Personal Development Project: Domestic Plastic Waste

PDP

Anna Mimran

N0674604

Domestic Plastic Waste: How can we reduce it through design?

Words: 3,292 

Figure 1: Taken by Caroline Power off the coast of Roatan.

“Highlights our planet’s immense trash and plastic addiction problems.”

ABSTRACT

The objective of this report is to explore the detrimental effects imposed on the environment by the excessive use of plastic worldwide, specifically through the domestic setting. Furthermore, once informed on this topic through extensive secondary research, the research will then aim to define a path of how to tackle these implications through behaviours and define a design route. This research will be further supported primarily by carrying out a questionnaire, asking a vast body of people to explain their waste habits, attitudes and awareness towards domestic plastic waste. Moreover, this research will be extended through conducting small scale interviews, exploring a range of opinions and understanding habits of several different demographical categories. Finally, the last stage of research will be generate through the use of a waste diary, allowing the amount of plastic used in homes to be further emphasised and analysed in order to complete the final stage, defining a route for design innovation.

CONTENTS

FIGURE LIST …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6 LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………… 7-11 RESEARCH FINDINGS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….13-19 DESIGN PROPOSAL …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…… 20 CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……… 20 BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………… 22 APPENDIX 1: SURVEY …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…… 23-25 APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEWS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 26-33 APPENDIX 3: WASTE DIARIES ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 34-47

FIGURE LIST

Figure 1: http://www.parley.tv/updates/31-ways-to-fix-this-picture-plastic-pollution Figure 2: http://www.takepart.com/photos/biggest-landfills/great-pacific-garbage-patch-pacific-ocean Figure 3: https://www.dezeen.com/2017/11/13/ikea-form-us-with-love-odger-recycled-wood-plasticsustainable-chair/ Figure 4: http://www.ecoxpac.dk/green-fiber-bottle/ Figure 5: https://www.refinery29.uk/plastic-pollution-facts-parley Figure 6: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O114267/rcp2-chair-chair-atfield-jane/ 

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INTRODUCTION

Designing to combat the excessive use of plastic is not a new idea. However, regardless of how much awareness of the negative impacts we have, the situation does not appear to be improving. Plastic is an extremely durable and versatile material, making it an incredibly practical material to use for anything, from car parts to food packaging. The issue is “Plastic, like diamonds, are forever” (Foote and Mazzolini, 2012) as stated by Charles Moore, an oceanographer focussed on plastic waste in seas. Plastic takes several hundreds of years to degrade, it is believed that all the plastic that has ever been produced still exists in some form on earth today. However, this amount of plastic is compromising ecosystems, causing environmental issues and excessive exposure has been linked to health issues. Over the last decade we have seen progress, for example free distribution of plastic bags now becoming illegal in several countries. Initiatives likes this have meant that the overall expectation for the amount of waste in landfills has not been met, indicating a positive shift. Whilst these are victories, there are many more precautions we can adopt to further reform attitudes towards plastic. Whilst modern day society is generating more waste than ever before, it is believed that the way in which to tackle this issue is by taking action in preventing the use of virgin plastic and being more resourceful with the huge amounts of plastic already in existence.

Waste prevention is defined as “measures taken before a substance, material or product has become waste that reduce; a) The quantity of waste, including the reuse of products or the extension of the lifespan of products. b) the adverse impacts of the generated waste on the environment and human health”(Plastic ZERO, n.d.)

The Co-ops Environment Manager, Iain Ferguson highlights that “we need to stop thinking about this plastic as a waste and start to use it as a resource” (Lyons, 2016). This notion of reutilising plastic within design has taken form within what is known as ‘Eco Design’. The purpose of Eco design “can be the reduction of the environmental impact in any phase of the products lifestyle from extraction of raw materials to the final disposal of the product…

Eco design is considered to be one of the ways to promote waste prevention and will often result in several other environmental benefits being simultaneously achieved” (Plastic ZERO, n.d.). These definitions and guidelines, together with extensive primary and secondary research, will be used to steer this project into designing a product to aid the prevention of excessive plastic waste coming from within households in the United Kingdom.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

