BLOOMSURG, PA - Matt Bevin once said, “While it may seem small, the ripple effect of small things is extraordinary.” There are two ways to look at this. We may think that one more straw or one more plastic bag isn’t a big deal, but once you take the time to change your habits, you will realize that those little things had a big impact over time.
It only takes a few small changes to make a difference. As a group, we – Jenny Green, Jordan Hummel, Olivia Minzola, and Emily Newell – decided to see what kind of an impact we have on the environment on a day-to-day basis. We collected our trash for a day and totaled it at the very end.
Our first group member, Jordan Hummel, had a total of 26 pieces of trash over the course of a day. At the end of the day she wrote, “Carrying around your trash for the day really makes you realize how many little things you can collect over a short period of time. I didn’t have as much as I thought that I would, but I know that if I did this either on a day that I worked or if I did it for more than one day, I’d have so much more. I would like to do it for a week and see how much I accumulate in that time frame. Again, I didn’t have too much. In total I had 26 things I collected throughout the day. Out of those 26 things, I had 9 things that I could recycle and then the rest was garbage.”
She continued by saying, “I always thought that I do a good job at not wasting a lot but having 26 things in just one day makes me think about the rest of the days, especially on days I work. I can’t tell you how much stuff I throw away then. No one asked or looked at me weird when I was hoarding my garbage. I tried to make it as inconspicuous as I could, like just putting it in a bag. I had a lot of receipts too. I went to the bank and did three things and they gave me a receipt for each transaction and it was not necessary. The weight was about a pound, which doesn’t feel like a lot, but I know it adds up and there’s people out there who collect more trash than me in a day as well. Overall, I liked this little “challenge” and I would like to try and go a little bit more than a day if I were to do this again.”
Like Jordan said, some trash, such as receipts, can be avoided and is not necessary. It is a growing trend to email or text a customer a receipt instead of printing them to save paper, while other places like CVS use far too much paper when printing out receipts.
Our second group member, Olivia Minzola, collected around 16 pieces of trash and had some extra at the end of the day that she forgot to record. When the day was over she wrote, “I honestly didn’t realize how much of a burden I was to the planet until I spent an entire day carrying around my trash. I did think that I would end up collecting a bit more but, due to the stress of classes and work, I collected a smaller amount than that of what I usually consume on a daily basis. Throughout the day, I came to the sad conclusion that I am a paper towel waster. When I sorted through my trash at the end of the day, I couldn’t believe how many paper towels I had wasted. Some were barely used and yet I still threw them away.”
“I also collected two plastic water bottles, a few receipts, two sticky notes, an empty container of Dannon yogurt, a Simply Nature granola bar wrapper, plastic wrapping, and a blueberry muffin wrapper. I did make a big mistake that day though. I went to McDonald’s very late that night with a group of friends and forgot to hold onto my trash. I was upset with myself for messing up the experiment, but I’m just not used to holding onto my trash all day,” said Minzola.
Paper towels are another inconvenience that could be avoided. Instead of using paper towels, use a reusable towel that you can wash and use again. This saves a great deal of paper and is a better choice for the well-being of the environment.
Emily Newell, our third group member, came to a total of 11 pieces of trash by the end of the day. She wrote later that night, “After one whole day of collecting my trash it was interesting to see how much of unnecessary things I use and throw out. I honestly thought I would have had a little bit more than what I collected but I also realized how well I do with reducing the amount of trash I consume and have. For example, I have a hydro flask that I use for all my liquids, specifically my water. By having a reusable water bottle you don’t have to go through plastic cups or plastic water bottles. I, too, am a paper towel waster – I use them almost every time I wash my hands here or need to clean up something.”
“Other forms of trash I collected were coffee cups; I had Dunkin’ and Starbucks that day. I know for a fact I get Dunkin’ every day and that means I am wasting a plastic cup every day. Altogether, I only had 11 items, which I feel for a whole day is pretty good. After doing this little experiment, I learned things I can change to help my use of trash and how I can better recycle the items I had,” said Newell.
A great way to reduce your trash, like Newell said, is to use reusable water bottles and coffee cups. If you are someone who drinks a lot of water, coffee, tea, or anything you can use these bottles for, it is a great way to do your part in helping the environment.
As the fourth member of the group, I ended up with only ten pieces of trash at the end of the day. At night I recorded like the other girls did and wrote, “After carrying around my trash for the day, I realized how much I accumulate on a daily basis that could be avoided. I had two plastic bags that I would have been able to carry their contents without them. They acted more as a convenience than a necessity. I think most of that I ended up with was more about convenience than anything. I use my reusable travel coffee mug and water bottle on a regular basis. Every once in a while, I will forget them, but I do my best to not use plastic products as much as I can. I also collected some paper food wrappers, a few napkins, a plastic fruit snack wrapper and my disposable daily contact holders. I actually didn’t have as much trash as I expected to. I still had about ten pieces of trash and, overall, think I did pretty well with this experiment. It was interesting to see the difference between the four of us and how much we each accumulated over the course of a day.”
If everyone took the time to change their habits, we could do a lot of good for the environment and help change the affect we have on it for the better.
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