By Genevieve Basso
Monday-it’s only first period- students already sit in their classes, under slept and overwhelmed like another other first day back to school; the May weather calls from window to outside. Today we’ve begun examining the litter at Rand Park. A quick glance at the first trashcan by the west facing descending, entrance gives us a good indication of the exact scale we’re dealing with here- and it’s greater than what was originally hypothesized. We count more than 5 pieces of trash happily sitting on the ground- directly next to that trashcan- a further examination of the park leads us to the realization: most individuals passing through prefer to throw their waste on the ground rather than in trashcans. Since it’s the morning every trash bin is relatively empty, yet that’s not the same for the rest of the land paralleling the Freshman building. Below is a series of pictures compiled during the search for litter displayed in a collage, all photos we’re taken within 5 minutes of entering the park to give you an idea of just how much we’re dealing with.
Now imagine how long all the garbage would collectively take to completely decompose. When estimating long term rates of decomposition scientists can use respirometry tests to measure the rate or carbon dioxide production of oxygen consumption of organic matter or an organism. This is done by placing the object being sampled in a container containing soil and microorganisms, followed by ensuring there is an oxygen supply and allowing for circulation. In the days to follow the microorganisms slowly digest the sample while producing carbon dioxide which levels serve as a indicator of degradation rate.
If you'd like to calculate how long your garbage would take to decompose check out this handy chart:
(Special thanks to http://sciencelearn.org.nz/ for the data)
That’s all for now, check back for an update on a “Look into the Litter Epidemic "
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