Who Did You Interview?
- A Friend
Demographics That Might Provide Helpful Context for Their Responses
- 21 years old
- Chemical Engineering senior undergraduate
- Lives in small city, exposed to air pollution
Key Findings from the Interview
- How would you describe your lifestyle in terms of sustainability?
- Tell me more about the habits you’ve been maintaining to live more sustainably.
- Concerning your recycling habit, is there a certain waste category that you are constantly trying to limit your consumption of (other than plastic)?
- You mentioned that you’ve been part of the weekly cleanups for almost a year now, which means that you must have started volunteering only 4 months after the pandemic started. Since we were still in the process of adapting to COVID, was there a time where you felt uncomfortable with the cleanup?
- Is there a sustainable habit that you wish to incorporate in your daily life, but still finding it difficult?
- wanting to limit overfishing, a significant issue that is affecting the ocean ecosystem
- wanting to limit the reproduction of cows, as their waste contributes to the global greenhouse gas emissions since it contains methane
➡️ He believes that he is environmentally aware and is constantly trying to include new “green” habits in his lifestyle. He explains that he's the type of person that refuses to take a plastic bag from a store if the purchased items are relatively “carriable” on their own.
➡️ Aside from trying his best to decrease his use of plastic bags, he is also limiting his plastic waste by rarely using any disposable plastic cutlery (straws, cups, plates…). Any plastic waste he ends up having is sorted and sent to a local NGO for recycling. His recycling initiative also applies on glass, paper, and organic waste. He is also part of an NGO that has weekly garbage cleanups that take place mainly in the coastal areas of the city, and he has been taking part of the cleanups for almost a year.
➡️ He admits that he uses an excessive amount of paper during each semester at university which drives him to pay special attention to recycling it at the end of each semester. However, the fact that paper is easily recyclable puts him at peace for the moment. He even tries to recycle paper at home on his own to make new colorful papers for his niece.
➡️ He explains that it was definitely difficult for him at the beginning to go out of his comfort zone and collect strangers’ waste as he was worried that he might catch the virus from all of this interaction with waste. However, time helped him understand the different risks that come alongside this volunteer work and he now understands how to better deal with the situation. He adds that he was perseverant and didn’t want to quit the NGO without actually giving his best to his environment.
➡️ He is currently aiming to shift his diet to a vegan diet, hoping to be part of the reason that the demand on fish, meat, and dairy decreases. This is as a result of him: