Toxic Waste
Teambuilder Risk Level: High Length (Minutes): 45+ People: 7-12
Overview
This exercise is a great teambuilder that is highly engaging and really tests a group’s ability to work as a
strong, functioning team. Using few materials and many restrictions, the team will attempt to carefully
move “toxic waste.” Make sure to do this exercise with students who have known and worked with
each other for a while.
Objective
Engaging small group activity. Equipped with a rubber tube and some string, a group must work out
how to transport a can of "toxic waste" to the neutralization can. Can be used to highlight any almost
aspect of teamwork or leadership
• This activity provides an engaging, focusing, challenging small
group challenge for about 30-60 minutes.
• Moderately difficult activity - avoid using with groups who are
still in the "forming" stage of group development
• Logistically simple but needs equipment set up
• Create two circles at least 8 ft in diameter (preferably 10 to 12 ft)
and at least 30 ft apart.
• Can be done indoors or outdoors; outdoors is more dramatic because water can be used instead
of ping-pong balls.
• Place a large can with toxic waste (water or balls) in the center of one circle and an empty can in
the center of the other circle.
• Task is to move the contents of "contaminated container" to a safe location using minimal
equipment, whilst maintaining a safe distance and within a time limit!
• Explain that people must always maintain a distance of ~4 ft (circle radius) from the toxic waste,
otherwise they will lose a limb or even die. The circle represents the danger zone, but 4ft
distance must be maintained wherever the waste goes.
• If the waste is tipped into the other can, it will be neutralized.
• The waste will blow up and destroy the world after 20 minutes if it is not neutralized.
• Equipment consists of many lengths of light rope / cord and an old bicycle tube. That's it.
• Give the group some planning time e.g. 5 mins, then action time, e.g., 15-20 mins.
• If they spill the waste entirely, refill it for them, but don't encourage it. If someone breaches the
4ft zone (often there are creeping hands), give a warning, then start enforcing loss of limbs
(hand behind back) or function (e.g., blindness if a head enters the zone) that lasts for the rest of
the game. If a whole person enters the zone, they have to sit out for the rest of the exercise.
• It is not an easy exercise and may need some coaching along the way. The solution usually
involves doubling the tube over several times, attaching about 8 cords around - everyone pulls
on a cord to stretch out a rubber ring which is placed over the waste. With good coordination
and care, the can then be lifted, moved and tipped.
• There are invariably plenty of key communications and decisions during the exercise that
provide for fruitful debriefing.
Facilitation Questions
- How difficult was it to move the “toxic waste?”
- How did our team communicate? Effectively? Ineffectively (lots of yelling etc.)?
- If one person didn’t do their job, how did that effect the team as a whole?
- How did we successfully move the toxic waste? What was our game plan?
- What does this say about our team and teamwork? How do we translate this into a real
situation within our own team?
Equipment Needed
• 2 boundary ropes approx. 40-50 ft each (to create two circles of up to 12 ft diameter)
• ~75ft of light rope / cord cut into ~6 to 8ft lengths (circle radius + 3 ft, but odd lengths are fine
since participants will need to tie lengths together)
• Old bicycle tube or bungee
• Two large cans or buckets (min. 1.5l to max. 5l)
• Toxic Waste (water or ping-pong balls)
• Stop watch
• Blindfolds
• Red herring objects (optional: toss in other objects as red herrings to make the task trickier)