Issue Selection

The issue that I have picked to explore is waste disposal (reducing waste). I selected this topic so that I could learn what exactly should be recycled, composted, or thrown in the trash. I also want to learn about policies in different communities for recycling and composting. Hayley Perkins has also recruited me to help Morrill Tower get a composting system which triggered my interest in which wastes can be recycled, composted, or sent to landfills.

I considered exploring heroin addiction, renewable energy, or smoking. Hayley Perkins impacted my final decision by getting me interested in a new composting program. This in turn caused me to realize how little I knew about waste disposal and how different areas have different policies for recycling and compost.

In order to study waste disposal, I think that I will need to explore how much garbage is sent to landfills every year, the negative impact of landfills on our environment, where I can find a landfill, OSU’s policies on recycling, Columbus’s policies on recycling, and find out if a compost system exists anywhere on OSU’s campus. I will need a compost bin, approval to help Hailey start a compost system in Morrill Tower, and lots of information on what can be recycled and composted in the Columbus area.

Barriers or challenges that I might encounter could include people’s disinterest with helping the environment and people’s laziness to go to a compost or recycle bin rather than a closer trash bin. Different policies exist in different areas of the world for recycling and compost so it will be difficult to have a standardized system of clean waste disposal. Without people knowing their local waste disposal policies it may be difficult trying to educate every person of their separate policies. Another challenge will be overseeing if people are composting or recycling the correct wastes- once a system for composting starts, I will have to supervise if people are disposing of waste correctly (or else the compost could turn into another landfill).