Garbage Golf (Humanities)
For the Humanities portion of this project, my class wrote two major pieces: our Annotated Bibliographies, and our Solution Letters about a waste product that we researched. For the Annotated Bibliography, we researched a specific waste topic (the problem, solution, and making of it), found at least eight pages of written articles about it, annotated the articles, and wrote about the articles. The Solution Letter was a letter written to a company who uses our waste topic, urging them to use a more eco-friendly version of it. We also wrote many reflections about the beginning of the project, end of the project, field trip to the Miramar Landfill, and trash analysis for home and school. My group's waste product was PVC pipes.
Project Introduction:
Before the project, my understanding of the garbage industry was very slim: Products are used, trash is thrown in the trash bin, taken away by the garbage man, and thrown into a landfill. The concept of landfills was always a bit annoying to me, as it’s essentially just dumping our trash in a hole. I hadn’t realized the extent of their pollution until this project, though. When I realized what we were doing for this project, I was very happy because I thought I would be able to learn about what really happens to trash, and I did. Learning that we would be able to write letters to a company about a waste problem was great too. I really thought it would be great to actually write and send a letter that might make a difference.
Trash Analysis Reflection:
In my home trash analysis, something that struck me was the amount of paper towels and napkins we use as a family. I knew my family was relatively good about recycling recyclable items, but I guess it didn’t occur to them that napkins are paper, and therefore recyclable. Something I was wondering when looking at my data for this activity was: Are items (like paper plates, napkins, etc.) recyclable if they have food/non-recyclable grease/gunk on them? I was also wondering if my family is really recycling everything we can, and how to make that happen if it isn’t already.
In the school trash analysis, something I noticed was the amount of recyclable items in the trash can. There were big pieces of paper, cardboard, paper plates, etc. There was a lot of plastic used, and that's what PVC is mostly made of, so this helped our group, as this was our waste product. After doing the school trash analysis, I am wondering how our school can limit the amount of trash that we produce. I feel like the project that we are doing, especially generating ideas on how to fix the problems with trash, are really going to help soften the blow from this issue. When we go on our field trip to the landfill, I plan to ask the Waste Management representative if we can recycle things that have leftover food, or that kind of stuff on it?
Personal Reflection:
Some changes that I’d like to make in my household based on what we learned in the project, are buying products with less packaging and not using as many non-recyclable products. Waste relates very directly to consumption because almost every product in stores (and not in stores) has at least some packaging on it, which is almost always thrown away. Knowing the effect that all of the packaging has on the environment is making me think more about what I buy, and what I throw away. When it comes to trash and waste, I’m still wondering what kinds of plastics are actually recyclable, and if the recycling symbol is missing/not included in some products. Something that I fear in relation to trash and waste is that, in the future, people will be even worse about recycling, and buying recyclable products.
Before the project, my understanding of the garbage industry was very slim: Products are used, trash is thrown in the trash bin, taken away by the garbage man, and thrown into a landfill. The concept of landfills was always a bit annoying to me, as it’s essentially just dumping our trash in a hole. I hadn’t realized the extent of their pollution until this project, though. When I realized what we were doing for this project, I was very happy because I thought I would be able to learn about what really happens to trash, and I did. Learning that we would be able to write letters to a company about a waste problem was great too. I really thought it would be great to actually write and send a letter that might make a difference.
Trash Analysis Reflection:
In my home trash analysis, something that struck me was the amount of paper towels and napkins we use as a family. I knew my family was relatively good about recycling recyclable items, but I guess it didn’t occur to them that napkins are paper, and therefore recyclable. Something I was wondering when looking at my data for this activity was: Are items (like paper plates, napkins, etc.) recyclable if they have food/non-recyclable grease/gunk on them? I was also wondering if my family is really recycling everything we can, and how to make that happen if it isn’t already.
