NCERT Solutions for Class-6 Science Chapter-16 Garbage in, Garbage out

NCERT TEXTBOOK EXERCISES

Question 1.
(a) Which kind of garbage is not converted into compost by the red-worms?
(b) Have you seen any other organism besides red-worms, in your pit? If yes, try to find out their names. Draw pictures of these?
Answer:
(a) Garbage containing salt, pickles, oil, vinegar, meat, and milk preparations is not converted into compost by the red-worms.
(b) Yes.

Question 2. Discuss:
1. Is garbage disposal the responsibility only of the government?
2. Is it possible to reduce the problems relating to the disposal of garbage?
Answer:
1. In most cities, the responsibility of garbage disposal is on Municipal Corporations and most of the people realize no responsibility of their own. We should realize that cleanliness is the collective responsibility of both, the people and the government. If people are not aware of their responsibilities, government alone cannot successfully manage the garbage disposal. We must have the correct ideas and we must try our best to make our surroundings clean. We should not throw our wastes here and there. We should manage disposal problems at the level of our mohallas rather than waiting for government efforts.
2. Yes. It is possible to reduce the problems relating to the disposal of garbage. We can try 3‘R’ to reduce this problem. These are:
Reduce: We should minimize the use of things that produce wastes.
Reuse: We can reuse many things which we usually throw after using once.
Recycle: We can recycle the things that we usually throw and make many useful things, e.g., paper can be recycled to make paper baskets, etc.

Question 3. (a) What do you do with the leftover food at home?
(b) If you and your friends are given the choice of eating on a plastic plate or a banana leaf platter at a party, which one would you prefer and why?
Answer:
(a) We give this food to animals and sometimes we throw it in the dustbin.
(b) We would prefer a banana leaf platter because it can be used to form compost.

Question 4.
1. Collect pieces of different kinds of paper. Find out which of these can be recycled.
2. With the help of a lens look at the pieces of paper you collected for the above question. Do you see any difference in the material of recycled paper and a new sheet of paper?
Answer:
1. We can collect the following kinds of paper:
(a) Old newspapers,
(b) Magazines,
(c) Used envelopes,
(d) Notebooks, and
(e) Shiny plastic-coated paper.
We can recycle all kinds of paper except shiny plastic-coated paper.
2. Yes, the surface of recycled paper is rough while that of the new sheet of paper is smooth.

Question 5.
1. Collect different kinds of packaging material. What was the purpose for which each one was used? Discuss in groups.
2. Give an example in which packaging could have been reduced?
3. Write a story on how packaging increases the amount of garbage.
Answer:
1. Children should discuss this in class.
2. If instead of making packets of sugar, salt, pulses, etc. we can buy them loose in our cloth bag or paper bag.
3. Packaging increases the amount of garbage because after use we throw the packaging material. Most of the packaging material cannot be converted into compost etc. Hence we are increasing the amount of garbage.

Question 6. Do you think it is better to use compost instead of chemical fertilizers? Why?
Answer: Yes, it is better to use compost instead of chemical fertilisers because it helps us in two ways :
1. It helps us to get rid of wastes.
2. It helps us to save a lot of money that is spent on buying expensive chemical fertilisers.