Here Comes the Garbage Barge is the fictionalized, but true, story of a barge full of trash that no one wanted. During the late 1980’s Long Island’s landfills were overflowing. Eventually the government decided the trash would be shipped to the south.

Where does our trash go? If it is not reused, recycled or composted, in most cases, waste heads to the landfill. A landfill is much more than a pile of trash.

You can build the model below to better understand what a landfill is like. Once you understand landfills better, you’ll want to recycle even more! 

There are many layers to the landfill. To make your model you’ll need the following:

Pile up all the elements like in the photo. Take a picture of it and send it to library@colegionewlands.com.ar

Now watch your model. See if you can answer the following questions in the next days, weeks and months:

  • What happens to the trash over time? 
  • Do you notice anything changing? 
  • Can air and water get all the way through your model? 
  • How is this like a real landfill?