SUMMARY
An estimated 20 million people are thought to earn their livelihoods in the global waste industry by collecting, disposing, repairing or repurposing a wide range of materials and products. However, the cost and consequences of handling waste are borne far more heavily in developing nations. In partnership with the Pulitzer Center, Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on the impact of waste from textiles.
View the transcript of the story.
News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.
WARM-UP QUESTIONS
- How many people across the globe are estimated to earn livings in the "global waste industry"?
- What is the global waste industry, according to this segment?
- Where is Ghana? (You can use this map to help locate it)
- Why has Ghana become a "dumping ground" for unwanted used clothes?
- What happens with used clothes that aren't bought by shoppers in Ghana?
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What do you think might be a responsible way to dispose of used clothes so that they don't end up in landfills or the oceans? Are there other way they could be reused or recycled?
Media literacy: Why do you think this story focuses on the impact on one country (Ghana) if the problem described is a global one?
Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?
FOR MORE
What students can do: What can your community do to reduce the waste of used clothes? Make a list of creative ways you think used clothes could be reused or recycled so that they don't end up in the oceans and landfills. Are there different solutions for plastic and organic materials in clothes?
Watch the following video on ways to reuse non-recyclable materials. Do any of the strategies mentioned apply to clothes?
(Teachers: You can find a lesson on the above video on inventing ways to reuse non-recyclable materials here. It is part of our News Hour Classroom Invention Education series)
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