MSScienceRecyclingbooks: Home

Plastic: it's used to make everything from drink bottles and bags to toys and toothbrushes. But what happens when it ends up where it doesn't belong--like in the Pacific Ocean? How does it affect ocean life? Is it dangerous? And exactly how much is out there? A team of researchers went on a scientific expedition to find out. They explored the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where millions of pieces of plastic have collected. The plastic has drifted there from rivers, beaches, and ocean traffic all over the world. Most of it has broken down into tiny pieces the size of confetti. For nearly three weeks at sea, researchers gathered bits of plastic and ocean organisms. These samples helped them learn more about the effects of plastic in the ocean. Follow along on the expedition to find out how scientists studied the Garbage Patch--and what alarming discoveries they made.

De la autora ganadora de premios Susan Hood y de la ilustradora Sally Wern Comport, llega la extraordinaria y verídica historia de la Orquesta de Instrumentos Reciclados de Paraguay, una orquesta compuesta por niños que tocan instrumentos hechos de basura reciclada. From award-winning author Susan Hood and illustrator Sally Wern Comport comes the extraordinary true tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, an orchestra made up of children playing instruments built from recycled trash. Ada Ríos creció en Cateura, un pueblo pequeño en Paraguay construido alrededor de un vertedero. Soñaba con tocar el violín, pero con escasos recursos para poco más que lo esencial, nunca fue una opción...hasta que un maestro de música llamado Favio Chávez apareció. Él quiso darles a los niños de Cateura algo especial, así que les construyó instrumentos musicales hechos de materiales encontrados en la basura. Era una idea loca, pero una que dejaría a Ada--y al pueblo entero--cambiados para siempre. Hoy en día, la Orquesta de Reciclados toca alrededor del mundo, difundiendo su mensaje de esperanza e innovación. Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option...until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave Ada--and her town--forever changed. Now, the Recycled Orchestra plays venues around the world, spreading their message of hope and innovation.

Hold onto your hats! It's windy on the Danish island of Samso. Meet the environmentally friendly people who now proudly call their home Energy Island. At a time when most countries are producing ever-increasing amounts of CO2, the rather ordinary citizens of Samsø have accomplished something extraordinary--in just ten years they have reduced their carbon emissions by 140% and become almost completely energy independent. A narrative tale and a science book in one, this inspiring true story proves that with a little hard work and a big idea, anyone can make a huge step towards energy conservation.

The inspiring true story of how one African woman began a movement to recycle the plastic bags that were polluting her community. Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred. The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change. Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person's actions really can make a difference in our world.

Why not use soda bottles, which were scattered all around, to form the cores of the walls? Never underestimate the power of an idea!Laura Kutner, the real-life "Seno Laura" in The Soda Bottle School, wrote this book because she wanted to "inspire young readers to believe in themselves and work together to make the world a better place, and have fun at the same time."Sometimes thinking outside the box--or inside the bottle--leads to the perfect solution.