_Essential Questions:
1. How can I reduce the amount of packaging/waste that I discard from store-bought goods?
2. How much packaging can I reduce simply by shopping the bulk foods section at the grocery store?
My Motivation:
A box of cereal has an outer shell of thick paper with tons of graphics (images, ingredients, and labels) and an inner plastic bag which contains the product. A can of nuts typically has a cylinder shaped paper package with a foil freshness seal, a plastic lid, a metal bottom, and a lot of graphics made with dyes. And things like soda, water, juice, and beer all have individual canisters which hold one serving of the product and are meant to be discarded immediately. In fact, the plastic bottles used for water and soda are not supposed to be reused because the plastic breaks down over time and can poison the consumer.
Preconception Inventory:
My goal is to reduce the amount of packaging that I discard. I believe that shopping the bulk section for things like cereal, flour, seeds, nuts, and other treats will have a substantial impact on the amount of boxes and paper I go through every week. I predict that if I buy snacks such as yogurt pretzels, granola bars, and trail mix from the bulk section I will not only reduce the amount of packaging I would go through had I bought similar, packaged products, but I may find that I can incorporate more bulk foods into my diet and thereby reduce my dependency on other packaged foods.
2. How much packaging can I reduce simply by shopping the bulk foods section at the grocery store?
My Motivation:
A box of cereal has an outer shell of thick paper with tons of graphics (images, ingredients, and labels) and an inner plastic bag which contains the product. A can of nuts typically has a cylinder shaped paper package with a foil freshness seal, a plastic lid, a metal bottom, and a lot of graphics made with dyes. And things like soda, water, juice, and beer all have individual canisters which hold one serving of the product and are meant to be discarded immediately. In fact, the plastic bottles used for water and soda are not supposed to be reused because the plastic breaks down over time and can poison the consumer.
Preconception Inventory:
My goal is to reduce the amount of packaging that I discard. I believe that shopping the bulk section for things like cereal, flour, seeds, nuts, and other treats will have a substantial impact on the amount of boxes and paper I go through every week. I predict that if I buy snacks such as yogurt pretzels, granola bars, and trail mix from the bulk section I will not only reduce the amount of packaging I would go through had I bought similar, packaged products, but I may find that I can incorporate more bulk foods into my diet and thereby reduce my dependency on other packaged foods.
Energy Self-Study Activities:
Energy Self-Study Reflection
Cutting down on waste from store bought goods has been a goal of mine for some time. I have taken small steps before this project but nothing to the scale I experimented with over the last few weeks. I went from buying the same foods I grew up with, and forgetting my canvas grocery bags nearly every time I shopped, to cutting out boxed cereals and being diligent about bringing my reusable bags to the store. What I found was that I was able to cut down on my waste by about 40%.
The most profound lesson learned over the last few weeks was that by simply shopping the bulk foods section I was able to considerably reduce my personal grocery waste. By doing this project-based learning assignment I found out how my personal life choices can influence the amount of waste I generate on this planet. Doing an assignment such as this is great because it involves real-world situations which one can continue to apply to their personal life.
Additionally, I improved my skills using Google Docs, SlideShare, Microsoft PowerPoint, and getting pictures off of my digital camera onto my computer. These skills would be more of a challenge to learn had they not been a requirement of this project. Looking at the potential to improve the technical skills in a project like this I am left with a feeling that project-based learning is a fine way to incorporate learning into real world issues.
The methods and outcomes of this project can be viewed in more detail on this PowerPoint. You will see images of the waste I created before disciplining myself at the grocery store. You will also see the break down of where I started to make my adjustments and what my outcome was.
In order to play the "what if" game, I created a spreadsheet about how much waste I had created over a 20 year period. Notice, in this spreadsheet my list of wasted items is very conservative; in reality, I would assume that it would be much worse.
My preconceptions were pretty accurate... I found that by shopping the bulk foods section I was able to greatly reduce my weekly waste of packaged foods.
The limitations of this project are mainly found in the limitations of the individual who does it. In other words, the sky is the limit. Using myself as an example, I would not be able to cut milk out of my diet - which comes in a plastic jug. I would not cut out toilet paper, tooth paste, dog food, or peanut butter - all of which are packaged. However, someone who was more disciplined might find alternatives to buying these things already packaged. For example, my grandma now makes her own laundry detergent using products she already has around the house. Her method would be an example of reducing waste by using products for many different things.
