What is the best way for people to recycle?
5-6944
5th grade
Nativity Catholic School
2024 San Mateo County Office of Education STEM Fair
Abstract
The purpose of my experiment was to reduce trash and to increase awareness about recycling. I did this experiment because trash ends up in landfills and the oceans. By doing an experiment, I also wanted to increase awareness that having less trash in populated places can reduce pollution. This project helps our earth’s problems of pollution and trash piling up in landfills and dumps. The results add to the knowledge about recycling and inform us that it can be easily done to keep the world healthier. Before my experiment, I thought that the recycling bins I placed in the park would collect more trash than the one in the mall, and the one at my house would have more trash than the bin at the gymnastics center. My independent variable - recycling bins. My dependent variable - weight. My control variable that I changed during the experiment - bins’ locations. I put the bins in places with a different population density (a park, a mall, my house, and a gymnastics center). I decided that I would place each bin in places with a different number of people in them across various periods in the day. After 3 days, I went to each location and weighed the recycling bins to see how much trash was recycled. Then, I put the results of my experiment on a graph and compared them to each other. The recycling bin in the park weighed 6 pounds, in the mall - 5 pounds, in my house - 3.5 pounds, and at the gymnastics center - 2.5 pounds. The results can educate and convince people to recycle. In conclusion, my experiment was done for a good cause, I have helped the world a little bit, and people can learn to keep recycling to make the world a better place.
Purpose Statement
Trash ends up in the ocean all the time, so recycling can help. When people recycle, less trash goes into the ocean and this helps reduce pollution. This is a good project because it can help reduce trash in the ocean and in dumps. The results from this project can add to what we already know by giving an experiment to help find even more information and to prove how people can recycle and make the environment grow healthier. This information can help people by convincing them to recycle more and to educate people about pollution.
Vs.
Hypothesis
I think when I set up the recycling bins in the park, it will reduce a little more trash in dumps than when I put the recycling bins in the mall. And with the recycling bin at my house, I would reduce more of the amount of trash in dumps then at the gymnastics center.
Experimental Procedures and
Materials
The procedures followed these rules:
Experimental Results
After my experiment, I found out that I reduced a total of 17 pounds of trash in total. The hypothesis I investigated was that the parks would reduce the most amount of trash, and once I got the results of my experiment, I found out that my prediction was supported by the experimental results. The recycling bin in the park weighed a little more than the one at the mall, but the recycling bin at the gymnastics center reduced the least amount of trash. I discovered that people can recycle a lot when they try, even if it is just a little gesture. My hypothesis showed me that parks can have more trash that people throw away than at homes or malls.
Park Mall Home Gymnastics center
6.5
6
5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
Analysis of Experimental
Results
After my experiment, I found out that I reduced 17 pounds of trash in total. At the park, about 6 pounds of trash was able to be recycled. At the mall, about 5 pounds of trash was recycled. At my house, about 3.5 pounds of trash was collected, and lastly, at the gymnastics center, about 2.5 pounds of trash was collected. In the park’s recycling bin, about half of the recycled waste was plastic bottles and the others were chip bag wrappers and soda cans. At the mall, about one third of what was collected was glass and paper like receipts. The other two thirds, were plastic and paper bags, and food containers. At my house, about one half of what I collected were food wrappers like the plastic and boxes from pasta and hotdogs in which the products were wrapped in. The other half of what I collected were things like yogurt containers and mail. Finally, at the gymnastics center, there were lots of plastic water bottles, hair ties, envelopes, and magazines.
Conclusions
In my hypothesis, I claimed that the recycling bin at the park would reduce more trash than the recycling bin at the mall. The results showed that the park reduced the most amount of trash, then the mall was second, my house was third, and the gymnastics center was last, which collected the least amount of trash. My hypothesis was supported by this experiment’s results because the recycling bins in the park reduced more trash than the ones in the mall, and the bins in my house reduced more trash than in the gymnastics center. After I have done my experiment, I have developed 2 new questions. The first one is “ which way of recycling is the most effective?” and “ which way of recycling is easiest for people and can be effective?”
Acknowledgements
I am thanking my mom for buying me the 4 recycling bins and for helping me through my whole project, specifically with formatting the summary, explaining the variables, and APA-style bibliography. I am also thanking my mom for helping me select places where to place the bins and for taking me there to go on with my experiment. Next, I am thanking the manager of the gymnastic center and mall because without their kindness and their permission, I would have never been able to do my experiment and help the world. Lastly, I am thanking and appreciating my science teacher and my principal for helping me understand the way the science fair works and for helping me with each step of the way.
Bibliography and
Sources
Resources