Different materials in the environment take different periods of time to degrade. Some materials like plastics, thermocol, etc. do not biodegrade and continue to be in the environment. Materials such as wood, grass and food scraps can break down in the presence of microbes and transform into useful compounds. Plastics on the other hand cannot be degraded by microbes and these generally end up in landfills or water bodies, thus polluting them. Despite the problems associated with its disposal, we cannot avoid using plastics because of their use in a variety of areas. It is, therefore, essential that we use and dispose of these responsibly.
Before you begin
Introduce the term biodegradable and nonbiodegradable materials in the
meeting.
Explain how degradation takes place and mention about the agents of
degradation in nature.
Explain about the role of bacterial and other microbes in decomposition.
Ask the young people to help in digging out a small pit in the garden area
of the young people Den, about 8-10 inches in depth. Also give a copy of
the worksheet provided below to every group to enter their observations.
The facilitator asks the participants to place the different kinds of
waste collected in the pit. Close the pit once there is a variety of
waste in it.
2. Young people should dig out the pit after a week to see the
condition of each waste item they have buried and enter their
observations on the worksheet. They should continue the cycle
for 12 weeks and note the gradual changes (if any), they observe
in each item buried. They should also record changes in terms of
quantity, colour, texture, smell, etc.
3. At the end of the experiment, young people should make a
chart presenting their observations and recordings of: what has
degraded, which material has not and the gradual changes they
have observed in the items, if any.
4. Conclusion: young people understand that degradation is a
natural process and different materials take different periods of
time to degrade.
5. Evaluation: Discuss which material are biodegradable based on
the experiment
