Pre-Lab
1) How much solid waste is produced in the US per day? Per year?
60,000 tons of waste is produced by the United States per day and 210 million tons is produced per year.
2) How much is that per capita/per day? Per year?
The waste per capita is 1460 pounds per year, which equals roughly 4 pounds per day.
3) Where does this waste go?
Some of the waste goes to landfills and incinerators and some of the waste is recycled and reused.
4) What different things can be done with waste?
Waste can be reused, recycled, burned, or buried.
5) What do you predict the largest amount of waste you and your family produces is?
The largest amount of waste that is produced from myself and my family is probably empty food containers.
60,000 tons of waste is produced by the United States per day and 210 million tons is produced per year.
2) How much is that per capita/per day? Per year?
The waste per capita is 1460 pounds per year, which equals roughly 4 pounds per day.
3) Where does this waste go?
Some of the waste goes to landfills and incinerators and some of the waste is recycled and reused.
4) What different things can be done with waste?
Waste can be reused, recycled, burned, or buried.
5) What do you predict the largest amount of waste you and your family produces is?
The largest amount of waste that is produced from myself and my family is probably empty food containers.
Parts of the Experiment
Control Variables: The exclusion of certain items, the 24 hour time limit
Independent Variable:The amount of waste produced, the type of waste produced
Dependent Variable: The mass of waste produced
Control Group: There was no control group for this experiment
Experimental Group: The waste being measured
Independent Variable:The amount of waste produced, the type of waste produced
Dependent Variable: The mass of waste produced
Control Group: There was no control group for this experiment
Experimental Group: The waste being measured
Problem
How much waste is produced in a 24 hour cycle, and how can it be disposed?
Hypothesis
If 24 hour's worth of waste was to be collected, then it would be mostly recyclable and would weigh near 30 grams.
Materials List
-bag to collect waste
-waste
-waste
Procedure
1. Collect trash over a 24 hour period.
2. Separate trash
3. Measure trash and record type
4. Look back over results and determine how much trash is produced in 24 hours
2. Separate trash
3. Measure trash and record type
4. Look back over results and determine how much trash is produced in 24 hours
Observations
All of the trash collect was recyclable and of low weight. Also, none of the trash as reusable.
Data Table and Graphs
Analysis and Conclusions
Analysis Questions:
1. What is done to control the amount of pollution created from a landfill?
Clay and concrete barriers are used to contain the waste to underground. The landfills are also equipped to handle rainwater and other sources of runoff.
2. Many people think landfills should not be expensive since they are a hole in the ground. Explain why a landfill such as above can cost in the millions of dollars to build and keep up.
Landfills can cost millions of dollars to build and keep up because of the precautions that are taken to prevent pollution. The barrier around the waste and the runoff prevention systems are good examples.
3. How did the amount of waste you and your family each create compare with what you expected?
The amount of waste that was generated over a 24 hour period was less in quantity but more in weight than was expected.
4.What are some reasons the average could be different than your (or family’s) amount for one day?
The average weight of waste produced per family depends on the dynamics of that family. Family size and lifestyle plays a role in the amount of trash that is produced in 24 hours. Large families will typically produce more waste and families that usually cook at home will also produce more waste.
5. Calculate how much trash you accumulate in one month’s time:
In one month, 1140g of trash would be produced.
6. There are approximately 1,800 students at our school. How much trash do you estimate would be produced by all the students in our school over the course of 10 months (one school year)?
Concerning the 38g per day of waste being produced by each student, the school would produce 20,520,000g of waste per each school year.
7. What was the total weight of your recyclable material?
The total weight of the recyclable material was 38g.
8. What was the total weight of your reusable material?
The total weight of the reusable material was 0g.
9. What was the total weight of your compostable material?
The total weight of the compostable material was 12g.
10. Now, calculate how much trash you would produce if all the recyclable, reusable, and compostable material was not in your trash bag? How much trash would that save over the course of one year?
0 grams of trash would be produced per year because all of the trash was recyclable, reusable, or compostable. This would save 13,870g of trash over the course of a year.
11. How much could the school save through the course of one school year if all the recyclable, reusable, and compostable material was not thrown in the landfill?
Concerning the 38g per day average, the school could save 20,520,000g of trash per year if all of the recyclable, reusable, and compostable material was not thrown in the landfill.
Conclusion
The hypothesis was, in fairness, correct. The waste was all recyclable and the weight was in the 30's. However, the data was only collected for one person, not a whole family. This greatly reduces the waste production of the experiment, thereby effecting the results. If trash would have been collected for a whole family, then there would have been items that would have not been recyclable, reusable, nor compostable, which would provide a different outlook on the trash production by not just an individual, but also a family, school, and community. By reading the EPA's website, one can see that the experiment yielded results that are greatly below the average of American families. Had trash been collected for more than one person, the results may have been more accurate.
Source: "Wastes Homepage." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.
1. What is done to control the amount of pollution created from a landfill?
Clay and concrete barriers are used to contain the waste to underground. The landfills are also equipped to handle rainwater and other sources of runoff.
2. Many people think landfills should not be expensive since they are a hole in the ground. Explain why a landfill such as above can cost in the millions of dollars to build and keep up.
Landfills can cost millions of dollars to build and keep up because of the precautions that are taken to prevent pollution. The barrier around the waste and the runoff prevention systems are good examples.
3. How did the amount of waste you and your family each create compare with what you expected?
The amount of waste that was generated over a 24 hour period was less in quantity but more in weight than was expected.
4.What are some reasons the average could be different than your (or family’s) amount for one day?
The average weight of waste produced per family depends on the dynamics of that family. Family size and lifestyle plays a role in the amount of trash that is produced in 24 hours. Large families will typically produce more waste and families that usually cook at home will also produce more waste.
5. Calculate how much trash you accumulate in one month’s time:
In one month, 1140g of trash would be produced.
6. There are approximately 1,800 students at our school. How much trash do you estimate would be produced by all the students in our school over the course of 10 months (one school year)?
Concerning the 38g per day of waste being produced by each student, the school would produce 20,520,000g of waste per each school year.
7. What was the total weight of your recyclable material?
The total weight of the recyclable material was 38g.
8. What was the total weight of your reusable material?
The total weight of the reusable material was 0g.
9. What was the total weight of your compostable material?
The total weight of the compostable material was 12g.
10. Now, calculate how much trash you would produce if all the recyclable, reusable, and compostable material was not in your trash bag? How much trash would that save over the course of one year?
0 grams of trash would be produced per year because all of the trash was recyclable, reusable, or compostable. This would save 13,870g of trash over the course of a year.
11. How much could the school save through the course of one school year if all the recyclable, reusable, and compostable material was not thrown in the landfill?
Concerning the 38g per day average, the school could save 20,520,000g of trash per year if all of the recyclable, reusable, and compostable material was not thrown in the landfill.
Conclusion
The hypothesis was, in fairness, correct. The waste was all recyclable and the weight was in the 30's. However, the data was only collected for one person, not a whole family. This greatly reduces the waste production of the experiment, thereby effecting the results. If trash would have been collected for a whole family, then there would have been items that would have not been recyclable, reusable, nor compostable, which would provide a different outlook on the trash production by not just an individual, but also a family, school, and community. By reading the EPA's website, one can see that the experiment yielded results that are greatly below the average of American families. Had trash been collected for more than one person, the results may have been more accurate.
Source: "Wastes Homepage." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.