Summary: | In 2016, more than thirty-three million tons of plastic waste was produced in the United States, and as a result, Americans have contributed to environmental issues like ocean acidification and increased global temperatures. By improving the recycling habits of the fifteen million high school students in the United States, the increasing carbon footprint produced by Americans could potentially be reduced. The goal of this study is to determine the extent to which increased education concerning recyclables along with an increased presence of recycling containers within a school setting will impact the recycling habits of students. This study initially establishes the typical recycling habits of the students at the school of investigation, and later imposes two treatments onto the participating students. As a part of the first treatment, additional recycling bins were placed at the school in order to determine their impact on the students' recycling behavior. Next, the students received additional instruction on the recycling practices of Chapin High School. As a result of the increased presence of recycling bins at the school and the increased level of instruction concerning recyclables, the recycling habits of the students remained unchanged.
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