In the school trash analysis, something I noticed was the amount of recyclable items in the trash can. There were big pieces of paper, cardboard, paper plates, etc. There was a lot of plastic used, and that's what PVC is mostly made of, so this helped our group, as this was our waste product. After doing the school trash analysis, I am wondering how our school can limit the amount of trash that we produce. I feel like the project that we are doing, especially generating ideas on how to fix the problems with trash, are really going to help soften the blow from this issue. When we go on our field trip to the landfill, I plan to ask the Waste Management representative if we can recycle things that have leftover food, or that kind of stuff on it?
Personal Reflection:
Some changes that I’d like to make in my household based on what we learned in the project, are buying products with less packaging and not using as many non-recyclable products. Waste relates very directly to consumption because almost every product in stores (and not in stores) has at least some packaging on it, which is almost always thrown away. Knowing the effect that all of the packaging has on the environment is making me think more about what I buy, and what I throw away. When it comes to trash and waste, I’m still wondering what kinds of plastics are actually recyclable, and if the recycling symbol is missing/not included in some products. Something that I fear in relation to trash and waste is that, in the future, people will be even worse about recycling, and buying recyclable products.
Annotated Bibliography:Ertl, Josef (2008). Manufacturing and Raw Materials
http://www.renolit.com/fileadmin/renolit/corporate/images/Everything_about_PVC.pdf
The reporter in this article is announcing all of the “ingredients” used to make a PVC pipe. Josef explains that a PVC product starts with rock salt and oil He also talks about how you can bend PVC, to make it more flexible and shapeable. PVC is coated with a layer of stabilisers to help protect it from change due to heat, UV-light, or oxygen. He talks about how in Europe, 70% of PVC is used for window profiles and pipes. In this source, he also talks about the health hazards of toxins in the air from PVC.I will use this information because it has many details about the making of a PVC product. This will affect our project because before we knew about PVC, we were concerned that there wasn’t a way to bend it to make the curves for our golf course, but after reading this, we figured out that if we heat it to a certain extent, it will be able to bend.
Ertl, Josef (2008) Recycling
http://www.renolit.com/fileadmin/renolit/corporate/images/Everything_about_PVC.pdf
The reporter in this article is implying certain ways that we as a society have come up with, to promote the idea of recycling PVC waste. For example, like mechanical recycling; it’s about how unmixed PVC waste (scraps) can flow directly back into production to create more PVC. One idea that Josef talks about is waste incineration. Waste incineration is about burning the PVC waste, so it doesn’t take up space at landfills, the bad side of that is that the air is going to be polluted if we just burn all of our waste. Some problems that people have with this is that it’s not technically “recycling” if we’re just burning it to get it out of the way. I will use the information from this source because it has many good points/ideas of how we as a society can help figure out ways to make our earth greener. Such as making the disposed PVC products into a source that we need (like how the people in the video we watched made trash into electricity). I will use this source to help me write my letter to the PVC production company, and have examples of ways that we don’t have to waste so many PVC “scraps,” to make PVC products.
Thornton, Joe (2005). Environmental Impacts of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Building Material
http://www.healthybuilding.net/pvc/ThorntonPVCSummary.html
The reporter in this article is indicating the dangerous environmental impacts of PVC plastic. The disposal of PVC is dangerous towards humans and animals because PVC contains dioxins which is a poisonous substance that is said to be one of the many reasons for causing cancer. Thornton points out the many harmful reasons that we should not have PVC disposal plantations anymore, including: the air is now toxicated with dioxins that can get into the bodies of mothers which can affect their offspring, about every person on this planet is now exposed to the poisons, and that they can make unhealthy people more unhealthy by consuming the toxicated air which makes them weaker. I will use this information in my research paper because this has opened my mind of how dangerous the disposal of plastic products can be, and how important it is to start recycling these products, so that we don’t dump them in some disposal plantation. This source was very helpful because it was very detailed, and explained the scientific parts of how dangerous PVC disposal can be. I will resolve this conflict by sending a letter to a PVC plantation about the dangers of PVC disposal, and how we can slowly but surely eliminate it. This will affect my project because my group is able to use recycled PVC pipes for our miniature golf course.