“In 2007 world production of plastic rose to approximately 260 million tonnes…this resulted in the generation of 24.6 million tonnes of post consumer plastic waste concentrated in the packaging, construction, automotive and electrical equipment sectors…half of this waste was disposed of in landfills whilst 20% was recycled and 30% was recovered as energy” (Lazarevic et al., 2010). The growing amount of plastic we use today has detrimental effects on our environment and a huge majority of it ends up in landfills. Plastic takes hundreds if not thousands of year to degrade and this has resulted in heavy pollution in our oceans, extinction of wildlife and harmful emissions released into the atmosphere. Additionally, “globally we use in excess of 260 million tonnes of plastics per annum, accounting for approximately 8% of world oil production” (Thompson et al., 2009). Plastic has been known to contain harmful chemicals including bisphenol A and Phthalates which can be ingested by humans straight from plastics through food or drink which is deeply concerning considering packaging is the most common application of plastic today. In some countries, plastic bags have caused sewer blockages and are believed to increase the risk of flooding. Furthermore, in some african countries landfills are known to be breeding grounds for diseases such as Malaria. “The durability and increasing usage of plastics create a major waste management problem with plastic accounting for approximately 10% of the waste we generate.” (Thompson et al., 2009) It is clear from these sources that the rate of modern day plastic usage is a cause for concern for many factors and that consumers must take appropriate precautions to do what we can to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced.

DOMESTIC PLASTIC WASTE

“Only a third of UK customers plastic packaging is recycled” (Lyons, 2016). This is surprising considering the amount of emphasis placed on recycling by local councils. However, it is believed this is due to consumers not knowing what can and cannot be recycled. Steve Morgan, Technical manager at plastic recycling organisation, Recoup states that, “the recycling rate is about 60% for plastic bottles but when you start talking about other products, plastic pots and trays, a yoghurt pot, a margarine tub - the recycling rate is far lower” (Lyons, 2016).

The continuously growing amount of plastic on earth is a result of the increasingly wasteful nature of our society.

“Globally, some 180 billion litres of bottled water were sold in 2007, compared to only 78 billion in 1997” (Foote and Mazzolini, 2012) and “of the 1.5 million tonnes of recyclable plastic waste used by consumers in Britain in 2015, only 500,000 tonnes were recycled” (Lyons, 2016). These shocking facts only go on to prove further the 7" of " 47

dramatic increase of plastic reliance in the last decade as well as the lack of proactive action to help manage this waste responsibly. Moreover, in other places in the world the recycling rate is much lower, “a mere 5% of plastic bags in North America are collected for recycling and less than 25% of plastic water bottles are recycled” (Foote and Mazzolini, 2012). Bottles are among the most recycled article of plastic, however, plastic water bottles have additional environmental strain in comparison to plastic shopping bags, “not only does the bottle in which water is sold have serious implications for the waste stream; the packaging of water for sale in the first place raises concerns for many about the sale of what is considered a basic need… bottled water requires an enormous amount of energy for bottling and transportation from its source, as it frequently crosses borders and travels long distances, with one quarter of all bottled water crossing an international border” (Foote and Mazzolini, 2012).

From this research we can conclude that there are two routes that need to be taken to reduce the current rate of plastic production; waste prevention and repurposing waste through Eco design, economising on the plastic already in existence.

WASTE PREVENTION

Waste prevention consists of prolonging the lifetime of a plastic product thus delaying disposal and the need for a replacement. The growing rate of plastic waste in the environment is a direct result of the increase of plastic use within packaging. It also highlights that recycling alone is not enough to combat the shear scale of the amount ending up in landfills each year. This incidence has spurred many to consider alternative waste management solutions by restricting the use of plastic in packaging. “In India, concerns about sacred cows, which has been dying from ingesting plastic bags and blocking their intestines was a major motivating factor for restrictive legislation” (Foote and Mazzolini, 2012). Preventative precautions have also made way in the UK with most major supermarkets charging for plastic bags. Other potential solutions that have arisen include improving the quality of plastic products as well as the development of biodegradable plastics which have been “advocated as an approach that uses renewable biomass and/or facilitates decomposition at the end of a products lifetime” (Thompson et al., 2009). It seems clear that the primary step in reducing the amount of plastic waste globally is to prevent the production of new plastic. The methods in which this can be carried out include reusing existing plastic and encouraging the use of alternative, less hazardous materials.

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Figure 2: Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Pacific Ocean Largest Landfill in the world.

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Figure 3: “Odger” - sustainable chair made of recycled wood and plastic designed by Swedish studio, Form Us With Love for IKEA.

