Grade level: 3rd – 5th grades
Skills: Bar graphs
Related environmental issues:Waste / Recycle
Disposing of waste at landfills causes pollution that can contaminate the air, surface, ground water, and soil. In addition, waste produces significant amount of methane, i.e., one type of greenhouse gases, during waste treatment and disposal, and substantially contributes to global climate change.
The bar graph below shows what percentage of trash is sent to landfills in 7 countries with the largest economies in the worlds.
1. Which country sends the largest percentage of trash to landfills?
2. Which country sends no trash to landfills?
3. Many countries recycle or incinerate to reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills. What percentage of trash does United Kingdom recycle or incinerate ?
4. Among the 7 countries, how many countries send less than one third of trash to landfills?
Table 1.12. Municipal waste disposal and recovery shares, 2013 or latest
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Answer keys
- Canada
- Germany*
- 100 – 34 = 66
- three (Japan, Germany, and France)
*Germany recycles 65% of its waste and incinerates the rest of the waste