Teaching about plastics

The teaching materials below have been used in our lessons and can help you get started with your own. Some are specific to our project and location, while others are more general. To make them more useful and engaging, try to update the content and images with examples that fit your local context.

1. Welcome

Welcome
Include an introduction to the project (in this case, Flipflopi), the space you’re working in, and the people involved. Start with a short survey for the students and give an overview of how the training is structured.

Activities we found helpful:

Ice-breaker games to build energy and help everyone get to know each other. One good example is the “Grouping” game, where students organise themselves into groups based on categories like age, height, interests, or gender. It’s a fun way to get a feel for who’s in the room.
Class Codex: Ask each student to suggest a rule for how they want the group to work together. Common ideas like being on time, respecting each other, or not using phones usually come up naturally. Because the rules come from the students, they’re more likely to stick to them.

2. Plastic – Types & Processes

Plastic – Types & Processes

This topic is all about plastic – where it comes from, how it affects people and the environment, and how recycling can turn it into something useful.

Includes the history of plastic, how it’s made, the different types, and how to identify them.
A great hands-on activity is letting students sort different plastics (ideally with support from experienced sorters) and carry out simple density tests using different liquids.
It’s helpful to have machines to show how recycling works, but they’re not essential – you just need some plastic samples and a way to show digital content.

3. Plastic – Recycling Machines

Plastic – Recycling Machines

Covers how recycling works
Introduces different types of recycling machines and their parts
Shows how to safely operate each machine
Highlights risks and safety measures when working with machines

This lesson is best taught through hands-on demonstrations – walk learners through each machine, show how it works, and clearly explain the danger zones and how to stay safe.

4. Plastic – Create

Plastic – Create

Incl. techniques for different moulds, products and processes to create with plastic
Great lesson to get people inspired about possibilities and what others do with the recycled plastic.
Best given after some basic introduction of plastic and how the processes work.
Recommended to add examples from local recyclers/creators
Can range from very theoretical with brainstorm/ideation to practical sketching and prototyping – depending on how much time and resources you have

5. Environment

ENVIRONMENT – Impacts of pollution

ENVIRONMENT – Human health impacts

These lessons explore the effects of plastic on both the environment and human health. They can be taught in one day or split into shorter sessions with different activities.

Recommended activities:

Visit a local dumpsite or waste facility to show where waste ends up and discuss the issues, risks, and possible improvements
Talk to local fishermen or staff at a slaughterhouse about plastic in animals and if they’re willing to share their experiences
For presentations, let students work in groups using printed photos and facts to learn about a specific impact, then present it to the rest of the class

6. Plastic – Business Opportunities &Tools

Plastic – Business Opportunities & Tools

Includes an overview of job opportunities, how to plan a project, and basic business calculations.

This lesson works best with real-life examples from your local area.

Suggested activities:

Go through sample costings together
Fill in an action plan based on a sample project

Highly recommended resources to utilise for trainings:

Precious Plastic Academy
The go-to place for everything around starting small-scale plastic recycling (machine construction and operation, plastic types and safety, creating processes, business tools)

Parley Ocean School