    | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 02/01/2018 Gr 3–6—Using the contents of an average kid's backpack as a starting point, the author explores the production, use, and eventual end of products involving water, paper, food, plastic, clothing, metals, and electronics. Thorough yet never dull or heavy handed, the text offers information about the life cycle of common and necessary materials and the many stages each goes through before it is consumed or discarded. There is emphasis on the need to reduce waste and many facts and statistics are offered to support the notion that the amount of garbage produced on Earth is no longer sustainable. Innovative ideas currently being offered to combat waste, such as edible or compostable spoons, using zoo poop for energy, and cell phones to prevent deforestation in rainforests are discussed. Information such as the time required to decompose running shoes (1,000 years) and T-shirts (six months) will give students a clearer idea of the necessity for repurposing goods or of doing away with the acquisition of unnecessary stuff. A final chapter discussing waste in space moves the problem from Earth into the stratosphere. Amusing and instructive illustrations, charts, and sidebars add interest as well as details pertaining to the waste cycle and will inspire readers to become more educated consumers involved in a zero-waste future. VERDICT Endlessly informative and eminently readable, this book is an invaluable resource for students interested in the creation of goods and the resulting waste cycle.—Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, formerly at Trinity-Pawling School, NY - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 04/15/2018 The waste cycle might not seem like a high-interest subject, but when connected with the things kids carry in their backpacks, it becomes more intriguing. A reusable water bottle leads to explanations of the water cycle, fresh-water treatment, waste-water treatment, and novel inventions currently helping in places with water shortages. Similarly, a lunch box leads to topics such as the sources of various foods, their carbon and water footprints, and the environmental problems created by food waste. Other chapters discuss clothing, paper, plastic, metals, electronics, and (looking beyond the backpack metaphor) the particular challenges of the International Space Station. The final chapter considers the possibility of a “zero-waste future.” Every page offers detailed information, brightened by Slavin’s ink drawings with digitally added color washes. Energetic and cartoonlike, these pictures illustrate concepts and processes described in the text, while reflecting its upbeat tone. Offering good reasons for reducing, reusing, and recycling, this book sketches an overall picture of the waste cycle, fills it with densely packed facts, and connects it with readers’ lives. - Copyright 2018 Booklist. Loading...
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