Plastic Bag Consumption Experiment

Purpose of the experiment
From this experiment we are trying to find the plastic bag consumption rate in our daily lives as college students. And also compare the result with the national data of plastic bag usage in the U.S. This experiment will not only allow us to find ways to reduce the number of plastic bags used but show the big impact each of us have on the environment.

Research Question
Are our plastic bag consumption patterns typical?

Our findings
From the experiment, we found out that the plastic bags used were mostly a result of grocery shopping from grocery stores. And most of the plastic bags re-used were used as garbage bags at home. Overall, the group plastic bag consumption rate was similar to the national data. This explains the large numbers of plastic bag used and thrown out in the U.S with a small number of recycled plastic bags. Locally, we found that Pullman lacks a recycling system with only Safeway offering recycling. One student that has been recycling seemed to have mistaken the trash bins outside his apartment to a recycling bin. Even if a student really wanted to recycle he had no other way but to go to Safeway himself. Due to these factors, many of the students had trouble recycling and finally decided to throw the plastic bags away. It seems reasonable to ban the use of plastic bags since we lack a recycling system that will keep the environment clean.

Date: May 16, 2008 - May 23, 2008 (1 week).
Place of experiment: Pullman, WA.
Participants: Lana, Gebru, Borey, Lok, Jane.

What did we do?
Our group members counted all the plastic bag consumed at home in a week. We tried to divide up the consumption into three categories recycled, re-used and thrown away.

Graph:

Lana: Total 10, Thrown away 10
Gebru: Total 20, Recycle 16, Re-used 4
Borey: Total 8, Thrown away 8
Lok: Total 6, Re-used 6
Jane: Total 10, Recycled 1, Re-used 8, Thrown away 1

Comments:

"I had difficulty recycling since the school stopped the recycling program for locals" (Lana)

"Start using reusable bags!" (Gebru)

"Personally, I think the best way to reduce the number of plastic bags is stop using them! Use paper bags instead of plastic!" (Jane)