Boy Scouts of America

Quick Concept for Dispose of Waste Properly

Quick Concept for Dispose of Waste Properly

Arrangements for this activity must be made a week or two in advance. Find a location that is littered with garbage—for example, a roadside, a park, or a high school parking lot right after school. This activity can also be conducted during organized cleanup projects sponsored by groups that have adopted road segments or recreation sites. If you cannot find or visit a littered area, simulate a littered area at or near your meeting site. Be sure to pick up the litter at the end of this activity.

Grabbing Your Group’s Attention (20 minutes)

Travel to the site. Have the participants observe the littered site and record in writing what they think of this situation and how it makes them feel. Present participants with garbage bags and challenge them to make the area look more pleasant.

The Activity

Break the group into pairs and issue plastic garbage bags to each pair. Have a contest to see who can collect the most garbage in 5 to 10 minutes. Instruct the group to use care when picking up sharp, rusty, or unsanitary waste. You may want to have participants bring light gloves for this activity.

The Discussion

Discuss what litter is and the effects of litter in general. Discuss the effects of litter in the backcountry. Divide participants into pairs and have each pair devise a plan for packing out garbage on the next backcountry trip. Discuss each plan. How do one-pot meals contribute to the creation of less bulk and therefore less garbage? What, if anything, can an individual do about the litter of other backpackers? Refer to the Background on the Principles of Leave No Trace for details to assist you in this discussion.

Note: A Quick Concept on sanitation (which falls under dispose of waste properly) has not been developed. However, the lesson in the Activity Plans section is short enough to be used as a Quick Concept.

 

Bray Barnes

Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies

Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.