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ECO DESIGN

‘Eco design’ is defined as action taken in the design process where the environmental impact of a products lifecycle is considered and reduced. Eco design can be used to reduce environmental impact in any stage of the products lifecycle from sourcing of raw materials to the end disposal of a product. Another potential reason why plastic waste is considered as a very disposable material is because the average consumer does not have awareness of the capabilities plastic has. It is an incredibly versatile material and has potential to be used to create sophisticated products from furniture to sleeping bags to car parts. Several high scale brands have already began adopting an Eco design packaging alternative such as Lumme, a producer of detergents, they “designed a packaging that uses 74% less packaging material than their original plastic bottle.” (Plastic ZERO, n.d.) as well as Vanish who have redesigned their packaging and reduced their material usage from 78g to 18g. Other companies focused on Eco design packaging include EcoXpac who have developed a fibre bottle made of recycled paper which has the potential to contain a range of liquids such as milk, soap and oils. Additionally, it is recommended that in designing eco friendly packaging increasing the ability of recyclability is key. This can be done through “easily removable colours” (Plastic ZERO, n.d.) and “avoiding mixing plastics with other materials such as paper for labelling, metals and composite materials and avoiding product residues on the packaging”(Plastic ZERO, n.d.) as recommended by Recoup. Through environmentally conscious design, designers can help prevent the rapidly increasing waste by being more resourceful with existing plastic and finding solutions within a products life to help encourage and facilitate its recyclability as well as developing more sustainable materials.

It is evident that the current pattern we've been following for the last decade is not sustainable and designers can combat the constantly increasing plastic waste on both a large and domestic scale. The ways in which consumers can facilitate the implementation of this reform is not only through recycling but also reducing and reusing waste plastic. Furthermore, designers can work to give further importance to designing sustainable products which abide to the criteria of Eco design.

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Figure 4: EcoXpac Green Fibre Bottle made from organic fibres

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RESEARCH FINDINGS

A survey is used to generate a vague but widespread outlook on a chosen area of focus. Through conducting this form of research the intended outcomes were to receive a broad view of peoples domestic waste habits and awareness of the realities of the current state of waste management and environmental strain, as well as to analyse the results in consideration of their age and any other user patterns.

The survey began with asking the age of the participants in order to analyse the attitudes of different age groups, 88% of responses came from within the 18-24 age range. Therefore, the attitudes exhibited within this survey are likely to reflect mostly on students, or people just leaving school or just beginning their professional careers. Next, participants domestic habits were analysed. They were asked “how many plastic drink bottles do you throw out per week roughly”, a majority [56%] estimated they dispose of “1-5 plastic bottles per week” and “16% said 5-10 bottles per week”. 8% responded saying they dispose of 10-15 and 4% admitted to disposing of 20+ bottles per week. Therefore, from this it can be assumed that this demographic contributes reasonably to the domestic waste issues the UK faces today. However, it must be taken into account that this question didn't specify the size of the bottle so this needs to be considered within the evaluation if this specific element is used to contribute to the chosen area of design innovation. Next, participants were asked whether they “have a recycling bin inside their home”, to which 76% answered that they did. This was expected considering the amount of importance the councils nationwide give to correct waste disposal, particularly through the distribution of separated bins and the information given on them. The final question aimed at analysing habits asked “how long does it take you to finish a shampoo bottle”. The responses ranged, however it was most common for people to finish a bottle within one month - 40%. These responses outline that people have a consideration for correct waste disposal and produce a significant yet not extortionate amount of waste.

Following this, participants attitudes towards waste and the surrounding topic were questioned. They were asked if they ever “feel uncertain about what can/ can't be recycled”, 48% said yes and 36% said sometimes. This gives added weight to Recoups’ argument highlighted previously. Next, participants were questioned on their attitudes towards plastic bags. They were asked “Do you believe that plastic products such as carrier bags and bottles are good enough quality for you to be likely to reuse more than once?”. 48% said they do. However, 36% said they “believe that they're good enough quality but are unlikely to reuse them more than once”. This raises the question " of "47 13

of whether the flaw with the permanence of plastic bags is due to the quality, or simply due to habits we've adopted. Often, retailers selling products using recycled materials or using more sustainable packaging tend to increase their prices, as a result of the costs of ensuring sustainability, which consequently deters consumers.