http://www.renolit.com/fileadmin/renolit/corporate/images/Everything_about_PVC.pdf
The reporter in this article is announcing all of the “ingredients” used to make a PVC pipe. Josef explains that a PVC product starts with rock salt and oil He also talks about how you can bend PVC, to make it more flexible and shapeable. PVC is coated with a layer of stabilisers to help protect it from change due to heat, UV-light, or oxygen. He talks about how in Europe, 70% of PVC is used for window profiles and pipes. In this source, he also talks about the health hazards of toxins in the air from PVC.I will use this information because it has many details about the making of a PVC product. This will affect our project because before we knew about PVC, we were concerned that there wasn’t a way to bend it to make the curves for our golf course, but after reading this, we figured out that if we heat it to a certain extent, it will be able to bend.
Ertl, Josef (2008) Recycling
http://www.renolit.com/fileadmin/renolit/corporate/images/Everything_about_PVC.pdf
The reporter in this article is implying certain ways that we as a society have come up with, to promote the idea of recycling PVC waste. For example, like mechanical recycling; it’s about how unmixed PVC waste (scraps) can flow directly back into production to create more PVC. One idea that Josef talks about is waste incineration. Waste incineration is about burning the PVC waste, so it doesn’t take up space at landfills, the bad side of that is that the air is going to be polluted if we just burn all of our waste. Some problems that people have with this is that it’s not technically “recycling” if we’re just burning it to get it out of the way. I will use the information from this source because it has many good points/ideas of how we as a society can help figure out ways to make our earth greener. Such as making the disposed PVC products into a source that we need (like how the people in the video we watched made trash into electricity). I will use this source to help me write my letter to the PVC production company, and have examples of ways that we don’t have to waste so many PVC “scraps,” to make PVC products.
Thornton, Joe (2005). Environmental Impacts of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Building Material
http://www.healthybuilding.net/pvc/ThorntonPVCSummary.html
The reporter in this article is indicating the dangerous environmental impacts of PVC plastic. The disposal of PVC is dangerous towards humans and animals because PVC contains dioxins which is a poisonous substance that is said to be one of the many reasons for causing cancer. Thornton points out the many harmful reasons that we should not have PVC disposal plantations anymore, including: the air is now toxicated with dioxins that can get into the bodies of mothers which can affect their offspring, about every person on this planet is now exposed to the poisons, and that they can make unhealthy people more unhealthy by consuming the toxicated air which makes them weaker. I will use this information in my research paper because this has opened my mind of how dangerous the disposal of plastic products can be, and how important it is to start recycling these products, so that we don’t dump them in some disposal plantation. This source was very helpful because it was very detailed, and explained the scientific parts of how dangerous PVC disposal can be. I will resolve this conflict by sending a letter to a PVC plantation about the dangers of PVC disposal, and how we can slowly but surely eliminate it. This will affect my project because my group is able to use recycled PVC pipes for our miniature golf course.
Savannah Tweed
1420 West San Marcos Boulevard San Marcos, California 92078
Mr. Todd Gloria
Mayor of San Diego
202 C Street, 11th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
Dear Mayor Gloria,
I am writing to you as a concerned 9th grader at High Tech High North County. PVC (or Polyvinyl Chloride) is a hazardous material, which if we don’t stop throwing it in our landfills, it can poison thousands of people. Not a lot of people know about the dangers of PVC, but by throwing PVC pipes away, we are harming our community. The problem with disposing of PVC pipes in landfills, is that over time, they decompose, and this results in leaking chemical toxins (dioxins) into the environment. My goal is to create a safe environment, where we’re not polluting the air with dangerous, toxic chemicals.
