1. YOU WILL DEMONSTRATE AND EXPLAIN THE CYCLING OF MATTER WITHIN LIVING SYSTEMS SUCH AS IN THE DECAY OF BIOMASS IN A COMPOST BIN Cycling of Biomass and Composting

2. What is Biomass? Card Sort Activity: With your partner, sort your cards into the categories provided: Organic or Inorganic then Compostable or Not Compostable

3. What is Biomass? Biomass  is organic material made from plants and animals. (Organic means it contains the element carbon and is made from plant or animal products)  contains stored energy from the sun.  Plants absorb the sun's radiant energy in a process called photosynthesis. Review Time Describe the process of Photosynthesis  The chemical energy in plants gets passed on to animals and people that eat them.

4. Biomass Renewable Energy Source We can always grow more and when organisms die, they decay and release energy WHY?

5. The Cycle Listen to the explanation of the diagram here. Sketch this diagram into your notes so you’ll have it for later.

6. How do we contribute to the cycle?

7. Lifespan of Trash Banana peelPlastic bagTin can Glass jar Paper bagStyrofoam How would you sort these items? Be ready to explain. How long will it take for these items to decompose?  4-5 weeks500 years100 years unknown2-4 weeks~1 million years – if buried  What are some problems with landfills?  How can these problems be avoided?

8. Cross section of a Landfill A= ground water B = Compacted Clay C= Plastic Liner D= Leachate collection pipe E= Geotextile Mat F=Gravel G= Drainage Layer H= Soil Layer I= Old Cell J= New Cell K= Leachate pond

9. What percent of waste put in landfills or is burned is considered biomass? 61% Food 18% Paper Products 22% Wood 8% Yard Trimmings 7% Textiles 6%

10. Composting In 1960 the average American threw away 2.7 pounds of trash a day. Today each person throws away about 4.5 pounds a day. (That comes to about 2000 lbs or 1 ton of trash/year!) Composting can reduce our waste to landfills. Composting is a way to recycle organic solid waste. Composting Video Clip

11. Composting Composting Needs Wet/”green” material – food scraps & yard clippings Dry/”brown” material – dead leaves & sawdust Water – just enough to make the mix spongy Air – microbes that are breaking down your compost need oxygen in order to survive! Don’t let them suffocate! Microbes help return carbon dioxide to the air and other nutrients to the soil so it can be re- used by plants.

12. Composting Composting Hints Meat and dairy products are not considered compostable because they are high in fat and will cause an unpleasant odor if added to a poorly- managed compost pile. (They also tend to attract scavengers…) If you must add them or don’t have a trash service that will accommodate them, running them through a blender will speed up their decomposition. Worms can reduce composting time by 50%! List of compostables

13. Edible Landfill Your task now is to create an edible model of a landfill using the following materials: -4 chocolate graham crackers - 1 fruit roll -2 pieces of red licorice -4 regular graham crackers -2 packs of chocolate pudding -2 packs of vanilla pudding -1/2 cup of each: nuts, chocolate chips, coconut

14. Edible Landfill Be sure you include each of the following components:  Clay and plastic liners  Drainage pipes  Sand and gravel filters  Alternating dirt & garbage layers  A top layer of dirt and grass Once you’ve made your landfill you need to EACH draw a diagram and write an explanation of what each layer you’ve made represents and what each layer’s function is. You’ll turn in your diagram and written explanation. Once checked, you may eat your “landfill” – if you want to.

15. Lab: Compost Bin in a Bottle Ways you can monitor your column: Weigh the column daily and graph the change in weight as the compost develops. Monitor and graph the amount of water used by the column daily. Do this by subtracting the volume of water collected at the bottom from the volume of water you've added to the top. Measure the temperature of the column with a soil thermometer daily and graph it. thermometer Take notes about the appearance of the trash in the column daily. How long does it take to decompose? Collect the drainage water and look at it under a microscope to see the microscopic organisms that live in the compost.microscope

16. Informational Sites: http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=biomass_home-basics-k.cfm http://home.howstuffworks.com/composting.htm/printable