In our AP Environmental Science class we collected all of our trash for a week, and at the end we weighed and counted all of our trash items, and we are ready to take it all to the transfer station!!!
- Based on your observations of the solid waste materials displayed on all of the desks in the room, what type or category of municipal solid waste seems to be the most abundant?
Out of all of the trash we collected, the majority of it was plastic. Trying to get all of the plastic to stay in one place on the counter was hard because there is so much. Its not only the biggest issue in our class but its one of the biggest issues regarding pollution and trash in the whole entire world. Plastic is used to make almost everything these days, and it is not that common to see people reusing plastic these days. I am not at all surprised by the fact that plastic is the most abundant solid waste in our APES class.
2. Describe three significant and specific environmental impacts which are associated with the “life cycle” of the material type which you identified in question 1 above.
Plastic does a lot to this world, and none of it is good. There is so much of it and it causes so many problems. One thing that has been impacted since plastic is our oceans and our marine wildlife. There is between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of trash in our ocean. Plastic in the ocean can choke animals if they ingest it, even the smallest pieces can kill animals. Another thing is the chemicals and toxins that plastic lets into our ecosystem. It comes from the ocean, and land. Also, plastic is not biodegradable and that is a known thing, however in landfills nothing is biodegrade because they cover it all which prevents air and water from getting underneath the surface which prevents just about everything from biodegrating.
3. If your parents completed this same solid waste project, how do you think their inventories would differ, in terms of types and amounts of materials used in a week or in a year? In addition to your thoughts on this matter, please discuss this question with your parents* and record their specific feedback regarding this point.
I truly think that my parents results would be much different. For my dad, I think he probably has an average amount of trash, he is a doctor which probably produces more trash then some other jobs because of all of the tools and materials they use, however my household and my family does not produce a lot of trash so that would definitely make that amount a lot lower. However my mom, likes to live a clean and healthy lifestyle which absolutely brings the amount of trash she produces to a much lower level, but she is also someone who throws everything out if she thinks its unnecessary. There is no clutter in our house and if there is, she will pick up whatever it is and throw it away. I was not able to talk to my parents, but I talked to my sister and she agrees with my opinion about our parents trash production. My sister and I also talked about how we think the tour parents, and everyone in that generation doesn’t pay enough attention to trash production and we should work on teaching them and making them aware about how bad the trash issue in our world really is.
4. Did you alter your choices about foods eaten and/or items purchased/used during the last seven days, due to the type or amount of packaging? Describe how your choices were modified during this assignment. If you did the bonus portion of the inventory, (the “carry”), was there ever a decision not to, for example, have a little orange juice, because it would mean needing to carry to large juice container around in your solid waste bag(s)?
I definitely did alter some of my choices about what I am eating, drinking, buying, etc. I know that this assignment was not to produce as little trash as possible, however that was our assignment on Ocean and so I think that subconsciously, I tried to produce as close to no trash as I could.
5. Discuss any aspects of this assignment that you found significant, meaningful, and/or worthwhile. Describe any experiences you may have had relating to this inventory/carrying of your MSW around campus for seven days that you think are memorable?
I loved this assignment. This fall I went on Ocean Classroom and we did the same exact thing, however we collected our trash from a whole month of living on a boat. Both of these assignments have taught me so much about myself, and the rest of our planet. Doing these assignments and collecting all of my trash has really brought the issues of trash and pollution to my attention and I really don’t think that this will be my last time doing the same assignment and maybe even voluntarily. I really enjoy learning about issue like these and I hope to never stop learning about it.
6. Would you change anything about this assignment? If”yes” , please describe:
The only thing I would change about this assignment is that I think you should challenge people to produce as little trash as possible. For me, doing that challenged me to do that for all other aspects of my life and to continue doing it after the assignment had already ended. That way, you are learning about all of these issues, while also trying to live as sustainable as you possibly can.
APES Blog - Lila 