Energy Conservation Project Overview

There is a plastics scourge on our planet today.

Unlike glass or paper, it is not made of natural or renewable resources. Instead, plastics come from polymers of petrochemicals, or oil (www.priweb.org). In modern times, plastics make up huge amounts of consumer products…from rugs to furniture. Even our most vital resource, water, now comes to much of the American population through small, individually packaged, plastic bottles.

In an average class at Eagle River High School, I can look out over the audience and see one or two aluminum cans and four or more plastic bottles. Everyday, those large amounts of drink containers fill up our plastic trashbags and are hauled to the landfill, where they take decades to break down and fill up space. How much trash could my classroom prevent from being taken to the landfill every week if we instead recycle our plastic bottles?

There is a lot of information on the topic of plastics recycling (wikipedia ‘plastic recycling’ and their long page further gives you nine outstanding links as well). It is also a politically charged issue that has links to both large businesses (including Exxon) and grass roots environmentalism. The topic can spur into plastic bags, aluminum recycling, relative costs of transporting materials and much more. My challenge will be to keep it succinct and simple, and to remain objective.

I will collect data by counting the number of milk crates (900 cm3) of plastic bottles I take to the recycle center each week from my classroom.