Therefore, next participants were asked “Are you more likely to buy an eco-conscious product even if it’s slightly more expensive?”. Surprisingly, considering most participants were relatively young and are likely to be on a tight budget, only 20% said no. This infers that despite a slight price increase people value a sustainable product and will often buy that rather than a cheaper product which strains the environment. Finally, a question was directed at which plastic-caused issue, people find most concerning. 23.4% found the use of limited resources most pressing, as well as, 21.3% being most concerned about endangering wildlife and ecosystems. This question was extended further by allowing participants to voice any other concerns with the “wasteful nature of modern society, particularly in a domestic setting”. The responses were varied but generally most were concerned with the amount of waste we generate. It was found that several participants mentioned this particularly in a university setting - “At home recycling is taken quite seriously and we have different bins for food etc. However at uni everything is just thrown into the same bin and nobody really knows what can be recycled and what can’t.” Other participants mentioned concern about the lack of priority waste prevention has in everyday life - “I think it's an awful situation but people aren't scared or concerned enough to actually make a change for the most part.” and “People are extremely wasteful and only think about the implications that things will have on them in their lifetime. People would like to think that they are forward thinking, but their actions do not seem to reflect that when it comes to tasks which require effort, time and money that will conserve our environment for future generations.” This question format was extremely insightful as it allowed participants to freely voice their concerns without any limitations placed on them by the question. Even though several participants skipped this section, the answers generated were valuable and in turn it filtered out participants who weren't as well informed on the topic.

The final stage of this survey was aimed at analysing consumer awareness related to issues such as environmental impacts and the rate of degradation. The participants seemed to be well informed about the realities of plastic with a total of 52% saying they believe it takes “500 or 1000+ years for plastic to degrade” and 96% knew plastic was harmful to the environment, however of that 96%, 44% only knew about its “hazardous effect on the environment [and not that it was] known to cause health problems such as cancer”. The final question asked “Approximately what percentage of the contents of domestic products [such as, shampoo, soap, detergents, washing up liquid etc.] is made up of water?”. This question was the only one to reveal a lack in awareness among " of " 47 14

participants which is likely to reflect upon most consumers. Only 12% chose the correct answer, 80-90%. This highlighted that perhaps one of the main issues in the fight against the generation of excessive plastic domestic waste is the lack of awareness consumers have on how much they are creating.

Overall, this survey was considerably informative and helped gain a broad understanding of the general views and awareness of the public.

Following this, interviews were conducted with the expectation that the responses would provide a further in depth insight to peoples habits and priorities. The participants chosen were intended to reflect different demographics and act as a representative of their age group. The interviewees included an 18 year old representing the student demographic, a 24 year old who had just finished university and was just beginning their professional life, a 33 year old working mother giving us an incite to the rush of everyday life and balancing work and young children and finally a 57 year old chef and mother who gave a very valuable perspective and had very different views to the other working mother, highlighting how age and position in your career can influence you views and behaviours.

The first interviewee was Ethan, he is a first year university student. Overall, his responses gave the impression that he was fairly passive about waste prevention, and when asked “what precautions [he] takes to prevent the harmful effects of waste” he concluded by saying, “I could probably do a lot more if i put in a bit more effort” which implies that he perceives recycling and other waste prevention measures to be attainable if one is willing to adjust their lifestyle to accommodate it, however at this stage he is not. He, like other interviewees saw endangerment of wildlife as the most pressing result of waste and extended his answer to how this impacts humans, “the amount of plastic in the oceans must be the biggest threat. I can't imagine that’s very healthy for fish, and for us eating the fish!” When asked what he believes was the cause of the wasteful nature of society was he commented, “definitely laziness - it’s so easy to just not follow the recommended measures to prevent waste, also people are probably put off because dealing with things like that take time out of their day.” When asked to choose one waste prevention measure they he believed people would be willing to adopt he chose “a solution to make recycling even easier”. Finally, when asked how likely he would be “to adopt an alternative way of doing things in order to benefit the environment” he answered, “depends what it is but I don't see myself adopting something that drastic”. It is likely that the responses that Ethan expressed would be representative of a large amount of people within his demographic.

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The next subject interviewed was Sophie, a recent university graduate now employed. She relayed the impression that she is a fairly environmentally conscious person, “I try to recycle a lot. I have a recycling bin in my kitchen which makes the process quite bit easier…I try to avoid taking plastic bags at supermarkets but thats probably as far as it goes.” Similarly to Ethan, she revealed the biggest threat she believes we face as is to wildlife, “I think what I've been most exposed to is the effect it’s having on the oceans and wildlife… I'm not really that informed about the other effects. I know what they are but not really sure about their environmental impact” this questions whether environmental awareness needs to be pushed further and be more specific, perhaps everyday products could be a good platform for this as people often passively read and absorb information around them. When asked what she though was the reason for society has got to the point of “compromising the environment with our excessive waste habits” she answered, “I think primarily, probably laziness. We've get so used to things being so convenient and cheap that were just not willing to adopt any kind of change to that. Other reasons could be simply that were too far removed from the issues it’s causing so we don't really see the negatives and consequently were not put off using plastic.” She stated that of the options, she thought “a solution to the production of plastic bottles” would be the most realistic measure that people would adopt. In the final question she was asked “how likely do you think you are to adopt an alternative way of doing things in order to benefit the environment” to which she responded by explaining, “I think the less dramatic the change the more people would be likely to adopt it. I’d like to think I would do a lot to go out my way to benefit the environment but the reality of it is after a long day at work or school or something you just want to do whatever easiest and most convenient.”

