate half of the groups to each of the survey focuses below

How could the community be supported to rethink waste as a resource? (e.g. 'What do you need to help you change the way you think about waste?')
Who does the community believe is responsible for waste? (e.g. 'Should it be up to consumers, producers, or governments to manage waste?')

Encourage students to think about:

how many people they should survey
who they should survey (e.g. will you stick to the school community or broaden your reach)
how much time they should spend per survey
how much time they have to complete the surveys.
How they will present the survey (e.g printed forms or an online tool)

(Depending on the amount of time you have, you might like to place some constraints on these aspects)

Groups can use the Survey Design Tips factsheet to help them create their surveys. Before heading out to survey the general public, invite students to test their surveys on their peers and to incorporate any feedback.

Step 2

Once students have conducted their surveys, they can analyse their results using the following questions, which can be found on the student worksheet

What were the three main findings from your survey?
What were the most important or interesting findings from your survey?
What unexpected results did you get?
How did these results help you understand the way we should talk about waste with our communities?
What else do these findings make you think and wonder about?
If you were to do this again, what other information would you try to find out?

Students requiring extension could conduct a more in-depth analysis of the survey results to produce supporting graphs or diagrams. These could also be incorporated into any waste reduction campaigns they develop.

Students could create a three-page presentation with their findings to share with their peers. If students have worked in smaller groups, you could pair up groups from the different survey objectives to share their findings with each other.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to answer the following question:

Considering the results of your survey, If you were to create a campaign around waste reduction and the circular economy, what approach would you use, who would your target audience be, and what might your campaign look like? List your ideas using bullet points.

Depending on the time you have available, Students could use the analysis of their survey results to create a plan for and design a waste reduction campaign and actually run it to see what impact they can have!

Clean Up Australia - Are You Sure It's A Waste? Circular Economy

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