Environmentalism: Its in the Can

WORLD WASTES STAFF

Washington, DC - To date, more than 15,000 teachers have requested Aluminum Beverage Cans: The ABCs of Environmental Education, an innovative teachers resource kit developed by the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), Washington, D.C., and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The partnership brought together different perspectives and diverse skills to produce a balanced, useful set of in-class lessons and experiments, CMI says.

"Partnerships such as this provide great mechanisms to ensure that students have a sound knowledge base on a subject and the skills to deal successfully with the many decisions they must make as consumers and as engaged citizens," says Ed McCrea, NAAEE's executive director.

The resource kit uses aluminum beverage cans as a snapshot of the role scientific and environmental concerns play in the development of packaging. By studying aluminum cans' attributes, students will see first hand the challenges that industry faces in protecting the environment, while also providing consumers with safe products.

Also included in the kit is information on how to participate in the first annual National Fourth Grade Recycling Competition, launched this year by CMI. The competition's goal is to engage students in a hands-on project that further solidifies concepts presented in the curriculum.

The students will compete for cash prizes by collecting the most cans per capita or by submitting innovative ideas on how they inspired their community to recycle. Prizes include monthly awards of $100 and a grand prize of $2,500 at the contest's conclusion.

More information about the curriculum and other CMI activities can be found at www.cancentral.com or by calling 1-888-CAN-CENTRAL.