About Action

"Action for a Cleaner Tomorrow" ("Action") is an award-winning, interdisciplinary, activity-based curriculum supplement that provides an introduction to solid waste, recycling and composting to kindergarten through eighth-grade students. It is the centerpiece of the Take Action SC Partnership.

"Action" was developed by teachers and SCDES's Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling in conjunction with the S.C. Department of Education in 1993. The 21st revised edition features 23 lessons correlated to 2021 South Carolina College-and-Career Ready Science Standards, and includes state-specific information when possible.

• The curriculum supplement is available to teachers at no cost who attend a two-hour workshop.
• Classroom presentations also are available at no cost for fifth-grade, seventh-grade and high school students.
• For information to schedule a teacher workshop or classroom presentation, visit takeactionsc.org or call SCDES's Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling at 1-800-768-7348.

Action Highlights

• Was introduced in 1993 and developed and tested by South Carolina teachers
• Includes lessons on recycling, waste reduction, composting, buying recycled, air and water, and has a glossary and an extensive resource section that offers background on specific issues from a global, national and South Carolina perspective
• Holds free teacher training workshops that have been attended by more than 50,000 teachers
• Has won national awards including the White House "Closing the Circle" Award, the Excellence in Solid Waste Education Award presented by the Solid Waste Association of North America, and the National Recycling Coalition's Beth Brown Boettner Award for Outstanding Public Education.

Action in the Classroom - 5th grade, 7th grade and High School

• "Action in the Classroom for Fifth Grade" provides an overview of recycling in South Carolina specifically tailored for fifth-grade students. It covers the basics of what happens when you throw something away, the 3 R's -- reduce, reuse and recycle -- as well as lessons about buying recycled.
• "Action in the Classroom for Seventh Grade" leads seventh-grade student through identifying and conserving natural resources, groundwater and energy, and gives an overview of recycling in South Carolina. From investigating what we throw away to thinking about how we can save renewable and non-renewable resources, students are given practical, hands-on lessons to help them get the facts they need to think for themselves, form opinions, make decisions and take action.
• "Action in the Classroom for High School Environmental Science" provides South Carolina-specific support to the environmental science high school course curriculum focusing on relevant environmental issues -- including solid waste (reduction and recycling), air and water.

To have "Action in the Classroom" come to your fifth-grade, seventh-grade or high school class, call us at 1-800 768-7348 (toll-free).

Contact Us

For more information about "Action," email us or call (800) 768-7348 (toll-free).