Collage Litter Map
Turn everyday litter into a meaningful art project with this Collage Litter Map craft. Kids can work alone or together to create a map-shaped collage made from bits of clean trash and recyclables. This activity is a great way to start conversations about litter, recycling, and how small actions can help keep neighborhoods, parks, beaches, and classrooms clean.
This is an especially good Earth Day craft for classrooms, scout groups, and homeschoolers because it combines creativity with environmental awareness.
Supplies
- Clean litter or other lightweight trash pieces
- Construction paper or cardboard, at least 12″ x 18″
- White glue
- Pencil
- Eraser
- A map for reference
Instructions
- Look at a map of the United States and study its basic outline. If you live in another country, you can use the shape of your own country instead.
- Lightly draw the outline of the map onto your construction paper or cardboard. Include recognizable features that help define the shape, such as Florida, Texas, or the Great Lakes if you are making a United States map.
- Gather small, clean pieces of litter or recyclable materials. Good choices include scraps of paper, wrappers, cardboard bits, or other lightweight items that can be glued flat.
- Spread glue inside the outline and begin attaching the litter pieces until the entire map is filled in.
- Let the collage dry completely before moving or displaying it.
- Add a title if you like, such as “America the Beautiful?” or create your own message about keeping the earth clean.
Tips
- Choose clean, dry items only.
- Use small pieces so it is easier to follow the shape of the map.
- Work slowly around edges and corners to help the final collage look more recognizable.
- For a group project, assign different sections of the map to different kids.
Patterns, Templates and Printables
No printable template is required for this craft. Simply use a map as your guide and draw the outline onto your background paper or cardboard before adding your collage materials.
Teacher Friendly Educational Extension
This activity works well as both an art project and an environmental lesson. Invite children to talk about where litter comes from and how it affects neighborhoods, parks, animals, and waterways. Students can compare clean spaces with littered ones and discuss ways they can help in everyday life.
You can also extend the lesson by having students:
- label the map with states, regions, or landmarks
- write a short paragraph about why littering is harmful
- create a classroom pledge about keeping shared spaces clean
- work together on a larger bulletin board display for Earth Day
This makes a strong classroom activity for Earth Day, recycling lessons, and social studies connections.
Supplies
Litter or other trash
Background support - like construction paper or cardboard at least 12" by 18"
White Glue
Pencil and eraser
Map
Instructions
Study the shape of the United States on the map. Trash is a problem all over the world, so if you live outside the United States, just substitute the shape of your country. Using a pencil, draw this outline on the background support. Pay special attention to the Great Lakes and states like Florida and Texas whose shapes help identify your finished picture as a map of the United States.
Being careful to follow the shape you have drawn, fill in the outline solidly by gluing the trash you have collected all over the map. You just recycled! Your collage may be displayed with the "America the Beautiful?" title. This will help remind others to keep the World clean.
Tips and Tricks:
Look for trash in your school and on your playground. Don't forget your room, desk, even you pockets and school bags. If you work with other people in your class or scout troop, this can be a fun group activity. Draw the map on a large cardboard flat rescued from a refrigerator or freezer carton. Work together to glue on the trash, and display the works in a prominent place for all to see.
Check out Art Lesson #1 at The Imagination Factory for the full lesson to go with this project.
Contributor
Listed by the American Library Association as one of the best online resources for kids, The Imagination Factory shows visitors how to make art using materials most people throw away. Some of the activities include drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, papier-mâché, marbling and crafts, and a special section for holiday art and crafts is featured. A Trash Matcher helps visitors find appropriate art activities for the solid waste they have available, and a feature called the Badge Matcher allows Brownies, Girl Scouts and their leaders to quickly locate art activities that help satisfy badge requirements.
