data collection | Fall 2015 Science Forward at Brooklyn College

Guilty for disregarding the hazardous effects of plastics and ignoring the need to recycle them? I certainly am. To be honest…before this semester, I did not pay heed to plastics, let alone to any wastes that require recycling. I did not own a separate recycling can, as I didn’t care much nor understand the reason for recycling. However, following the lectures given in this semester, I will admit, I am guilty- I am guilty for disregarding the harmful effects plastics have on the environment.

Following the Plastics Data Collection, I became extremely aware of every piece of plastic that was thrown away. I had a separate bag that collected mine and my husband’s plastics. I did not think for a second that I would actually begin recycling after this assignment. I thought to myself, ‘well, I’ll do this for 4 days just for Professor Branco.’ Oh, How I was wrong!

My husband has been nagging me to recycle every single day since the day we married. Being ‘lazy’ and kind of inconsiderate to the environment, I found the idea of recycling ‘dumb’ and ‘time-consuming,’ having to separate certain wastes from others. To my dismay, during this assignment, I realized exactly how difficult the process of recycling really is, even though I ONLY separated plastics. Being mindful and attentive to what was considered plastic and what was not was an endless and tiresome process, but it opened my eyes to the abundance of plastics that I throw to waste each and every day. Every water bottle was considered 2 pieces of plastics. I consume about 6 bottles a day, alone, disregarding the amount of water my husband consumes, and the other pieces of plastics I throw away throughout the day. Although the process of separation was tedious, the results were outrageously shocking! At the end of each day, the bag set aside for plastics was full, while my usual garbage can was almost empty! Almost everything I put to waste contained wholes or fragments of plastic!!

I found that the research obtained before the data collection of plastics was extremely crucial because without the knowledge of the harmful effects plastics can have on the environment, I would not have paid heed to the amount of plastics I threw out a day and would certainly not begin recycling. I am proud to say, to my husband’s surprise (and happiness of course!) I bought a recycling bin for my house and began recycling what needs to be recycled. I now understand the effects that recycled wastes, especially plastics, can have on the environment and do not intend on causing any more harm!

So thanks to Professor Branco, for opening our eyes to the hazardous effects that plastics have on the marine environment!

Upon receiving the assignment for the home plastics data collection, I was immediately hesitant. I didn’t think my family would be particularly participatory, and besides, who wants to quantify the harm they’re personally contributing to the environment?

To my surprise, my family responded relatively warmly. I hung up a chart on the refrigerator with a pen conveniently attached (if they had to expend effort looking for a pen to record the data, I wasn’t going to get much), and acted as the annoying voice in the back of their head reminding them to be aware of the plastic they’re consuming.

In addition to learning more precisely what is and isn’t plastic, and in which category the pieces belong, the data collection compelled us to be mindful—mindful of our plastic intake, where we dispose of these plastics, and how dependent on plastics our lives have become.

I think that doing research before participating in this plastics audit was a good idea. It allowed us to be mindful in another way, besides the aforementioned ones: we were able to understand, at least to some extent, the damage of plastics in the environment. It contextualized what exactly we were doing. However, it then led me to wonder: yes, all those who participate in such a data collection will inevitably learn of the harm caused by plastics, but does that prompt a real shift in plastic consumption? Is there a tangible change in attitude and lifestyle? Besides, how many households could even make a dent in national—or even citywide—plastic consumption? We talked a bit in class about what corporations can do, since they’re the ones with the power. But what can the average layperson, who’s throwing out 6 pieces of plastic a day, do to positively impact the environment?

This led me to think about what recycling really does. Why didn’t we just count the plastic that we didn’t recycle? I did some simple googling, and came across an informative CBS News article, in which I learned that “the materials least likely to be melted and reused were plastic: PET…bottles and jars had a recycling rate of 29.2 percent, white translucent bottles a rate of 27.5 percent.” Also, a professor from Baruch (go CUNY!) was quoted as saying, “Even if everyone is America was perfect at recycling everything, it wouldn’t make a dent in the overall flow in the waste materials.” Ultimately though, recycling isn’t bad and “it helps companies and governments save some money in the long run.” Still, I’m not satisfied.

All I can say is, instead of providing answers, this data collection prompted lots of questions.

A Macaulay Honors College Seminar taught by Prof. Brett Branco