MediumBiologyHigh School (9–10)GeneralEcology and Environment › Pollution and ConservationConceptual
A railway once planned to serve all tea in kulhads instead of plastic cups…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A railway once planned to serve all tea in kulhads instead of plastic cups. Give one point in favour of the plan and one against it. Then suggest one other way to cut the waste from tea cups.
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
Reduce, reuse and recycle, in that order. Sort wet waste (green bin, for compost) from dry waste (blue bin, for recycling). Landfills fill up, and burning releases harmful gases. Kulhads for every railway cup would use up fertile topsoil.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. In favour. Kulhads are made of clay, so they are biodegradable and do not pile up like plastic.
Step 2. Against. Millions of kulhads a day would use up fertile topsoil, which forms very slowly.
Step 3. Another way. Passengers could carry their own cups, or washable cups could be used and collected again.
Answer: kulhads break down, but they use up topsoil; reusable cups cut the waste further.
Discussion (0)
Log in to join the discussion.
Loading…