This response echoes that of Ethans. The likely conclusion is that people would welcome a new way of reducing waste as long as it isn't too invasive and doesn't alter the regular course of ones day.

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Figure 5: Photograph of Plastic waste found inside the body of a dead bird likely to be killed by the ingested plastic found on the ocean top.

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The next participant was Mary, a 33 year old mother of three and doctor living in Manchester. She brought attention to the perception that if you have a job and family and other responsibilities it’s difficult to consider extra things and make yourself aware of things further than what’s effecting your day to day life. She expressed that she didn't really participate is any waste preventing measures and admitted to using “a lot of disposable plates and cups at home just because we have no time to deal with dishes. Also, I don't really take the time to separate paper or whatever else you're supposed to separate in the recycling bins, it all sort of just goes in the main bin”.

After she explains what she views the biggest threat to be, “I’ve seen a lot about the harm it does to animals and how landfills are getting bigger and thats harmful to the atmosphere. The biggest threat is probably cutting down too many trees to keep up with the demand and not having as much oxygen as is needed”. She, similarly to previous interviewees, blames the perception of disposability society has for plastic on the convenience of it, “it’s what we know and what were used to. Asking people to go out of their way and change their habits is always going to be a difficult task.” She agreed with Sophie in saying that the most realistic measure people would adopt would be relate to “reducing the production of plastic bottles”. Finally, in response to the likeliness of people adopting an alternative way of doing things in order to benefit environment she answered “really unlikely unless it was really integrated into the existing way homes generally work and didn't really seem like a change” which loosely relates to both Sophie and Ethans answers.

The final interviewee was Ruth, a 57 year old mother and chef based in London. She considers herself to be a fairly eco conscious person and describes her habits as “at home I'm very cautious with recycling. We have a recycling bin in the kitchen and a smaller bin for food waste. Other than that I make sure to take quick showers to prevent using a lot of water and very rarely have baths. Otherwise, I make sure to bring reusable bags shopping with me or if I get an online delivery I return the bags to them the next time!” and continued on to express her worries about societies wasteful habits, “with all the changes the world has experienced, things have become so disposable and people have adopted that attitude with most things”. Furthermore, she concludes that the most realistic measure consumers would be likely to adopt was “a solution to the rate of plastic production for domestic packaging such as detergents and shampoo bottles”. She proceeded to elaborate by saying, “because everything else would be an everyday change which would be less likely for people to adopt so this is a bit more realistic as the waste of these products are less frequent but larger also more impactful”. This incite relates to all the previous interviewees responses about adopting new habits but continues to elaborate on a reason why this would be an easier adopted measure which was extremely valuable. Finally, when asked “How likely do you think you are to adopt an alternative way of doing things in order to benefit the environment?” She responded by explaining, “I " of " 47 18

think I'm quite open to it however I don't think thats representative of most people, or even my family! I'm usually quite open to adopting different lifestyle changes as we are learning so many new things and its important to keep up to date with recent discoveries about how to live your best, most sustainable life.” It is likely that her concern for her families likelihood of participation is representative of most people who co-inhabit as these concerns were also expressed by Ethan who is in a very different demographic.

In conclusion, these interviews were extremely telling of the opinion of the public and are likely to represent a large body of people. Participants responses help gain understanding about the young adult perception as well as an older perspective from two mothers with very different views which draws attention to the priorities and responsibilities at different stages in a consumers life and how that can effect their consciousness and ability to adopt new habits.

