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The League of 4Rs Action Heroes brings environmental concepts to life for students across Alameda County and beyond. Each hero embodies one of the 4Rs, with unique powers, backstories, and sidekicks that help students remember and practice waste reduction.


Meet the Heroes

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Super Reducer action hero and their sidekick Pingzi the reusable water bottle

REDUCE

Super Reducer

From the moment he was born, Super Reducer wasted nothing. He never bought anything with packaging, and only took as much as he needed during lunch. While most people in Alameda County were throwing away 5.5lbs of trash a day, super reducer became so light without waste that he developed the ability to fly. Super Reducer now flies across the county educating others about how to reduce, and save the planet.

Strengths: Conserving natural resources, saving money, and flight
Weaknesses: Excessive packaging
Sidekick: Pingzi the reusable water bottle
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Action hero Professor Reuse and their sidekick Alba the Albatross

REUSE

Professor Reuse

Teachers realized early on that Professor Reuse was no ordinary reuser. She would spend months in the lab, experimenting and finding new ways to reuse. Thanks to Professor Reuse's breakthroughs, many now use canvas bags while shopping for groceries, reusable lunch bags for their lunch, and glass jars for storing food at home. Her creative reuse art projects are also displayed in art galleries around the world.

Strengths: Creative reuse art, chemistry, able to lift 10 reusable bags full of groceries
Weaknesses: Single-use disposable lunches
Sidekick: Alba the albatross
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Action Hero The Recycler and their sidekick We-Can the aluminum can

RECYCLE

The Recycler

Growing up The Recycler could never get enough of sorting recyclable plastic containers, aluminum cans, and paper. He knew that each item he recycled meant more natural resources saved. As he grew up, The Recycler's knowledge of recycling became infinite and he developed magnetic powers. Today, while still sorting plastic and paper recyclables by hand, The Recycler uses his magnetism to save every can possible from going to the landfill.

Powers: Infinite encyclopedic knowledge of recycling, able to manipulate magnetic fields
Weakness: Flimsy plastic bags
Sidekick: We-Can the aluminum can
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Action hero Rot Girl and her sidekick Wiggle E Worm

ROT

RotGirl

Rot Girl has the power to turn organic waste, including food scraps and lawn clippings, into healthy soil for her garden - a power all of us share! Rot Girl also developed the ability to speak with worms, encouraging them to break down her leftovers. Realizing that 20% of waste is Alameda County is leftover food, today Rot Girl uses her x-ray vision to pick out food scraps from the trash and makes sure they go in the green composting bin or her own backyard compost pile.

Powers: Composting, x-ray vision to find food scraps, and worm whispering
Weakness: Compost contamination
Sidekick: Wiggle E. Worm the red wiggler worm

Classroom Resources

4Rs Action Heroes Activity Worksheet

Become a 4Rs Action Hero Everyday! YOU can be a 4RsAction Hero! How? Use this worksheet to read about each 4Rs Action Hero. After each description, write what you can do to be just like each Action Hero.

Sorting Saves! Activity Guide

The Altamont Education Advisory Board in partnership with KidScoop News and StopWaste, developed the Sorting Saves Activity guide to engage students to sort properly at school and at home. The activity guide can be used as a series of actvities or as standalone activity pages.

Food Waste Reduction with 4Rs Action Heroes!

Learn how to reduce wasted food at lunch with these tips from 4Rs Action Hero, Super Reducer

KidScoop Earth Tips

KidScoop News in partnership with the Altamont Education Advisory Board, created these earth tip activity pages that showcase and spotlight many of StopWaste’s student and teacher action heroes.