# Handout 4.5: Greener Room Swap

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________ Partner: ______________

**Directions:** Part 1 and Part 2 fill in with the class. Part 3 is the swap: read the room, and for every item write a greener swap, the green factor it improves, and whether it is free, cheap (under $25), or money. Then pick your top three.

## Word bank in other languages

[Check with a native speaker before printing.]

| English | Turkish | Portuguese | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| reduce | azaltmak | reduzir | reducir |
| reuse | yeniden kullanmak | reutilizar | reutilizar |
| recycle | geri dönüştürmek | reciclar | reciclar |
| compost | kompost | compostagem (adubo) | compost (abono) |
| secondhand | ikinci el | de segunda mão (usado) | de segunda mano (usado) |
| natural light | doğal ışık | luz natural | luz natural |
| waste | atık | lixo (resíduo) | desecho (basura) |

## Part 1: The four Rs and the five green factors

| The four Rs | What it means at home | One example |
|---|---|---|
| Reduce | | |
| Reuse | | |
| Recycle | | |
| Compost ("rot") | | |

| Green factor in a living space | What makes it better |
|---|---|
| Natural light | |
| Materials | |
| Indoor air | |
| Water | |
| Waste | |

## Part 2: Sort the twelve

Write each item in one bin. Some could go in two; pick the one that does the least harm.

Items: a glass jar, a cardboard box, a banana peel, a plastic bag, a T-shirt with a hole, a phone charger that works, a chipped mug, a stack of junk mail, a pizza box with grease, a wooden chair with a loose leg, a plastic water bottle, coffee grounds

| REDUCE (do not bring it in) | REUSE | RECYCLE | COMPOST |
|---|---|---|---|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |

## Part 3: The room

**A teen's bedroom.** The window has a broken blind that is stuck closed, so the lamp is on all day. The desk is particleboard and wobbles; the plan is to throw it out and buy another one like it for $60. A can of aerosol air freshener sits on the dresser and gets sprayed every morning. Clothes and school things are stored in a set of six new plastic tubs bought last month. The bookshelf is a fast-furniture shelf that sagged in a year. A trash bag by the door holds clothes that do not fit anymore, headed for the curb. The radiator valve drips into a bucket that gets emptied every day. A fan runs all day, every day, with the door closed and the window shut.

| # | The item | Greener swap | Green factor (light / materials / air / water / waste) | Free / cheap (under $25) / money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Broken blind, lamp on all day | | | |
| 2 | Wobbly particleboard desk, replace with the same | | | |
| 3 | Aerosol air freshener every morning | | | |
| 4 | Six new plastic tubs | | | |
| 5 | Sagging fast-furniture bookshelf | | | |
| 6 | A bag of clothes for the curb | | | |
| 7 | Radiator valve dripping into a bucket | | | |
| 8 | Fan all day, door and window shut | | | |

**Top three** (most good for the least money), one sentence each on why:

1. _______________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________

**Grade 8 stretch:** Write two sentences to the landlord asking for the radiator valve to be fixed. Use the water and the money, not feelings.

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

* * *

## Teacher key

**Part 1:** Reduce: do not bring it into the home in the first place (say no to junk mail, skip the single-use bottle). Reuse: give it a second job (the jar holds pencils, the box stores things, the T-shirt is a rag, the chair gets its leg tightened). Recycle: put it in the bin by the local rules so it becomes something new (paper, cans, clean glass and plastic; not greasy cardboard). Compost: food scraps and yard waste rot into soil (peel, grounds). Green factors: natural light (open the window covering, put the desk near the window, fewer lamps); materials (wood, cotton, wool, secondhand, durable, repairable, not fast furniture or particleboard); indoor air (low-VOC paint, no aerosols, a window that opens, a plant, no smoking); water (fix leaks, low-flow, shorter showers); waste (the four Rs).

**Part 2:** Reduce: junk mail (sign off the lists), plastic bag (bring a bag), plastic water bottle (a refillable). Reuse: glass jar, cardboard box, T-shirt (rag), charger (it works; keep it or give it away), chipped mug (a pen holder or a planter), chair (tighten the leg). Recycle: junk mail once you have it, the water bottle once you have it, clean cardboard. Compost: banana peel, coffee grounds, the greasy pizza box in towns that compost paper (otherwise trash; never recycling). Accept the second-best bin with a reason.

**Part 3:**

| # | Swap | Factor | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fix or remove the broken blind so the window works; move the desk by the window; lamp off in daylight | Light (and energy) | Free to cheap |
| 2 | Tighten the screws or shim the leg (Lesson 4.3); if it is truly done, a secondhand solid wood desk | Materials, waste | Free, or cheap secondhand |
| 3 | Open the window; a plant; baking soda; no aerosol | Air | Free |
| 4 | Keep the ones you have (do not buy more); the box and the jar from Part 2 do the rest; give away the extras | Waste, materials | Free |
| 5 | A secondhand wood shelf, or a board and two crates; do not replace fast with fast | Materials, waste | Cheap secondhand |
| 6 | Donate, hand down, sell, or cut into rags; never the curb | Waste | Free |
| 7 | Tell the landlord in writing; a valve fix is the landlord's job; meanwhile use the bucket water on plants | Water | Free to the family |
| 8 | Fan off when nobody is in the room; open the door and the window for air instead | Energy, air | Free |

Top three: accept any three with a reason. The strongest set is 1 (free light, less energy), 7 (water, and the landlord pays), and 8 (free, energy every day). Grade 8 stretch, sample: "The valve drips about a gallon a day into a bucket, which is 365 gallons a year on the water bill and a risk of water damage to the floor. A new valve is about $15 and a plumber's hour; the floor repair would cost far more."