Happy Families

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Happy Families Material properties Card game
Amanda Griffiths Brian Russell
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T-shirt
Easily broken down into fibres
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Cheese
Made from milk
Food products cannot be recycled
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Toy duck
Made from blow-moulding polypropylene
High impact strength Thermoplastic Range of
colours Flexible
Easily re-melted to form new material
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Playing cards
Made from laminated cardboard
Too difficult to separate the paper fibres from
the plastic lamination
Easily printed on Wipe clean Durable Easily cut
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Scooter
Made from aluminium
Aluminium is easily re-melted once separated from
plastic components
Lightweight Does not rust Lightweight Malleable
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Skateboard deck
Made from plywood
Strong Flexible Suitable for lots of finishes
The glue layers in plywood make it unrealistic to
recycle the wood fibres
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Oven-proof dish
Made from earthenware clay then glazed
Once fired in a kiln ceramics cannot be recycled
Heat resistant Non-absorbent when glazed Easily
moulded
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Crockery
Once fired in a kiln ceramics cannot be recycled
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Cycling shorts
Made from Elastane (Lycra)
Textile fibres can be broken down and reused
Stretchy Washable
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Pizza box
Made from corrugated cardboard
Strong light Easily printed Good
insulator Cheap Easy to cut out
Easily broken down so the fibres can be reused to
produce low grade card
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Carrier bag
Made from low density polyethylene (polythene)
Lightweight Flexible
Easily re-melted to form new material
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Garden seat
Made from teak
Wood fibres can be broken down to form wood pulp
although rarely done
Very durable Hardwood Very resistant to moisture
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Food can
Made from tinplate (tin plated steel)
Once melted down the steel part can be recycled
Resistant to corrosion Easy to shape and
bend Malleable
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Jumper
Made from knitted wool yarn
Wool fibres are easily re-used for making into
other products
Soft Warm Absorbent Crease resistant
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Omelette
Made from eggs
Protein Set when heated Add colour and flavour to
other foods
Food products cannot be recycled
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Photo frame
Made from die-cast pewter (which is mainly tin)
Low melting point Easy to cast Can be
polished Resistant to corrosion
Easily re-melted to form new products
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Drinks bottle
Made from PET (Polyethylene Terepthalate)
Easy to blow-mould Flexible Durable Thermoplastic
Easily re-melted to form new material
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Candle stick
Made from wrought iron
Very strong Ferrous metal Will rust unless coated
Easily re-melted to form new material
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Kitchen unit
Made from melamine coated chipboard
Cheap Manufactured board Needs coating to become
durable
Glue content and the protective coating makes it
difficult to recycle
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Drinks carton
Aluminium foil-coated card
Easy to print on Easy to manufacture Cheap Water-p
roof
Too difficult to separate the paper fibres from
the aluminium lamination