Reference no: EM133615787

Homework

For this homework, you will answer some questions and undertake a study of your own purchasing and waste management habits.

First, watch this YouTube video: "The Secrets of the Mega Landfill."

Do some research to answer the following questions with a citation to the source of each answer. Your sources should be peer-reviewed journals, .gov, or .edu websites where possible. Waste management industry articles and websites are acceptable. (5 pts each)

Question A. How much trash does the average American dispose of every year?

Question B. How much trash does the average American recycle?

Question C. How do the US trash disposal and recycling rates compare with other developed countries?

Question D. How do the US rates of disposal and recycling compare with developing countries?

Question E. What is the average "tipping fee" or amount that we are charged to dispose of waste in the US?

Question F. What costs are normally included in the tipping fee? What costs are not?

Question G. How much do you pay monthly for trash disposal?

Question H. Do you recycle? If so, what materials are recycled and how do you recycle them (curbside collection, recycling center, other)?

Question I. Do you ever consider the amount of packaging an item has in your purchase decisions? If so, how? If not, why not?

Question J. List the environmental impacts of single-use plastic containers.

Now, for the two-part lab.

Part I: Food Packaging

Review this web article "The great global food gap: Families around the world photographed with weekly shopping as they reveal cost ranges from £3.20 to £320" By Daily Mail Reporter.

A. Look in your kitchen cabinets and identify at least three foods that are packaged. Describe how you could reduce or eliminate the packaging. 10 pts each

B. Count the number of single-use plastic containers you typically use in 4 days (drinking bottles, yogurt containers, egg cartons, etc.) and list that number here.

# containers____________________

For each type of container, describe how the plastic could be eliminated. (30 pts)

Part II: Waste Audit

Auditing is a comprehensive way to calculate and categorize valuable information. Perform a waste audit on your household trash. This will tell you how much waste you currently generate. Once you know what materials you're wasting the most, you can take action to reduce you're the quantity of those materials that go to the landfill.

I. Materials

1. Gloves
2. Scale
3. A small tarp or piece of plastic to spread waste on. You can cut open a large plastic bag.
4. Pen/Pencil and paper

II. Organize your Audit

Audit your waste for three days. At the end of each day, combine all your trash into one bag. Weigh the bag on the scale. The best way to do this might be to hold the bag and step on the scale yourself and subtract your weight from the total. Now, empty your waste onto the plastic tarp or material and spread it out so you can see all of it. If you do this daily, the waste will be less smelly and icky. Make sure to collect the waste from your entire household. Divide the waste in each receptable into the following categories:

Now, divide your waste into the following categories:

1. Glass
2. Paper
3. Cardboard
4. Plastic
5. Compostable/organic waste
6. Textiles
7. Other

Record Your Data

Design a table that will allow you to record the necessary data. Take a photo of each day's trash after it has been sorted on the plastic. Estimate the percentage of each type of trash for day's waste and enter it into the data table as both a percent and weight. For example, if your trash weighs ten pounds and 50% of it is paper then your paper would weigh five pounds. If you really want to be scientific, you can weight each category of waste. You'll get some extra credit if you do this.

Analyze Your Findings and Develop Solutions.

No one wants to sift through the trash for no good reason, so make sure you make the most of the information you gathered. Your waste audit should have revealed the types of waste you produce most frequently, places or times in which people are particularly wasteful, and how many distinct types of waste you generate in three days. Now, take these trends and turn them into solutions.

What kind of trash do you produce the most? If it's non-recyclable and non-perishable, there's a more efficient alternative. For example, if plastic packaging makes up the bulk of your waste, phase out individually packaged food items by buying in bulk. If you waste a lot of textiles, there may be more durable or eco-friendly materials available for your home.

For each category, identify at least one way your could reduce the amount of waste you send to the landfill.

Estimate how much reducing the waste you identified in Question D might save on your monthly trash bill.