Explain how reducing the use, reusing, and recycling of materials by end users helps minimise the consumption of limited resources, energy sources, waste generation, and environmental impacts.
Recognise that metals, glass, building materials, clay ceramics, and most plastics are manufactured from limited, non-renewable raw materials.
Understand that a significant portion of the energy required for these manufacturing processes is derived from limited fossil fuel resources.
Describe the environmental impacts associated with obtaining raw materials from the Earth through quarrying and mining.
Explain how some products, such as glass bottles, can be reused directly or crushed and melted to manufacture different glass products.
Explain how products that cannot be directly reused can be recycled for alternative uses.
Describe the process of recycling metals by melting and recasting or reforming them into different products.
Understand that the level of separation required for recycling depends on the material type and the specific properties required of the final manufactured product.
Provide examples of recycling efficiency, such as adding scrap steel to iron in a blast furnace to reduce the amount of primary iron that must be extracted from iron ore.
Evaluate various strategies and methods for reducing the use of limited resources when provided with appropriate contextual information.
