I'll have to admit when I saw the full size garbage truck in the Innoventions Pavilion, I assumed that "Don't Waste It" was a Waste Management commercial disguised as an attraction.  After experiencing "Don't Waste It" first hand, I came away very impressed and actually learned a few things about waste handling and how we can make a difference.

Make no mistake, this is still Disney World and the goal of the attraction is to entertain you first, and hopefully you learn something along the way. 

"Don't Waste It" takes your team (family) through a series of stations to first learn about your current waste creating and handling habits and then learn how you can make a difference through Recycling, Using Waste As Fuel, and Finally Capturing a Renewable Energy Source (Methane Gas) from Landfills.

The first challenge is called Sort It Out.  Here we are introduced to the concept of Single Stream Recycling.  This means that there is not a need to have separate collection containers for glass, metal, paper, & plastic.  It can all go to the recycling center in a single stream.

The video game that your family plays has each member help sort the material to be recycled into its separate categories.  The game is fun and you have to pay attention.

Here is a quick video explaining Single Stream Recycling:

The next challenge is called "Fuel The Burn."  Here you learn that often garbage can serve as fuel to power electrical turbines, thereby turning garbage into electricity.  You family works together to bring garbage to the facility and then feeding the correct mix of wet and dry garbage to keep the incinerator burn at peak efficiency.

The better you are able to accomplish this task the more energy you can generate.

The last challenge is called Land Fill Up.  Here we learn that Landfills can be tapped to collect the methane gas that is naturally generated by the garbage as it decomposes. Waste Management currently has 110 landfills designed to capture this renewable resource and uses it to power 400,000 homes daily.

By completing the games and challenges found at "Don't Waste It" we learn how there is much more to garbage than just throwing your items in the garbage cans and taking to the curb each week.

I also learned that Waste Management is not just a Waste Hauler, but also a company that is using state of the art technology and processes in order to lessen the impact to the environment for all of the garbage that we generate. 

The best course of action is to not generate the waste in the first place, but it was great to learn that there is a lot of great technology being put to use to handle our garbage!

"Don't Waste It" should be considered an attraction that is definitely worth visiting.  The interactive video challenges are fun, and the learning experiences are a bonus.

Innoventions attractions have come and gone over the years, with some being successful and others, no so.  "Don't Waste It" fulfills the first requirement of being entertaining and it also fits right in at Epcot's Future World by providing a better look at the benefits that technology is providing to our world.

You can learn more about recycling and Waste Management's efforts to be at the forefront of using innovative ways to handle our waste at: Think Green.  As you can tell from the sign that is proudly placed on the side of their Garbage Truck: "The Waste We Collect Helps Power Over One Million Homes,"  Waste Management is serious about Thinking Green!