SUBJECT AREAS:
home economics, English, social studies
CONCEPT:
Each of us is responsible for the size and content of the waste
stream we generate.
OBJECTIVE:
Students will assess typical purchasing practices to determine
the influence of packaging on consumer choices and to determine
if consumers consider waste disposal and recycling when making
purchasing decisions.
BACKGROUND:
$1 out of every $11 is spent on packaging. While we need to protect
the contents of the products we are purchasing, the amount of
unnecessary packaging can be excessive. Buying reasonably packaged
products would decrease the amount of waste we throw out.
PROCEDURE:
1. Discuss the leading questions:
What influences our purchasing choices?
Why is there so much waste?
Use the Survey
on Use of Disposable Products or develop your own questionnaire
with the class to use in interviewing people in a grocery store
to find out why they are purchasing the items in their cart.
Hypothesize from class discussion what the outcome of the poll
will be.
2. For homework, have students interview
family members for practice. Then have them interview shoppers,
asking each about several items in their cart. Before the students
do the interviewing, discuss with them the following points:
a. When surveying people you do not
know in a store, first get permission from the store manager
for conducting the survey.
b. Introduce yourself and ask the shoppers
if they would mindanswering some questions for a school survey.
c. Thank them, and be polite.
3. As a class, chart and analyze the
results of the poll. Compare with class hypotheses. Identify
the most common reasons for buying a food product. What percentage
of the shoppers are concerned about waste disposal costs and
options when deciding what to buy? How often was recyclability
taken into account? How many shoppers knew of local recycling
opportunities?
FOLLOW-UP:
Discuss:
What are the major influences on consumer
habits?
How can we change our purchasing habits to reduce solid waste?
Have students write a Positive Action
Checklist for themselves or for others to help people become
aware of solid waste problems and solutions.
Publish the class findings in the local
newspaper.
Disposable products: (examples: shampoo
bottles, fast food containers, toothpaste pumps, plastic packaging,
juice boxes, razors, plastic bags, etc.)
2. How much of these types of products
do you buy? (be specific)
How often?
3. Do you consider buying alternatives to disposable products?
(examples: reusable canvas bags rather than plastic or paper
ones, unpackaged products versus packaged ones, washable dishes
rather than disposable ones)
4. What do you do with disposable products
when you are finished with them?
5. Are you aware of opportunities for
plastic recycling in your community?
Yes ____ No _____
Do you save plastics for recycling?
Yes ____ No _____
6. Are you aware of opportunities for
glass recycling in your community?
Yes ____ No _____
Do you save glass for recycling?
Yes ____ No _____
7. What types of things do you recycle
and why? (example: to claim deposit, for environmental reasons)
6. How often do you buy clothes? (number
of items per week, month or year)
How do you decide what to buy? (Are
you conscious of fashion, etc.? Be specific.)
What do you do with clothes you don't
want anymore?
Survey written by Ann Gouldin,
High School Senior 1990