The final stage of the primary research process was to analyse and put into perspective the amount of waste a consumer comes by per day. This was examined primarily by several participants writing a waste diary which they would make entries into at each interaction with plastic throughout an average day. The waste diary was a valuable element within this primary research as it highlighted how frequently we interact with plastic waste in an average day. The participant with the most waste had twenty items, whereas other participants had five or six. The majority of waste was made up of food packaging with a few participants mentioning larger domestic products such as a “bottle of bleach” and “toothpaste tube”. This form of research proved to be reasonably helpful in having a closer look to how frequently consumers use plastic, highlighting how reliant we are on plastic.

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DESIGN PROPOSAL

Through the primary and secondary research carried out it is clear that the amount of plastic consumers come by has significantly contributed to the excessive waste problem that the world faces today. The waste diary highlights the specifics of the nature of the waste consumers come by day to day. This emphasised the amount of plastic waste made up of food packaging. It would seem obvious to pursue a project aiming to reduce the amount of packaging used for food. However, following the responses from the interview subjects it became evident that a drastic change that plays a part in every day life would be difficult to implement and maintain on a wide scale. One participant highlighted this reality and proposed that a solution to the excessive packaging of domestic products would be a more realistic way to reduce waste as it would be less invasive in consumers daily habits. As learned from the survey participants 40% used a bottle of shampoo every month meaning the use of these types of products are not too sporadic and will have a beneficial result in reducing domestic plastic waste.

Furthermore, only 12% were aware of the reality that domestic products are heavily made up of water which as seen in the secondary research presents many ecological problems proving added benefits to designing for the area. From all areas of research the need for innovation in this department would be easily adopted and would go a long way in the strife to reduce plastic waste in households nationwide.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, with a significant amount of plastic waste ending up in landfills and oceans around the world, the need for reformed habits has never been more evident and urgent. Extensive secondary research revealed the dire state which the oceans have become as a result, as well as the growth of landfills and the strains on the atmosphere brought on by wasteful behaviours worldwide, a significant amount generated through domestic environments. Moreover, the research highlight the methods in which to combat this issue, through Eco design and repurposing the staggering amount of plastic in existence. Primary research went on to give further weight to this argument through drawing attention to consumers waste habits, in significant detail, awareness and attitudes and proved to be extremely insightful when helping to decide the route of design innovation that will be taken. The proposed area will aim to address the growing eco footprint of the amount of waste coming out of homes and will strive to provide a solution to this through redesigning domestic packaging with the principles of reutilising existing plastic and Eco design in mind. " of " 47 20

 

Figure 6: Designed by Jane Atfield. This chair was made using recycled High Density Polyethylene (1992/1996)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lyons, K. (2016). Only a third of UK consumers' plastic packaging is recycled. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/21/only-a-third-of-uk-consumer-plastic-packaging-isrecycled [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

Foote, S. and Mazzolini, E. (2012). Histories of the dustheap. Cambridge (Mass.): MIT Press, Chapter 8.

Bell, K., & Sweeting, D. (2013). Waste collection as an environmental justice issue: A case study of a neighbourhood in Bristol, UK. In Campos M. & Hall C. (Eds.), Organising waste in the city: International perspectives on narratives and practices (pp. 201-222). Bristol, UK; Chicago, IL, USA: Policy Press at the University of Bristol. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qgpsv.17 Lazarevic, D., Aoustin, E., Buclet, N. and Brandt, N. (2010). Plastic waste management in the context of a European recycling society: Comparing results and uncertainties in a life cycle perspective. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 55(2), pp.246-259.

Seik, F. (1997). Recycling of domestic waste: Early experiences in Singapore. Habitat International, 21(3), pp.

277-289.

Plastic ZERO (n.d.). Report on technologies and options for plastic waste prevention. Layman's Report. City of Copenhagen | City of Malmรถ | City of Hamburg | SIA Liepajas RAS I/S Amagerforbrรฆnding | Tampere Regional Solid Waste Management Ltd. | Aalborg University LIFE10 ENV/DK/098 - with the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Union.

Thompson, R., Swan, S., Moore, C. and vom Saal, F. (2009). Our plastic age. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526), pp.1973-1976.

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APPENDIX 1 - Survey


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APPENDIX 2 - Interviews

Interview Consent Form

Name:

I hereby acknowledge, consent and agree to the following terms and conditions:

In participating in this interview I understand that my answers will be used to form an argument related to ‘domestic plastic waste habits and attitudes’.

I understand my answers may be contested and critiqued within an academic framework I understand my response will be used only for the purpose of supporting an academic report in coming to a conclusion regarding the chosen topic.

I consent to my identity being used within this piece of writing.

I trust the author to not pass my response over to any third party organisations and will only be used within the Nottingham Trent University.

