Transcript To Recycle or Not To Recycle - The College at Brockport

To Recycle or Not To Recycle
April Wittcop & Dan Bishop
Overview
1. Introduction
2. Recycling Trends and Efforts
3. Methods
4. Results
5. Suggestions
Introduction to Plastics
• Altogether there are more than 10,000 different kinds
of plastics.
• It takes 20-40 percent less energy to manufacture
plastic grocery bags than paper ones.
• It takes seven trucks to deliver the same number of
paper bags as can be carried in one truckload of
plastic bags.
• Plastics make up about 11% of American’s Municipal
Solid Waste by weight.
– This is approximately 25% of America’s total Municipal
Solid Waste by mass
PET Polyethylene Terephthalate
Two-liter beverage bottles, mouthwash bottles,
boil-in-bag pouches.
HDPE High Density Polyethylene
Milk jugs, trash bags, detergent bottles.
PVC Polyvinyl Chloride
Cooking oil bottles, packaging around meat.
LDPE Low Density Polyethylene
Grocery bags, produce bags, food wrap, bread
bags.
PP Polypropylene
Yogurt containers, shampoo bottles, straws,
margarine tubs, diapers.
PS Polystyrene
Hot beverage cups, take-home boxes, egg
cartons, meat trays, cd cases.
OTHER
All other types of plastics or packaging made
from more than one type of plastic.
Recycling Codes
• When purchasing
plastic products it
is important to
know which can
be reused and
which cannot.
– (link)
Statistics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
PET 17.5%
HDPE 9%
PVC 0%
LDPE 2%
PP 5%
PS 1.4%
OTHER 1%
Statistics
• 32% of all Municipal Solid Waste is recycled
in the United States
• 50% of all paper
• 45% of aluminum drink cans
• 63% of steel packaging
• 67% of all major appliances
• 34% of plastic bottles
– (epa.gov)
Trends and Efforts; Baltimore Harbor
• In Baltimore, Maryland a facility
on Harris Creek has been
installed to help catch the debris
that would normally enter
Baltimore Harbor.
• This net system currently collects
approximately 5 tons per month.
• The purpose of this project is
raise public awareness as to how
much trash is being funneled into
waterways through litter in the
streets, residential, commercial
and industrial areas.
– http://www.containerrecycling.org/general/interceptor
.htm
– www.baltimorewaters.org
Trends and Efforts; The Bottle Bill
• Gov. Eliot Spitzer has proposed an expanded bottle
bill at a press conference Tuesday February 27th,
2007.
– Under the expanded bottle bill, carbonated drinks would
not be the only beverages with a requires nickel deposit.
The new bill would include noncarbonated bottled drinks
such as iced tea, water, sports drinks and juice among
others.
– The new bill would also mandate that money from
unclaimed deposits go into the state Environmental
Protection Fund; something grocers, convenience store
operators and Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R,
C, I – Brunswick, have voiced their opposition to
Trends and Efforts; The Bottle Bill Continued
• HARTFORD -- The proposed expansion of the
state's bottle bill to include plastic water
containers cleared the Finance Committee this
week and could be headed to the Senate for a
vote.
• The proposal, which would create a five-cent
deposit on all plastic water bottles of two liters or
less, cleared the Finance Committee by 35-15
vote Tuesday (April 10th).
– Container-Recycling.org
“Surveys conducted by Procter & Gamble and
others show that while most people expect
their plastic to be recycled, they won’t go out
of their way or pay a few cents more to buy a
bottle made of recycled plastic.” (Energy
Information Administration)
Methods
• So we wanted to find out how often students at
SUNY Brockport recycled their products and
furthermore if they knew which products were
recyclable in Monroe County.
• We hypothesized that SUNY Brockport
students would recycle more plastics than the
general public does because students are more
aware of the results of recycling.
Methods
• Then in the Seymour Student Union we
surveyed everyone that would agree to listen
and answer some questions.
• Then we sat back and watched as people
disposed of their waste products, keeping track
of which ones went where.
Methods
• We asked them the following questions:
– Do you know what plastics can and cannot be
recycled in Monroe County?
– Do you buy recyclable products even if they cost
more?
– Have you ever taken an Environmental Science
class?
– If there were recycling bins next to every garbage
can, would you divide up your waste in order to
put recyclables in the recycle bins?
Methods / Results
• Of the Students Surveyed:
– 30% Physical Education Majors
– 10% Business Majors
– 10% Math Majors
– 20% English Majors
– 20% Environmental Science Majors
– 10% Other Majors
Results
• When Asked Our Survey Questions These Wear the
Results:
– Do you know what plastics can and cannot be recycled in
Monroe County?
• 30% yes – 70% no
– Do you buy recyclable products even if they cost more?
• 16% yes – 84% no
– Have you ever taken an Environmental Science class?
• 30% yes – 70% no
– If there were recycling bins next to every garbage can,
would you divide up your waste in order to put recyclables
in the recycle bin?
• 74% yes – 36% no
Discussion
• The percent of students that said they did know which
types of plastics were recyclable was consistent with
the percent of students that had taken an
environmental science course.
– The students that were Environmental Science majors had a
better understanding of what was recycled.
• Even though 74% of students would split up their
waste to recycle what they could, most will not go out
of their ways to purchase products that are recyclable
to begin with (84%).
Discussion
• When asked why students will not go out of
their ways to purchase recyclable products
here were some of their responses:
– “I don’t really thing about that when I buy a
product.”
– “I don’t know which ones to look for.”
– “I don’t have any extra money to spend for the
same product in different packaging, I go for
what’s cheaper.”
Results
Percent of Recycled Products
Vs. Trashed Products
37%
Recycled
Trashed
63%
Waste Products that Should or
Should Not Be Recycled
54%
46%
Should Be
Recycled
Should Not
Be Recycled
• 63% of the products
disposed of by students
during observation were put
into the trash. The other
37% were placed into
recycling.
• Only 54% of the products
seen disposed of should
have been placed into the
trash (as per the Monroe
County Recycling
Regulations. 1s and 2s!)
Results
• When combined, the two charts on the
previous page show that approximately 9% of
the recyclable products currently being sold on
campus are not being recycled.
– This is VERY high/good!
– However: There is an even larger percent of
products that could be recycled if more recyclable
products were sold/used on campus.
Results
• The students that threw their
products away outnumbered
the students that recycled
their products.
– What might be a good
explanation for this activity?
– Are there any ways that we, as
students, can increase the
percentage of waste that gets
recycled vs. going into a
landfill/trash?
Percent Waste - Recycled
Vs. Trashed
37%
63%
Recycled
Trashed
Suggestions
• Some suggestions to raise recycling and
awareness:
– Require an Environmental Science class (similar to
the Contemporary Issues class requirement)
– Sell only recyclable plastics on campus
– Placement of more recycling bins; both for paper
and plastic containers
– Designate what products can be recycled in which
containers
Suggestions