Research Proposal-Waste in our Local Waterways

Waste in our Local Waterways

I decided to select this topic based on the amount of trash and pollution I have been seeing within Phoenix. I’d like my research to start locally and eventually lead to how it ends up in the ocean, specifically the great pacific garbage patch. Currently, there is no solution in regards to the clean up of debris/waste within our oceans. We’ve only begun discovering the amount of waste present.

I believe this topic is significant as waste and pollution have a significant impact within the ecosystem. Plants and wildlife are being affected. Animals eat the toxins from waste and perish from it or continue to pass the chemicals up the food chain until eventually, it reaches humans. Studying waste in our environment could lead to the implementation of different, less harmful products and save the lives of animals living in those environments. The research conducted could provide insight into what is being discarded, if those materials can be recycled and the potential to find ways to reduce our waste impact.

In order to measure the data from my research question, I plan to choose several sites within Phoenix, visit them on a weekly/biweekly basis and determine the types of waste present at the location. Each visit, I will collect the waste and dispose of it properly and again measure what waste is present. This will provide insight into how much waste accumulates in that area within a specific time period. I plan to document the data and begin building a spreadsheet with the types of waste present.

Name	I/D/C	Units	Description
Site Visit Frequency (Time)	Independent Variable	Weeks	The amount of visits done
Number of pieces of Waste	Dependent Variable	1 piece=1 unit	Number of pieces at each site visit
Location	Controlled	-	Sites at which research is conducted

 

Research Question: What are the primary sources of waste that reach local waterways?

Hypothesis: If we can determine the type of waste present at several sites throughout the city, then we can look at preventing further damage to local ecosystems.

I believe the majority of waste that will be found at site visits will be one time use plastics. Other items may include Styrofoam, aluminum and paper.

*Photo taken from https://www.britannica.com/science/plastic-pollution