In signing this consent form I acknowledge I have read and approved these conditions and agree to participate in the research of author, Anna Mimran.

Signature of Participant:

Date:

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1. Give a short description about yourself (age, job, city you live in) im ethan and I'm eighteen years old. I'm from manchester but I’m in my first year at The University of Nottingham.

2. Do you consider yourself an eco conscious person? probably wouldn't say so but i don't think I'm massively wasteful either 3. Describe your waste habits, which precautions do you feel you take to help prevent the harmful effects of waste I've learned its quite difficult to do things like recycle at uni just because you share your living space with so many people its hard to coordinate and come to a plan that you are all committed to maintaining but personally it probably goes as far as reusing water bottles and using the recycling bins at uni when available. i probably could do a lot more if i put in a bit more effort.

4. What do you feel is the biggest threat we face if we continue with our poor waste habits for sure the amount of plastic in the oceans must be the biggest threat i cant imagine thats very healthy for fish and for us eating the fish!

5. Why do you think society has come to this point of compromising the environment with out excessive waste habits definitely laziness - its so easy to just not follow the recommended measures to prevent waste also people are probably put off because dealing with things like that take time out of their day.

6. what do you think are realistic measures consumers would be willing to take on A. a solution to the production of plastic water bottles B. a solution to the rate of plastic production for domestic packaging such as detergents, shampoo bottles etc C. a service to make use of existing plastic waste D. a solution to make recycling even easier 7. How likely do you think you are to adopt an alternative way of doing things in order to benefit the environment depends what it is but i don't see myself adopting something that drastic.

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Interview Consent Form

Name:

I hereby acknowledge, consent and agree to the following terms and conditions:

In participating in this interview I understand that my answers will be used to form an argument related to ‘domestic plastic waste habits and attitudes’.

I understand my answers may be contested and critiqued within an academic framework I understand my response will be used only for the purpose of supporting an academic report in coming to a conclusion regarding the chosen topic.

I consent to my identity being used within this piece of writing.

I trust the author to not pass my response over to any third party organisations and will only be used within the Nottingham Trent University.

In signing this consent form I acknowledge I have read and approved these conditions and agree to participate in the research of author, Anna Mimran.

Signature of Participant:

Date:

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1. Give a short description about yourself (age, job, city you live in) Hi my name is Sophie and I'm 24 years old. I’ve just finished studying fashion design at the London college of fashion. I am currently on an internship in London.

2. Do you consider yourself an eco conscious person? not overly conscious but i like to think i do my bit 3. Describe your waste habits, which precautions do you feel you take to help prevent the harmful effects of waste So i try to recycle a lot. I have a recycling bin in my kitchen which makes the process quite a bit easier. Its weird to think as a child recycling wasn't such a prominent thing and no one really had recycling bins around, i think people only really started caring when local councils started distributing recycling bins and in school i remember my teacher was quite fussy about us putting things in the right bin haha. Other than separating things like paper and plastic bottles for recycling, i try to avoid taking plastic bags at supermarkets but thats probably as far as it goes.

4. What do you feel is the biggest threat we face if we continue with our poor waste habits? i think what I've been most exposed to is the effect its having on the oceans and wildlife. those photos of a dolphin stuck in a sixpack carrier are really sad. I'm not really that informed on that much about the other effects. i know what they are but not really sure about their environmental impact.

5. Why do you think society has come to this point of compromising the environment with out excessive waste habits? i think primarily, probably laziness. we've got so used to things being so convenient and cheap that were just not willing to adopt any kind of change to that. other reasons could be simply that were too far removed from the issues its causing so we don't really see the negatives and consequently were not put off using plastic 6. What do you think are realistic measures consumers would be willing to take on A. a solution to the production of plastic water bottles B. a solution to the rate of plastic production for domestic packaging such as detergents, shampoo bottles etc C. a service to make use of existing plastic waste D. a solution to make recycling even easier 7. How likely do you think you are to adopt an alternative way of doing things in order to benefit the environment i think the less dramatic the change the more people would be likely to adopt it. id like to think i would do a lot to go out my way to benefit the environment but the reality of it is after a long day at work or school or something you just want to do whatever easiest and most convenient.

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Interview Consent Form

Name:

I hereby acknowledge, consent and agree to the following terms and conditions:

In participating in this interview I understand that my answers will be used to form an argument related to ‘domestic plastic waste habits and attitudes’.