Dioxins are the most dangerous known man-made carcinogen, and PVC is the largest contributor to the manufacturing of dioxins. If you are exposed to PVC, as it’s being manufactured, hydrogen chloride can cause permanent respiratory damage, by permeating the air that you consume. Additionally, PVC can smolder unnoticed, and release dangerous gases that present continual health hazards. Dioxins are said to be one of the deadliest poisons of all, which is one of the biggest contributors to PVC pipes. If recycled properly, PVC pipes can be broken down into water, carbon dioxide, and hydrochloric acid, preventing the dangers of exposing chemical dioxins into the air.
By recycling PVC, it can be broken down into water, carbon dioxide, and hydrochloric acid, which is safer by not exposing the toxic dioxins into the air. A solution that I have to reduce the dangers of exposing the chemicals to our community, is that we could have a facility or a PVC recycling center, where PVC pipes are gathered and recycled. By marketing the three elements (water, carbon dioxide, and hydrochloric acid) to vendors, the profit can in turn be used to support the construction of the recycling center. I believe that you are an integral part of solving this dilemma, by promoting the resolution that PVC should be eliminated from landfills. You can do this by holding public speeches, or have a commercial awaring the people about the dangers of PVC. You can talk about how harmful the chemical toxins in PVC are to us, and how it’s polluting our atmosphere. I don’t know you, but I know that this community will listen to you, and what you have to say. I just ask that you can help make our community better and advise people of the dangers and risks of continuing the disposal of PVC pipes into landfills.
I appreciate you taking the time to read my ideas, and I hope that you consider announcing the dangerous hazards that PVC is exposing to our community. If you have any questions about my request, or would like to contact me, you can reach me at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Savannah Tweed
9th grade
High Tech High North County
1420 West San Marcos Boulevard San Marcos, California 92078
Mr. Todd Gloria
Mayor of San Diego
202 C Street, 11th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
Dear Mayor Gloria,
I am writing to you as a concerned 9th grader at High Tech High North County. PVC (or Polyvinyl Chloride) is a hazardous material, which if we don’t stop throwing it in our landfills, it can poison thousands of people. Not a lot of people know about the dangers of PVC, but by throwing PVC pipes away, we are harming our community. The problem with disposing of PVC pipes in landfills, is that over time, they decompose, and this results in leaking chemical toxins (dioxins) into the environment. My goal is to create a safe environment, where we’re not polluting the air with dangerous, toxic chemicals.
Dioxins are the most dangerous known man-made carcinogen, and PVC is the largest contributor to the manufacturing of dioxins. If you are exposed to PVC, as it’s being manufactured, hydrogen chloride can cause permanent respiratory damage, by permeating the air that you consume. Additionally, PVC can smolder unnoticed, and release dangerous gases that present continual health hazards. Dioxins are said to be one of the deadliest poisons of all, which is one of the biggest contributors to PVC pipes. If recycled properly, PVC pipes can be broken down into water, carbon dioxide, and hydrochloric acid, preventing the dangers of exposing chemical dioxins into the air.
By recycling PVC, it can be broken down into water, carbon dioxide, and hydrochloric acid, which is safer by not exposing the toxic dioxins into the air. A solution that I have to reduce the dangers of exposing the chemicals to our community, is that we could have a facility or a PVC recycling center, where PVC pipes are gathered and recycled. By marketing the three elements (water, carbon dioxide, and hydrochloric acid) to vendors, the profit can in turn be used to support the construction of the recycling center. I believe that you are an integral part of solving this dilemma, by promoting the resolution that PVC should be eliminated from landfills. You can do this by holding public speeches, or have a commercial awaring the people about the dangers of PVC. You can talk about how harmful the chemical toxins in PVC are to us, and how it’s polluting our atmosphere. I don’t know you, but I know that this community will listen to you, and what you have to say. I just ask that you can help make our community better and advise people of the dangers and risks of continuing the disposal of PVC pipes into landfills.
I appreciate you taking the time to read my ideas, and I hope that you consider announcing the dangerous hazards that PVC is exposing to our community. If you have any questions about my request, or would like to contact me, you can reach me at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Savannah Tweed
9th grade
High Tech High North County