I recorded myself giving the PowerPoint and I noticed a few things I could improve on. First, my presentation was not polished over, it was filled with weird pauses and sentences that led somewhere not important to the study. This is something I have encountered in the classroom. It seems like the first class to hear my lesson usually gets unnecessary information and a fair amount of me fumbling over my words. The second class tends to get a tighter version.
Second, I noticed that I don't have an "uhhmm" problem. Rather, I have a weird pause problem, where the "uhhmm" would usually be. See the thing is that I know 'uhhmms" sound bad so I don't allow myself to do them. But we say "uhhmm" because we are trying to fill the dead space while we think about the next thing to say. So for me I just let that dead space exist while I think about what's next, and it is only slightly less awkward than if I had "uhhmmed" my way through it. So I am working on being a more fluid and smooth presenter in that way.
Overall, this project was cool because it had so many components to it. Not only did the various activities support a complete self-study, but now I am left knowing that these activities could be used for a variety of different projects and assignments. If I was to do a similar project in class I might ask students to follow my lead and try to reduce their waste through limiting the amount of packaged products they buy. I see value in this project because it forces one to look past the labeling and marketing of products and to just shop the actual ingredients. Additionally, we can find value in shopping away from packaging; rather than satisfaction in shopping for the latest and coolest labeling. I would assess the student's work by asking them to do a PowerPoint containing images of the non-packaged products they found and to present information about what methods they used.
The most profound lesson learned over the last few weeks was that by simply shopping the bulk foods section I was able to considerably reduce my personal grocery waste. By doing this project-based learning assignment I found out how my personal life choices can influence the amount of waste I generate on this planet. Doing an assignment such as this is great because it involves real-world situations which one can continue to apply to their personal life.
Additionally, I improved my skills using Google Docs, SlideShare, Microsoft PowerPoint, and getting pictures off of my digital camera onto my computer. These skills would be more of a challenge to learn had they not been a requirement of this project. Looking at the potential to improve the technical skills in a project like this I am left with a feeling that project-based learning is a fine way to incorporate learning into real world issues.
The methods and outcomes of this project can be viewed in more detail on this PowerPoint. You will see images of the waste I created before disciplining myself at the grocery store. You will also see the break down of where I started to make my adjustments and what my outcome was.
In order to play the "what if" game, I created a spreadsheet about how much waste I had created over a 20 year period. Notice, in this spreadsheet my list of wasted items is very conservative; in reality, I would assume that it would be much worse.
My preconceptions were pretty accurate... I found that by shopping the bulk foods section I was able to greatly reduce my weekly waste of packaged foods.
The limitations of this project are mainly found in the limitations of the individual who does it. In other words, the sky is the limit. Using myself as an example, I would not be able to cut milk out of my diet - which comes in a plastic jug. I would not cut out toilet paper, tooth paste, dog food, or peanut butter - all of which are packaged. However, someone who was more disciplined might find alternatives to buying these things already packaged. For example, my grandma now makes her own laundry detergent using products she already has around the house. Her method would be an example of reducing waste by using products for many different things.
I recorded myself giving the PowerPoint and I noticed a few things I could improve on. First, my presentation was not polished over, it was filled with weird pauses and sentences that led somewhere not important to the study. This is something I have encountered in the classroom. It seems like the first class to hear my lesson usually gets unnecessary information and a fair amount of me fumbling over my words. The second class tends to get a tighter version.
Second, I noticed that I don't have an "uhhmm" problem. Rather, I have a weird pause problem, where the "uhhmm" would usually be. See the thing is that I know 'uhhmms" sound bad so I don't allow myself to do them. But we say "uhhmm" because we are trying to fill the dead space while we think about the next thing to say. So for me I just let that dead space exist while I think about what's next, and it is only slightly less awkward than if I had "uhhmmed" my way through it. So I am working on being a more fluid and smooth presenter in that way.
Overall, this project was cool because it had so many components to it. Not only did the various activities support a complete self-study, but now I am left knowing that these activities could be used for a variety of different projects and assignments. If I was to do a similar project in class I might ask students to follow my lead and try to reduce their waste through limiting the amount of packaged products they buy. I see value in this project because it forces one to look past the labeling and marketing of products and to just shop the actual ingredients. Additionally, we can find value in shopping away from packaging; rather than satisfaction in shopping for the latest and coolest labeling. I would assess the student's work by asking them to do a PowerPoint containing images of the non-packaged products they found and to present information about what methods they used.