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Problem
What are the decomposition rates of different items? Depending on the weather different items will decompose more quickly or may not even decopose at all. -
Hypothesis
I believe that the apple will decompse the most. -
Materials and Equipment
Shovels, Wooden Stakes, Hammer, Marker Tape, Rebar Stakes, Apple, Foil, Cotton, Paper, Orange, Sun Chip Bag, Styrofoam, and a Regular Chip Bag are the materials and equipment used in this project. -
Weather Week 1
The weather towards the end of the week is mild. Temperature-44 degrees farenheit but excpected to be 68 degrees farenheit as the daily high. Wind-12 mph. Barofress-30.16 inches. Humidity-50%. -
Styrofoam
The Alliance for Form Packaging Recyclers (AFPR) has created a unique mail-back option that allows anyone with small quantities of EPS access to recycle Styrofoam. That is highly unusual because ,most companies refuse to recycle styrofoam because it has a chemical called polystyrene which contaminates food. Styrofoam is mostly air except for the polystyrene.Styrofoam recycling helps to reduce the amount of new Styrofoam that needs to be produced, as well as diverts EPS away from the landfills. -
Procedure
Dig a hole about 10 inches and burry the items in different holes. Wait about 8 weeks before digging them back up to see which decomposed the most and which ones didn't decompose at all. The items we burried were Styrofoam, Aluminum Foil, Sun Chips Bag, Regular Chips Bag, Apple, Paper, Cotton, and an Orange. -
Weather Week 2
Weather this week was mildly warm and sometimes cold. Very little wind. Humidity was very high this week. -
Aluminum Foil
It takes an incredible amount of energy to create a roll of aluminum foil. Recycling is a proactive way to reduce the toll on the environment. Unlike plastics, aluminum is able to be recycled over and over without compromising quality. It's the perfect recycle resource. -
Weather Week 3
Towards the end of the week the weather is starting to warm up. 60s-80s. Low moisture. -
Sun Chips Bag
Sun Chips Bags are a 100% compostable which means their 100% recycable! By Earth Day (April 22), all North American SunChips bags will feature the compostable packaging, which is expected to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. -
Regular Chips Bag
Re-use chip bags to keep other food fresh. Wash and dry them, then cover your leftover food. -
Weather Week 4
Very hot and humid in the begining of the week, very cold and windy towards the end of the week. -
Apple
By recycling apples you could throw the core into a hole for it to decompse into earths surface. Another way is to take the seeds out of the apple and plant them to try to re-grow them. -
Paper
There are many ways to recycle paper. Most schools and businesses do.In this decade it is expected that Americans will throw away over 4 and a half million tons of office paper and nearly 10 million tons of newspaper. Almost all of this material could be recycled. 95% of newwspaper made will be thrown away eventually. -
Weather Week 5
Weather towards the beginning of this week was very rainy and humid. Towards the end of the week its very sunny and mid-temps 55-75 degrees farenheit. -
Cotton
Cotton can be recycled in many ways. A lot of cotton is used to make clothing. By making cotton into clothing a lot of cotton is recycled. When clothes don't fit, you can use the old t-shirts etc. to make dish rags,blankets, and possibly other clothes for other people. -
Weather Week 6
Temps 40-50, humid. Not sunny, very cloudy. -
Orange
Oranges are very easy to recycle, When you peel an orange you can throw the peel in the dirt or on the ground. It will eventually decompose into the eath's surface. Oranges are alsoa healthy snack so you can use them in many food and drink dishes. -
Weather Week 7
Weather towards thr beginning of the week is very humid. Not much moisture. Temperatures are mild. About 80 degrees farenheit. -
Cotton Conclusion
The cotton didn't decompose much. Just got really muddy and dirty. Nothing really changed about it. Its decomposition rate is about 0%. -
Styrofoam Conclusion
The styrofoam cup didn't decompose at all really. Just was broke up into pieces.The deompostiton rate was about 0%. -
Sun Chips Bag Conclusion
The Sun Chips Bag looked the same as when we first put it in the hole. Not much change. Just in pieces. Decomposition rate is about 10%. -
Regular Chips Bag Conclusion
Looks the same as when we first put it in the hole. No change at all. Decomposition rate is about 0%. -
Orange Conclusion
You can barely see the orange anymore. Practically the peel is the only thing left but its definitely not orange. More of a brown/black color. Decomposition rate is about 90%. -
Paper Conclusion
The paper didn't decompose much. Just got very moist. Decomposition rate is about 5%. -
Foil Conclusion
The foil didnt't decompose at all. Decomposition rate is about 0%. -
Apple Conclusion
The apple was practically decomposed fully. Not much left. Just the skin. Decomposition rate is about 95%.
