Lesson 15 · Self-training

Waste and Cutting Down

Watch BBC Real Easy English: waste. Neil and Beth talk about rubbish, recycling, single-use plastic, water use, and how to cut down on waste. Listen for gist and useful phrases, answer the questionnaire, then press Check answers.

Mode Self-paced
Time ~20–30 minutes
Video 1 × ~5 minutes
After watching Quiz · Check answers · Tasks
All lessons Main menu Facilitator notes Back to Lesson 14
How to use this lesson

Goals and flow

  1. Goal 1: Follow Neil and Beth’s conversation about waste: recycling, plastic, reusable bottles, baths vs showers.
  2. Goal 2: Use the recap language: waste, single-use plastic, recycle / recyclable, rely on, cut down on / cut back on.

Flow: warm-up → watch (gist) → watch again (detail) → quiz → Check answers → speak worksheet → tasks → reflection.

Before you watch

Warm-up (say aloud or think—not scored)

  1. What kinds of waste do you create every day (plastic, food, paper)?
  2. Do you recycle at home? What goes in separate bins?
  3. What is one thing you want to cut down on?
Video · Gist then detail

Waste — Real Easy English

BBC Learning English ~5 minutes Neil and Beth · waste, recycle, plastic

First listen: What is “waste”? What do they recycle?
Second listen: Plastic-free shopping; reusable bottles; single-use plastic; baths vs showers; clingfilm; vocabulary recap.

Loading video… If nothing appears, refresh or open the YouTube link below.

Open on YouTube

Optional watch notes

Jot 3 keywords (e.g. recycle, single-use, clingfilm, cut down on). Do not write everything down.

Questionnaire

Answer after watching—then check your answers

Complete every question first. Answers and tips appear only after you press Check answers at the bottom.

1. (Gist) This episode is mainly about…

2. (Detail) At home, Beth says they recycle…

3. (Detail) When Neil was a child…

4. (Detail) In the supermarket, Beth tries to…

5. (Detail) About water bottles, they say…

6. (Language) Single-use plastic means…

7. (Detail) About baths and showers…

8. (Detail) Neil wants to cut down on…

9. (Language) If something is recyclable, it…

10. (Language) Cut down on / cut back on means…

11. Gap: We on plastic a lot in our daily lives.

12. (Open) What do you recycle at home? What waste is hardest for you to reduce?

13. (Open) What do you want to cut down on or cut back on—and why?

Speaking worksheet

Talk about waste (BBC-style practice)

Same shape as Real Easy English worksheets: match → gap ideas → say your answers out loud. (The PDF link shared with this lesson was the Worries worksheet; these prompts are rewritten for waste.)

1. Match the questions with useful replies

Questions

  1. a) Are you good at dealing with waste?
  2. b) What do you recycle at home?
  3. c) How do you try to cut down on plastic?
  4. d) What still feels wasteful in your daily life?

Replies

  1. 1) I try to carry a reusable bottle and avoid single-use bags.
  2. 2) I think so — we have separate bins for plastic, glass, paper and food.
  3. 3) Clingfilm and plastic food wrappers — they’re convenient but I don’t like them.
  4. 4) Glass, plastic, metal and card — the usual things.

Suggested matches (check after you try): a2 · b4 · c1 · d3

2. Complete the gaps

  1. A crisp packet after you eat the crisps is ________ (rubbish / unwanted things).
  2. Plastic you use once and throw away is called ________-________ plastic.
  3. If we ________ ________ plastic so much, it’s hard to find alternatives.
  4. I want to ________ ________ ________ my use of clingfilm.

Answers: waste · single-use · rely on · cut down on / cut back on

3. Now you answer (speak aloud)

  1. Are you good at dealing with waste?
  2. What do you recycle?
  3. How do you try to cut down on plastic?
  4. What do you want to cut back on next?

Useful vocabulary: waste, recycle, recyclable, single-use plastic, rely on, cut down on, cut back on

Tasks

After the quiz

Task 1 · Useful phrases

Write your own examples with: waste, single-use plastic, recycle / recyclable, rely on, cut down on / cut back on.

Task 2 · Voice note (60–90 seconds)

Summarise the episode: what waste is, what they recycle, reusable bottles, baths vs showers, and one thing each person wants to cut down on.

Task 3 · Writing

Write six to eight sentences: your home recycling habits + one plan to cut down on waste this month (office tip optional: less paper printouts / less single-use cups).

Reflection

Close the session

  1. Which phrase will you use this week: cut down on, rely on, or single-use plastic?
  2. Write one small change you can start tomorrow.
Spanish support

Light glossary

  • waste (n) → residuos / basura; also “desperdicio”
  • rubbish → basura
  • recycle / recyclable → reciclar / reciclable
  • single-use plastic → plástico de un solo uso
  • rely on → depender de
  • cut down on / cut back on → reducir / disminuir
  • clingfilm → film transparente / papel film
  • reusable water bottle → botella reutilizable
  • wrapped in plastic → envuelto en plástico
  • courgette → calabacín
  • guilty → culpable / sentir culpa
  • convenient → práctico / conveniente

Lesson 15: BBC Real Easy English — waste · video → Check answers quiz → speaking worksheet → tasks.