Proper Recycling Methods

From: Team 1
(Brianna Beutler, Joseph Evans, Anthony Gagliardi, and Fan Zhang)
To: Aminah BarnesCannon

Proper Recycling Methods

Table of Contents

Executive summary..2
Introduction....3
Research methods...3
Results...4
Conclusion.5
Recommendations....
6

Executive summary

The topic of the report is recycling, specifically about how college students can
reuse everyday items in new and interesting ways. The introduction explains what
recycling means and what has triggered the thought of coming up with the idea of
encouraging students to recycle. The research method describes various approaches
for gathering the information that was useful to complete this project. Methods such as
interviews, observation, group focus, and questionnaires were used. The results section
indicates the research outcome, showing how the students have wasted items that may
have had other use other than that originally intended. The conclusion shows the
judgment made based on the findings and the intended action to achieve the desired
goal. Finally, recommendations show the suggestions with regards to other ways to
reuse several items. Several suggestions have been highlighted, and they may help
students exercise the act of recycling and how they can benefit from it.

Introduction
Recycling is a way of keeping used items and using them later in different was to
reduce spending and waste. This research project is intended to find ways in which
students may reuse items that appear to have exhausted their intended purpose. We

have realized that most students have old items that are no longer useful in their daily
lives.
Other students have been dumping valuable materials into the trash bin, yet
those items could have saved them money if they had recycled them. This project aims
at creating a pamphlet that encourages students of WSU to learn and understand how
significant recycling is, what can be recycled, and what they need to know about
recycling. When students read this pamphlet, they will appreciate the need for recycling
and employ the knowledge not only in school but in their homes as well.

Research methods
Research was conducted using various methods to get the students
perspectives on recycling. Friendly interviews were conducted with some students and
acquaintances, and since they are our target audience we could see the reaction from
their body language. When asked if they would practice recycling, most of them
responded positively.
Observation was another key method to acquire the necessary information. This
helped us verify the accuracy of the information obtained during the interview, as most
communication is nonverbal. We also saw different ways people reused items such as
old bottles or cans in their apartments. It was decided that observational research was a
better method to rely upon than interviews since even in making a personal
recommendation, it is easier to decide based on what we observed than on what we
were told.

A focus group was also employed where we explored the issue in depth through
group discussion based on members opinions, and we found it very useful in
evaluation. Of all the research methods used, none was better than interviews as we
could even tell how eager students to get recycling solutions. Questionnaires were also
employed, especially for those students who could not afford time for interviews. We
gathered information that was vital in guiding the project outcome.

Results
From the analysis of the research, we were able to come up with various items
that students would reuse even after using them on several occasions. We found that
once the rubber doorstops begin to wear out and tear, students thought that it has no
more use and, therefore, end up throwing it away. When one group member went to the
trash bins around their apartment area, they found so many earrings, binder clips,
baking sheets and many other simple materials. All these stuff were dumped by the
students because they did not have any idea that they could still be used for other
purposes.
Life in college is a little different from the primary and high school educations.
Exams are done every semester, and once a certain unit is done, probably it will never
be tested again. As such, most students burn their books while others discard them to
trash bin since they will never need them again in the school. In general, we found that
students are losing valuable resources not because they want to, but because they
have no idea of reuse and recycle.

Conclusion
We concluded that there was the need to help students to open their eyes and
see the value of used items in a different perspective, and think of how such materials
may be used to serve a different purpose other than what it was intended. It is true that
many students lack some few basic requirements during their college life, yet it can be
addressed with what they have in their hands. It is possible to make old materials new
and, therefore, to all students we say the idea of saving money is just in your closet. As
such, one can learn how to save the money by recycling old things.

Recommendations
The dorm life is about maximizing the limited and minimal space and the things
you have in it. Recycling the items you already have, is a better way to save a little cash
so as meet the basic needs, and of course decorate the room. Therefore, the
recommendations that we would give are such as; worn out rubber doorstops be used
as laptop risers. Some old laptops tend to overheat, especially when students spend so
much time using them. This exposes laptops to possible crashes and lots of stress. But
there is a solution: the use the rubber doorstops prop the laptop on two sturdy and nonskid wedges to give space that can allow air to circulate freely and hence keeping the
computer cool.
Baking sheets can also be used as magnetized board. Here is a neat idea; you
only need to hang an old baking sheet material by setting it inside about 16-inch plate

hook mounted to the wall. Then you make sure that the sheet is magnetic so that your
items will stick. You can also use binder clips as cheap photo frames; use the couple
binder clips to hold the pictures and then stand them up on the flat ends. Another
recommendation is that use earrings as pushpins; if you have lost earrings partners,
you can use them as thumbtacks especially on the bulletin board. Use old wall Calendar
as wrapping papers; use these sheets to wrap the paperback books and other small
items. Finally, these fabulous ideas are not limited to college students only. Much of
these repurposed stuffs can as well be used in any living situation.