Description
I recorded everything that I threw away for one week to establish what kind of refuse I disposed of. I live in the university, and thus I recorded refuse from other students in the neighbourhood.
Analysis
Garbage says a lot about the disposers. From the beginning, I knew I was dealing with students, and thus I sought to establish other aspects as depicted by the disposed refuse. The numerous plastic and paper shopping bags indicated that the disposers bought everything they used. The bags varied in size and colour. The bags were used to carry clothes and foodstuffs from the shops. This aspect indicates that the people residing in the surveyed houses loved shopping. In addition, this observation indicates that disposers have some disposable money. One of the striking bags was from Versace, which had wrapped a woman’s jeans trouser.
The fact that students can afford such expensive designer clothes is an indication that some Americans or people residing in America have lots of money. On the contrary, the many lottery tickets point to a culture of get-rich-quickly swindles. Apparently, students fantasize a lot and given the contemporary information age; they can access information concerning their celebrities’ way of life. Therefore, in a bid to achieve this level of success, the majority of students believe in luck, and thus they hope that they will somehow win the lottery. In addition, the used casino tickets are evidence of a gambling culture amongst students.
The plastic bags pointed to the environmental menace that such refuse is causing across the United States. The number of plastic bags accounted for over 40% of all garbage noted. In addition, apart from the shopping bags for clothes, all other bags were used to carry readymade foodstuffs from the shops, which is an indication of poor feeding habits amongst students in the US as explored in the following paragraphs.
The disposed of readymade food containers and wrappings indicated that the disposers did not prepare foods in their houses. In addition, the foodstuffs were a clear indication that people are living in the investigated houses fed on fast foods. The fact that I collected this information for one week, and I did not find any refuse from fresh foods qualifies my earlier assertion that most students in the US feed on junk. The chips’ bags, empty pizza boxes, and beverage containers crown the poor feeding habits amongst American students. The preference for fast foods resonates well with gambling habits, which treasure instant solutions. Perhaps the American society is growing impatient, and individuals prefer quick fixes to go through the due process of obtaining lasting results.
The moral aspect of the disposers’ habits was also reflected in the refuse. I encountered three used condom wrappers, which insinuates that students are engaging in protected sex. On one side, this aspect is a recommendable behaviour as people are engaging in protected sex. On the other side, it highlights the issue of immorality and sex before marriage. Whichever way, students are engaging in protected sex according to my findings. In addition, I found cigar butts, which indicate that the disposers are smokers. On the same note, the used beer cans show that the disposers take alcohol.
I found used envelopes and piles of papers, which indicates that despite the evolution in technology, the disposers still use papers. Lastly, the withering freshly cut flowers is an indication of love and affection. Perhaps, the flowers were from a loved one.
List of the things noted
- Numerous plastic bags
- Milk containers
- Juice containers
- Beer bottles
- Chocolate wraps
- Soda containers
- Withering freshly cut flowers
- Cheese string packets
- Chips bags
- Opened envelops
- Paper piles
- Empty pizza boxes
- Chicken fingers
- Coke zero empty bottles
- Cigar butts
- Lottery tickets
- Used casino tickets
- Used condom wrappers