We are a charity with the aim of increasing scientific literacy to help people develop systematic strategies for problem-solving using skills and resources that are freely available from rubbish.
Find out how we are making a difference by reading about our latest initiatives in Sierra Leone.
Anyone can get involved with Rubbish Science! Just go to our activities page to have a go at building and developing your own Rubbish Science project.
Scientific literacy is a transferable skill that involves investigating claims and looking for evidence to inform decisions. We focus on simple experiments with real, useful outcomes that usually involve multiple variables.
Ideally there should be no rubbish in the World, but the reality is that plastic refuse is everywhere. The aim is to create something that solves local problems whilst removing rubbish and increasing environmental awareness.
All communities have a culture of innovation, but often lack a systematic and scientific approach. By collaborating on real problems, we aim to empower communities to shape their own futures. By linking communities across the globe from the most to least privileged on a level playing field, we aim to increase interactions and understanding
FIND OUT HOW WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR LATEST NEWS
Sierra Leone is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Stunning beaches and truly wonderful people, up there with the friendliest in the World. However, when I tell people I am going to Sierra Leone they always worry about my safety. They think of civil war, Ebola and terrorism, conflating all West Africas problems…
Sierra Leone is probably my favourite country. You will not find friendlier, more welcoming and lovely people anywhere. There are no beaches more beautiful than the ones in Sierra Leone and none with fewer tourists When I tell people I am going to Sierra Leone they worry about my safety. They talk of civil war…
Rubbish Science was chosen by Google as a vehicle to showcase some of its products to large groups of Nordic Educators as part of its Anywhere Classroom Project. One of the rooms at Google Offices in Victoria was converted into a makeshift Rubbish Dump complete with a pond and compost heap. Though I was disappointed…
The UN have 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This blog aims to show how Rubbish Science can support them Aim 1: No Poverty: What is poverty the UN has these; Absolute poverty was defined as: a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and…
Rubbish Science in collaboration with CollaboratEd won a contract with the British Council and the British Embassy. The aim of this was to increase the participation of girls/women in STEM. These are the impressions gained from six days in Vietnam talking to many stakeholders. To try and determine the barriers and a way forward to…
Sierra Leone is a beautiful country in West Africa, home to some of the genuinely friendliest and nicest people on the planet. It has beautiful beaches, but tourism is very underdeveloped. The country has a long history of being a hub for slavery. The capital, Freetown, was founded as a home for repatriated slaves in…
Before you start feeding birds it is important to know what to feed them, when to and how to. The RSPB provides excellent information here The aim of this Rubbish Science investigation is to optimise the design of a bird feeder made from a plastic bottle. This could be focussed on specific bird species and…
As part of the Rubbish Science Use Rubbish – Create Something Useful – Learn Scientific Thinking this challenge is to create the bounciest ball possible just using newspaper, plastic bags and string. Before we start though we need to consider why things bounce. Explain what happens here Before we explain why the cat doesn’t bounce we…
TRY OUT OUR RUBBISH SCIENCE ACTIVITIES
Watering plants in terracotta pots is a hugely water inefficient as well as time-consuming. Water is lost due to evaporation from the soil and through the terracotta as well as running out through the bottom of the pot. There are better systems available and we will consider three types: You could just set up all three…
Overview: Compost is made from the breaking down of organic (natural) material. It is not the same as rotting. Leaves, uncooked food waste and cardboard can be broken down by bacteria and worms in order to produce nutrient-rich soil for plants to grow. Air is needed as the bacteria and worms need oxygen. Rotting which…
Overview: Solar stills use sunlight in order to evaporate dirty or salty water and then condense the water vapour to be collected. There are many models for this but which one is the most effective? Note: It is probably worth doing the Insulated container and the hand washing station before you do this experiment as…
Overview: Flies can cause the spread of diseases. Mosquitos carry Malaria and Dengue Fever. You can create simple fly traps in seconds, but then spend a lifetime optimising the design Task: You are to create a fly or mosquito trap out of a plastic bottle or other rubbish. You then need to take steps to…
Overview: Washing hands is far more effective with warm water than cold. In some areas warm water is not available for washing hands so how can we create a system from rubbish? Bacteria colonies can grow much faster in warm water so we could make the problem worse. You can use Solar Water Disinfection (SoDis…
Overview: There are many ways of making a container that keeps things hot or cold. Silvered films such as the inside of crisp packets can reflect thermal radiation. Black objects absorb radiation and so get hotter if left in the sunshine. Substances that trap air, such as cardboard or bubble wrap reduce heat loss by…
Overview: Making a hole or holes in a bottle top can create a sprinkler system. However it isn’t easy to control the speed of the flow of the water as the pressure inside the bottle varies depending on how full the bottle is. What can you do to create a system that only needs refilling…
Overview: Plants in traditional pots lose a great deal of water through the bottom of the pot as well as through evaporation from the top of the soil. There are designs which allow a water reservoir at the bottom of the container that the roots can access either by using a wick that transfers water…