Recycling Sort worksheet for sorting waste into recycling, trash, and compost bins.

Let’s solve this step by step.

This is a sorting activity. You need to cut out the pictures at the bottom and paste them into one of three boxes: Recycling, Trash, or Compost.

First, let’s look at each item and decide where it belongs:

1. Plastic bottle – This can be recycled if it’s clean. → Go in Recycling
2. Banana peel – This is food waste. It breaks down naturally. → Go in Compost
3. Cardboard box – Cardboard is recyclable. → Go in Recycling
4. Candy wrapper – Usually made of mixed materials (plastic + foil), not easily recyclable. → Go in Trash
5. Pencil – Wood and graphite — not recyclable, but also doesn’t compost well unless broken down. Most schools say trash for pencils. → Go in Trash
6. Aluminum can – Very recyclable! → Go in Recycling
7. Toothbrush – Plastic, hard to recycle, usually goes in trash. → Go in Trash
8. Water bottle (plastic) – Same as #1, recyclable if clean. → Go in Recycling

Now, let’s group them:

✔ Recycling:
- Plastic bottle
- Cardboard box
- Aluminum can
- Water bottle

🗑️ Trash:
- Candy wrapper
- Pencil
- Toothbrush

Compost:
- Banana peel

That’s all 8 items sorted correctly!

Final Answer:
Cut and paste the items like this:
→ Recycling: plastic bottle, cardboard box, aluminum can, water bottle
→ Trash: candy wrapper, pencil, toothbrush
→ Compost: banana peel