Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: What’s with all the packaging?

20 minutes

Find Out: The impact of packaging

25 minutes

Take Action: What does a circular packaging economy look like?

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: What’s with all the packaging?

Step 1.

Show this video discussing the electronic waste (e-waste) crisis and its impacts (if you haven’t watched already in previous lessons in this unit):

What is E-Waste? - Closing the E-loop Topic Overview (vimeo.com/866569030/1d731b33a4?share=copy)

Step 2.

Explain to students that e-waste is a massive issue. However, every piece of electronic equipment we buy has a hidden impact that we might not immediately consider: the packaging!

You would never see an iPhone or computer just sitting on the shelf for you to take and buy. The products are packaged.

Ask students to consider how electronic devices they have purchased or seen for sale are presented and packaged.

Use the attached visual explainer to show students some common electronic device packaging, such as laptops, headphones, phones and cables. You may also like to ask students what other types of packaging they have encountered when they see new electronic products such as:

Televisions
Fridges
Kettles
Toasters
Hairdryers

As you show students the images, discuss the packaging with them using the following questions:

What is the purpose of packaging? (You may like to write their suggestions on the board as you discuss.)
- Suggested responses: Protection of product, prevention of tampering, allowing easy transportation, providing information about the product, marketing and brand information, convenience of stocking in the store, keeping extra components together, making it attractive so people are drawn to it
What do they notice about these particular packages? Are they recognisable? Is it what they assumed?
What materials are used?
Is the packaging necessary?
What happens to packaging once we have used it?

Find Out: The impact of packaging

Step 1.

Explain to students that many electronic devices and accessories are commonly packaged in plastic and blister packs (clear plastic cavities or bubbles holding the item) and sometimes have a cardboard backing. Show students the images of the HDMI and charging cable from the attached visual explainer you showed at the beginning of the lesson if they need a reminder of what this looks like.

Step 2.

Watch the following interview with the organisation Grounded Packaging, created especially for this unit of lessons, up until 1:45 mins.

Grounded Packaging (https://vimeo.com/863849040?share=copy)

Ask students to answer the following questions into their Student Worksheet as they watch, and discuss with your students after watching this section of the video:

What is virgin plastic?
What is it created from, and why is it an issue?
- Oil and gas - finite, non-renewable sources
What are the other types of plastic?
- Recycled and bio
Why are these considered to have a lower impact?

Step 3.

Watch the following video, which details how plastic is made up until 3:55 mins. Encourage your students to think about all of the different impacts on the environment that the life cycle of plastic has as they watch:

Plastics 101 - National Geographic (youtu.be/ggh0Ptk3VGE?feature=shared)

Discuss with students all of the different impacts of plastics they were able to see from the video.

Step 4.

Watch the remainder of the Grounded Packaging Interview

Grounded Packaging (https://vimeo.com/863849040?share=copy#t=105)

Mono-plastic packaging is plastic that is made from only ONE type of material and is easier to recycle than plastics, which are composed of multiple different types of materials.

The production, consumption, disposal and recycling of plastic packaging is a complex issue that students might not have understood the scale of before. Use the Peel The Fruit Visible Thinking routine to guide students in exploring this information and gaining a deeper understanding. This template is available on the Student Worksheet or as an A4 template downloadable here.

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Encourage students to reflect on all of the different aspects of this issue they heard about from Tom in the interview:

The different types of less impactful packaging/plastic
Government regulation and policy
Different industries and needs
Local solutions, such as plastic banks
Cost
Consumers choice
Certifications

Take Action: What does a circular packaging economy look like?

Step 1.

Explain to students that many companies and organisations are taking steps to tackle this issue. However, there can be misleading information about the sustainability of all products, especially packaging, as this is a waste stream that everyone is exposed to.

We, as consumers, can still do a lot - we need education and awareness!

Divide students into 5 groups and allocate each group 1 of the options below to research different aspects of the packaging conversation. The goal here is for the class to create a map of the whole picture and communicate to each other how all of these factors are interconnected. Questions and prompts are included for each topic, and suggested resources to guide students' research.

National Retail Association

National Retail Association Closing the e-loop Interview (https://vimeo.com/863857823?share=copy)

What is the National Retail Association?
Key learnings from the interview

Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) interview

APCO Closing the e-loop interview (https://vimeo.com/865415593?share=copy)

What is APCO?
Key learnings from the interview

Alternatives and sustainable packaging

Research organisations and innovations in the packaging space.
How can current methods be made more circular? What new packaging styles can replace the ones we already have in place?
Research broadly – just because something is not used for electronic device packaging now doesn’t mean it can’t be!
Reusable packing association (https://www.reusables.org/what-is-reusable-packaging/)
Comsol (https://www.comsol.com.au/sustainability)

Labelling and certified packaging

Local recycling solutions

Allow each group 10-15 minutes to research their allocated area and create a quick one-minute pitch to inform the rest of the class about their topic.

Step 2.

While students are presenting and after the class has finished, encourage them to link their topics in a discussion.

For example, some thoughts to add to this discussion could be:

People's knowledge and awareness of eco-labels and recycling labels can impact how we recycle locally.
Eco-labels and recycling labels are advantageous but sometimes are used in misleading ways as detailed in the NRA and APCO interviews.
What people can do locally is impacted by what policies and guidelines are in place for organisations.

Encourage students to create their links and think critically about what must be done at all life cycle stages to create a more circular economy for e-waste and its packaging.

Reflection

Use the I Used to Think…Now I Think Visible Thinking routine for students to reflect on the learnings from this lesson

Ask students to answer the following sentence stems in their Student Worksheet:

When we started this lesson, you would have had some initial ideas about packaging and its impact on society and the environment. Take a minute to remember the ideas you started with.

I used to think…..

Now that we have looked into this issue in more detail, how has your understanding/opinions changed?

I now think….

What are your hopes for the future of sustainable packaging?
What will you do to impact this issue?

Electronic Product Lifecycle: Packaging and Distribution

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Summary

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