Waste Not, Want Not: Can a Simple Sticker Cause People to Go Green?

Overview

Objectives/Goals Paper towels are a very wasteful use of natural resources. Even though more paper is used to make newspapers and magazines than paper towels, paper towels cause more landfill waste because they are almost never recycled unlike newspapers and magazines which are often recycled. Because they are not recycled, it is important to find a way to reduce the use of paper towels in the first place. My objective was to determine if paper towel use could be reduced by using a simple sticker on a paper towel dispenser that reminds people that paper towels come from trees. Methods/Materials I designed reminder stickers that had a picture of a tree and said, Hey! These are made from trees! Take only what you need please!. I placed these stickers on paper towel dispensers in four bathrooms at my school, one boys and one girls student bathroom, and one mens and one womens staff bathroom. The amount of paper towels that were used during two weeks when the stickers were up was compared to the amount used during two baseline weeks with no stickers. The sticker and baseline weeks were alternated: week 1, baseline; week 2, sticker; week 3, baseline; week 4, sticker. Results Paper towel use was lower during the weeks when the stickers were up compared to the weeks when stickers were not up. The stickers influenced paper towel use by kids more than adults. Males and females were influenced about equally. Conclusions/Discussion Reminding people that paper towels are a natural resource and should be conserved can reduce paper towel use and save trees. Because of my research, my school has allowed me to put reminder stickers on the paper towel dispensers in all the bathrooms. If the stickers save paper towels and money over longer periods of time, I plan to ask if the Irvine Unified School District will allow me to put stickers in all the bathrooms in all the schools. Maybe the whole state or country could eventually do this. This could save thousands of trees a year.

Awards (1)

• Third Place

Competition history

• CSEF 2010 Behavioral & Social Sciences · Entry J0314

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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