Easy Recycling Science Projects

There are numerous directions a student can take with a recycling science project topic. Because recycling is such a hot button topic in today's era of conservation, resources for this project type are virtually limitless. From experimenting with the way in which various materials decompose to recycling old crayons to make new colors, there are many creative ways in which to form a recycling science project.

This is an easy science experiment for a school science project. Form a hypothesis based on which paper you think will decompose the fastest. Then, conduct an experiment, in which you bury both a recycled piece of paper and a new piece of paper. Leave each piece buried for a predetermined length of time and dig them back up to see which shows sign of decomposition and at what rate. Design a backboard based on the experiment, hypothesis and conclusion.

Conduct a science fair project on the rate of decomposition for the 10 most common materials found in landfills. The idea is to educate people with your project about the benefits of recycling in terms of reducing landfill waste. Contact your local landfill and find out what some of the most common materials are and then conduct your research on how fast they decompose. You can even obtain the materials yourself and notate over the course of a month or two how fast they begin to break down. Record your data and create a backboard on your findings. You can then include a section on how some of these materials might instead be recycled.

Conduct an experiment using recycled newspaper as a way to fertilize plants. Form a hypothesis on whether or not you think this is possible and then experiment with two different plants, one of which is fertilized with regular fertilizer and then one that is fertilized with recycled newspaper. Note the results and build your project on whether or not your hypothesis is correct and why or why not.

Hypothesize a way to separate solid waste for recycling that is easy and mechanized. You may determine a way to use existing methods more efficiently or come up with a new way of conducting this process altogether. This can be a simple project in which you discuss a blueprint to carry out your idea or if you want to be more elaborate, you can actually design a method from scratch.