SAMPLE ANSWERS

• Do you think owning fewer things would make life easier or harder for you? Why?
  • I think it would make life easier because I’d spend less time cleaning and organizing.
  • It might be harder because I’d have to think more carefully about what to keep and what to let go.
• What’s the most useful item in your home that you use every day? How would life change without it?
  • My water bottle is the most useful because I carry it everywhere. Without it, I’d have to keep buying drinks in plastic bottles, which would create more waste.
  • My phone is the most useful. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to stay in touch with my friends or do schoolwork easily.
• If you could make one simple rule about buying new things, what would it be?
  • Only buy something if you’ve thought about it for at least a week.
  • For every new thing you buy, donate or get rid of one old thing.
• Do you think having fewer items would make cleaning your home easier? Why or why not?
  • Yes, because there would be less clutter, so cleaning would take less time.
  • Not really, because I think cleaning depends on habits, not just the number of things you own.

Global Waste Management

• What do you think happens to your garbage after it leaves your house? Where does it go?
  • Most of it probably goes to a landfill, where it’s buried and takes a long time to decompose.
  •  I think some of it might get recycled, but only if it’s sorted properly.
• Have you ever seen litter in your community? In the streets or in parks? Who leaves them there?
  • Yes, I’ve seen a lot of litter in parks. I think people leave it behind after picnics or walks.
  • I see litter near bus stops. It’s probably people throwing things like wrappers while waiting.
• What kind of waste do you notice most?
  • I notice a lot of plastic bottles and snack wrappers on the streets.
  • Food waste is common near markets, like fruit peels and leftover vegetables.
• If you were in charge of waste in your city, what’s one thing you’d change to make it better?
  • I’d make recycling bins available on every street so people could sort their waste easily.
  • I’d start a program to teach people about composting and how to reduce food waste.
• What do you think is the biggest challenge for managing waste globally? Why?
  • The biggest challenge is people not sorting their waste properly because it makes recycling harder.
  • I think it’s the lack of facilities in some countries, where waste just gets dumped in open areas.
• What’s one way you can help reduce the amount of waste your family creates?
  • We could use reusable bags and containers instead of single-use plastic.
  • We could plan meals better so we don’t waste as much food.

Compost: A Way to Tackle Waste

• Do you or your family compost? If not, what’s one reason why you haven’t started?
  • No, we don’t compost because we don’t know how to start.
  • No, because we don’t have a garden to use the compost.
• What’s one thing you throw away often that could be composted instead?
  • We throw away fruit peels all the time, but they could easily be composted.
  • Vegetable scraps from cooking could go into compost instead of the trash.
• If you had your own compost bin, what’s the first thing you would put in it?
  • I’d put in banana peels because we always have a lot of them.
  • I’d add dry leaves from the yard as a good base layer for the compost.
• What do you think is the hardest part of composting, and how would you overcome it?
  • The hardest part is keeping the compost from smelling bad. I’d add more dry leaves to balance it.
  • It’s hard to find space for a compost bin. I’d start with a small one that fits in the kitchen.
• Do you think schools or communities should teach people how to compost? Why or why not?
  • Yes, because a lot of people don’t know how easy it is to compost.
  • Definitely, because composting helps reduce waste and protects the environment.