I understand my answers may be contested and critiqued within an academic framework I understand my response will be used only for the purpose of supporting an academic report in coming to a conclusion regarding the chosen topic.

I consent to my identity being used within this piece of writing.

I trust the author to not pass my response over to any third party organisations and will only be used within the Nottingham Trent University.

In signing this consent form I acknowledge I have read and approved these conditions and agree to participate in the research of author, Anna Mimran.

Signature of Participant:

Date:

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1. Give a short description about yourself (age, job, city you live in) My name is Mary and I am a mother of three young boys and a doctor living in Salford, Manchester. I am 33 years old.

2. Do you consider yourself an eco conscious person? not really, i haven't done much further research into it but I'm aware of whats going on 3. Describe your waste habits, which precautions do you feel you take to help prevent the harmful effects of waste They're quite bad. We use a lot of disposable plates and cups at home just because we have no time to deal with dishes. Also i don't really take the time to separate paper or whatever else you're supposed to separate in the recycling bins. it all sort of just goes in the main bin.

4. What do you feel is the biggest threat we face if we continue with our poor waste habits Ive seen a lot about the harm it does to animals and how landfills are getting bigger and thats harmful to the atmosphere. Biggest threat is probably cutting down to many trees to keep up with the demand and not having as much oxygen as is needed 5. Why do you think society has come to this point of compromising the environment with out excessive waste habits probably just because its what we know and what were used to. asking people to go out their way and change their habits is always going to be a difficult task

6. What do you think are realistic measures consumers would be willing to take on A. a solution to the production of plastic water bottles B. a solution to the rate of plastic production for domestic packaging such as detergents, shampoo bottles etc C. a service to make use of existing plastic waste D. a solution to make recycling even easier 7. How likely do you think you are to adopt an alternative way of doing things in order to benefit the environment really unlikely unless it was really integrated into the existing way homes generally work and didn't really seem like a change

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Interview Consent Form

Name:

I hereby acknowledge, consent and agree to the following terms and conditions:

In participating in this interview I understand that my answers will be used to form an argument related to ‘domestic plastic waste habits and attitudes’.

I understand my answers may be contested and critiqued within an academic framework I understand my response will be used only for the purpose of supporting an academic report in coming to a conclusion regarding the chosen topic.

I consent to my identity being used within this piece of writing.

I trust the author to not pass my response over to any third party organisations and will only be used within the Nottingham Trent University.

In signing this consent form I acknowledge I have read and approved these conditions and agree to participate in the research of author, Anna Mimran.

Signature of Participant:

Date:

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1. Give a short description about yourself (age, job, city you live in) My name is Ruth I am 57. I am a wife, mother of four and a chef. I live in London.

2. Do you consider yourself an eco conscious person? partly, i think i do my best to be 3. Describe your waste habits, which precautions do you feel you take to help prevent the harmful effects of waste at home I'm very cautious with recycling. we have a recycling bin in the kitchen and a smaller bin for food waste. other than that i make sure to take quick showers to prevent using a lot of water and very rarely have baths. otherwise, i make sure to bring reusable bags shopping with me or if i get a online delivery i return the bags to them the next time. also my daughter bought me a phone case made of recycled plastic which i think is so clever!

4. What do you feel is the biggest threat we face if we continue with our poor waste habits aside from all the environmental impacts i think one of the biggest threats we face at this stage is how much we rely on access to all of these materials and having things easily accessible and if we don't do anything about this now people will continue to rely and use even more. where is now we start gradually phasing it out of use well be in a much better situation to adapt rather than have to dramatically cut off.

5. Why do you think society has come to this point of compromising the environment with out excessive waste habits with all the changes the world has experienced things have become so disposable and people adopt that attitude with most things 6. What do you think are realistic measures consumers would be willing to take on? (please choose one) A. a solution to the production of plastic water bottles B. a solution to the rate of plastic production for domestic packaging such as detergents, shampoo bottles etc C. a service to make use of existing plastic waste D. a solution to make recycling even easier because everything else would be an everyday change which would be less likely for people to adopt so this is a bit more realistic as the waste of these products are less frequent but larger so more impactful as well 7. How likely do you think you are to adopt an alternative way of doing things in order to benefit the environment i think I'm quite open to it however i don't think thats representative of most people, or even my family! but I'm usually quite open to adopting different lifestyle changes as we are learning so many new things and its important to keep up to date with recent discoveries about how to live your best, most sustainable life. 

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APPENDIX 3 - Waste Diaries

Name: Date:

TIME:

WASTE INTERACTION:

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