Introduction
The Three R's 
Imagine 80 garbage cans crammed full of stinking trash! That's about how much trash you throw away each year: boxes, wrappers, scrap paper, broken toys, old shoes, rags, and more. This creates many problems. One problem is where to put it all.
We are running out of space in our landfills, and nobody wants a dump in their backyard. So, what can we do about it? At Hard Bargain Farm we try to throw away as little trash as possible, and we encourage the students who visit us to do the same.
During lunch your trash will be measured and recorded on the Lunch Trash Data Sheet, later you can see how your trash stacks up.
Using recyclable materials, reusing containers, and choosing food with less packaging all help decrease the amount of trash we send to the landfill. Keep reading to find out more about how you can make a difference, then see how trash free you can be by packing your lunch online!
In nature, nothing is wasted. The Earth's resources are constantly being recycled. If these resources such as air and water didn't recycle, we would run out. Every time you go to a drinking fountain, or buy a bottle of water, you aren't drinking "new" water, you're drinking the same water that the dinosaurs drank.
So, how do things in nature recycle? One of the major ways is DECOMPOSITION. Thanks to decomposition, dead plants and animals are recycled into soil. Decomposition also recycles animal waste. That one is really important on the farm!
Who takes care of the dirty job of decomposing manure? Worms, insects, and bacteria, to name a few. They eat the manure to get nutrients, and the insects lay their eggs in it, too.
Imagine what the world would be like if nature didn't recycle. What would it look like if nothing decomposed? How would it smell?
If you think that's gross, think about all of the things you throw away every day. How do you think your trash looks piled up in the landfill, and would it smell?
Want to find out how you can help stop that yucky mess from getting bigger and bigger? Get some helpful hints on packing a trash free lunch and learn more about the Three R's (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle).
