Environmental Problems & Solutions

GEOG 301: Bay Area Environments Spring 2019

Introduction

Trash Audit Lab Due May 6th by 3:00 PM

It’s easy to ignore how much trash each person generates on a daily basis, especially with the convenience of curb-side trash pickup. Throwing away a banana peel or old newspaper might not seem like much, until we see the cumulative impact of everyone’s combined trash production. By performing a personal trash audit, you will gain perspective about how everyone’s individual waste contributes to solid waste management problems.

Activity Summary

For this assignment, you will keep a trash log where you record everything

you dispose of for three days, except for sewage well because that’s just gross. Write down in a notebook, or on your phone, what you throw away. Keep track of how you dispose of each item: garbage bin, recycling bin, compost bin, litter, other. Please be mindful and honest.

Deliverable

You will need to submit via TurnItIn on iLearn a paper of at least two (2)

pages, 12-point font, double spaced. Your essay must be written in a proper format, i.e. title, introduction, discussion/body paragraph(s), and strong conclusion. Don’t forget to cite all your sources if you use any, and include a references section if you do use outside sources. Your paper must address all of the following in the Discussion section:

1. What did your trash log show you?

a. What kinds of waste do you generate? b. Which of your activities generate the most waste? c. Why might this be the case?

2. Extrapolate your waste production to one year. a. Think about how much domestic waste the city of San Francisco

produces in one year (837,000 people). b. Think about how much domestic waste the Bay Area produces in one

year (7 million people). 3. What’s one fairly simple change you could make to generate less waste?

a. How likely are you to make this change? Explain. 4. What’s another larger or less simple change you could make to generate even

less waste? The article & videos on iLearn can help you answer these questions.

a. How would you go about implementing this change? b. How likely are you to try? Explain.

GEOG 301: Bay Area Environments Spring 2019

5. How does your consumption and waste disposal behaviors compare with those of your housemates, family members, co-workers or friends?

a. How do these people influence your consumption and waste disposal behavior?

b. How do you (or how might you) influence theirs?

Rubric I. Introduction (5 Points)

• Addresses the topic & introduces your trash log (3 pts) • Motivation (energy use, pollution, climate change, Bay Area

sustainability issues, etc.) (2 pts) II. Discussion (5 Points)

• Describe in detail your answers to questions 1-5 above. (5 pts)

III. Conclusion (5 Points) • Readdresses the overall topic & it’s importance (2 pts) • Summarizes main points of research (3 pts)

IV. Mechanics (5 Points) • Original work (2 pts) • Spelling, grammar & punctuation (2 pts) • Proper formatting (1 pt)