Team Building Challenges | Toxic Waste is one of TeamBuilding ROI’s favorite team building experiences that we like to incorporate into our San Francisco and Bay Area team building activities and events.
Toxic Waste is a race between two or more teams to create a device and a system for moving The Toxic Waste (a bucket of water or pong balls) from a “Toxic Zone” across a small distance and pour the contents of your bucket into a second target bucket in another toxic zone.
The race is won when one of the teams successfully has poured the contents of their first bucket (The Toxic Waste) into their target bucket with one or more teammates still “Alive”, as Teammates will be eliminated if they enter a toxic zone!
The Set Up
You will need two hoops, and two buckets for each team as well as a set of equipment for each team to create their toxic waste moving device.
Toxic Zones are created by placing hula hoops on the ground, and everything within the hoop all the way up to the ceiling or sky will be a toxic Zone.
You will place the starting bucket with the Toxic Waste (water or pong balls) inside one hoop and the empty target bucket in the other hoop several feet away.
The equipment for the teams can be placed on the ground near the First Toxic Zone or in a fanny pack or backpack.
Equipment For Making The Teams Moving Device
At a minimum, each team will need:
A few Short Ropes (3 or 4)
One Bungee Chord with a hook on both ends
One Fanny Pack
You can add any additional equipment, but the move will be impossible without these 5-6 items.
Each team should receive the same equipment to choose from to create their device to carry their Toxic Waste Bucket safely.
Using only these items provided will makes Toxic Waste a unique team building experiences that we like to facilitate at our S.F. team building events.
Toxic Waste Rules
You can print these out for each team, or your facilitator can verbally give the rules to your teams competing in the challenge:
TOXIC WASTE RULES
The Hoops, and everything inside the Hoops are Toxic Zones!
DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!
YOUR GOAL is to pour the Toxic Waste (Water) from the Starting Bucket into the Target Bucket without touching the Buckets or Hoops and without reaching inside either Toxic Zone at any time.
Anyone who crosses into a Toxic Zone or touches a Hoop or Bucket will be Declared Dead and will not be able to help with the rest of the move of the Waste.
YOU CANNOT touch or have any body parts over the Bucket during the move or you will be Declared Dead.
YOU CANNOT touch or attempt to move the Hoops in any way or you will be Declared Dead
IF YOU SPILL more than %25 of your Toxic Waste You will fail this challenge
YOU CAN only use the Items from your Quest Pack to complete this task.
These strict rules make Toxic Waste is one of TeamBuilding ROI’s most challenging team building experiences that we like to include in our S.F. team building activities and events.
Debriefing Toxic Waste
Toxic Waste is a game about fully understanding the rules before you start and then planning around those rules with the equipment available.
Some Questions TeamBuilding ROI would ask their guests after Toxic Waste.
Did any of you think you had a good idea half way through hearing the rules that you then decided wouldn’t work or was against the rules?
Did any of you think you had the best way to accomplish your goal before you heard another teammates idea that made more sense considering the situation?
These two questions get your teams talking about the task and teamwork dynamics they just experienced and get them to understand maybe their ideas are not always the best ideas and it is important to collaborate with you teammates on new unexpected tasks that arrive daily in the work place environment.
Why TeamBuilding ROI Loves Toxic Waste!
Toxic Waste is a fun way to get teammates talking and trouble-shooting a specific problem they have to solve. It is a great way to see communication styles and who is a team player and considers everyone’s ideas before they start
The unique trouble shooting situation along with the strict rules of Toxic Waste, make it one of TeamBuilding ROI’s most challenging team building experiences that we like to facilitate for our guests during our S.F. team building activities and events.
This is just one of the challenges TeamBuilding ROI uses to create work place scenarios (communication, teamwork, cooperation) and emotions that make for a great debrief! This is just one of the challenges and concepts that makes TeamBuilding ROI the premier Bay Area team building company.
Toxic Waste if featured in TeamBuilding ROI’s 60 Seconds to Success Program:
Website: https://teambuildingroi.com/programs/60-seconds-to-success/