Who Did You Interview?
- I interviewed one of my closest friends.
Demographics That Might Provide Helpful Context for Their Responses
- Female
- Older than me (16 years old)
- Rising Junior
- Lives with a host family
- Lives in a suburban city
Key Findings from the Interview
- What comes to mind when you hear the term "waste" used in a green way?
- What kind of waste do you care most about and why?
- How do you reduce waste in your life?
- How are you or the people around you contributing to waste?
When my friend hears the term "waste," waste thinks of landfills full of plastics, carbon emissions, and rubber ducks floating in oceans.
She cares most about plastics, especially those that are single-use. Although these sorts of plastics may seem convenient, they are actually more harmful than they appear. So many people use single-use plastics that they have become widespread and they eventually accumulate in our world. This not only hurts our environment but also wildlife as well when single-use plastics are not disposed of properly.
Since she doesn't have many options (as she lives in a host family), she tries her best to take small yet green actions in her life. She always carries around a water bottle with her so that she does not need to use plastic bottles instead. She also uses reusable bags when she goes shopping for groceries as well
Although she believes that single-use plastics are detrimental to the environment, sometimes she has no choice but to use them in her daily life. She's seen a lot of adults and friends who use cosmetics with microplastics inside. Additionally, they also do not throw away their skincare products properly.
- What kind of product do you think would help reduce the waste you mentioned in the earlier question or just waste in general?
She thinks that creating more reusable items would greatly help reduce waste, especially for the people around her. She thinks that having a product that includes environmentally friendly packaging that is both compostable and biodegradable would be very helpful as well. She cares most about incorporating these products in her daily life rather than having one-time use products that don't do much.