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2013 Spring | Education & Outreach, Sustainability

Why do we Trash it?

Student(s):

Joel Kohlstedt

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Terri Butler

Partner(s):

  • Sustainable Seattle

Faculty advisor(s):

Frederica Helmiere, Program on the Environment, University of Washington

For my project, I was interested in studying the barriers to recycling and composting people in Seattle experience. I also wanted to present recommendations about what steps may help with reducing the barriers. To discover the barriers, I conducted interviews with shoppers at two different grocery stores: a PCC in Fremont and a QFC in North Beacon Hill. I also completed a recycling infrastructure study at the Seattle Tower to gain a commercial perspective on barriers to proper waste disposal. Finally, I looked at various policy and behavioral studies to discover what might best address these barriers.