The Story of Stuff and the Circular Economy

Learning Objectives To practise discussing and drawing out key points To understand the difference between a ‘take-make-dispose’ approach and a circular economy approach

Watch the film The Story of Stuff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM Answer the questions

More questions to think about… What kinds of materials do you throw out after one or two uses? What kinds of materials get put out on your rubbish collection day What is the average life of computers? TVs? Are they recycled? How does material use and waste today compare with your parents’ and grandparents’ experiences? What kinds of clothing stay in cupboards for the longest time? Do you buy fashion items? How many seasons do they last before they become outdated? What do you think about £1 shops? What items are available there? Why are they so cheap? What do you think about the steps in “the treadmill”? Do you think that people are that naive? What examples confirm that model of consumption? What is “retail therapy”? Does it work? Does it last? What are people really looking for? Do they find it in material goods? People used to spend more time making their own household items (food, clothing etc) Are people being robbed of opportunities to express their creativity in a consumer culture? Could that have an effect on their mental health?

How does the Waste Hierarchy relate to the ‘Take – make – dispose’ linear approach?

The Circular Economy A different approach is to: ‘Design – make – reprocess – reuse’ A circular approach

The Circular Economy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-cWaRRLh3k OR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCRKvDyyHmI

How does the Waste Hierarchy relate to the Circular Economy approach?

The Circular Economy What difference would this approach make? More materials re-used Less/no waste Lease rather than buy Buy a service rather than a product Changes in jobs from manufacturing to better designs Re-think what we buy and how we use things

Use the workbook to record your responses What did I learn in this lesson? How does Ethical Science or Technology Justice apply to this lesson? OR Reflect on the use of science for good in how things are designed and made