Road to Recycling Education Kit

Natural resources were once thought to be virtually limitless. Landfills were considered to be the cheap and easy way to dispose of discarded materials. Today, we know there are limits to both. How do we address these limits? Simple ? recycle.

Recycling is a way we can conserve natural resources and limit the volume of refuse that ends up in our landfills. By making the effort to recycle, we conserve limited resources for future use and divert many items from landfills. This saves energy and also reduces air and water pollution.

TxDOT Recycling

Many TxDOT activities produce waste items that can and are recycled. These items include waste paper (from office use), asphalt and concrete (from re-paving projects), tires and motor oil (from TxDOT cars and trucks), and scrap metal (from used signs, guardrails, etc.).

  • TxDOT uses $78 million per year in numerous products made from recycled materials
  • Recycled paper is used to publish TxDOT documents.
  • Recapped tires and re-refined motor oil are used in TxDOT vehicles.
  • Waste materials, such as fly ash, are used in road base.
  • Crumb rubber (from ground-up scrap tires) has been used in asphalt mix.

Recycling and Composting

The intent of this kit is to introduce students to recycling and the related field of composting. After all, the resources that these children conserve will benefit all generations to come.

Education Kit

Each kit contains:

  • Teacher's Guide and lesson plans that fulfill specific TEKS objectives.
  • "What is Recyclable?" poster
  • Two composting brochures and one recycling brochure
  • Video featuring "Did You Know?? The Road to Recycling" and Eye on Earth episode "Waste Not, Want Not."

To receive your free kit, send your name, name of your school and address to:

Texas Department of Transportation
Attention: Communications
Environmental Affairs Division
125 E. 11th Street
Austin, TX 78701-2483

Or e-mail us. Please specify which materials you want.