Objective
The objective of this assignment is to recycle various household items to conduct an experiment and to write a research report on it. Throughout the process of ten weeks various types of plastic materials had been collected and stored so that when we resell these items after ten long weeks, we are able to easily tell the difference between the price of when it was bought and the price at which it is again sold in the market. The above mentioned process was carried out for the duration of ten weeks.
In the first week of this assignment four plastic milk pack containers were collected, stored and kept for recycling. In the second week, three plastic bottles were collected from the street [they were normal pet bottles of soft drinks] and were stored along with the milk pack containers. In the third week, five plastic plates were found from the household stuff which was not of use any more [they were standard soup plates].
In the fourth week, six plastic tea cups were found which were also placed alongside all the other recyclable items in the storage area. In the fifth week, three plastic dustbins were collected for this task [they were pedal opener dustbins]. Five hair combs were also collected in the sixth week from the household items as well.
The seventh week, twelve ball point pens were collected as part of recycling experiment. In the eight week plastic lunch boxes were also collected. Ninth week, Plastic shopping bags were collected as they are used almost on a daily basis in some way or the other and also due to the reason that they are environmentally noxious to the society. The last week of the recycling experiment, Plastic balls were collected; the ones that children play with.
1 ton = 1000kgs
1 Kg = 1000gms
Therefore 1 ton = 1000 x 1000 = 1,000,000gms
1,000,000gms = $1500
Therefore, 1gm = 1500/1,000,000
1gm = $0.0015
As we have 512gms = $0.768
Which = 76.8cents
Data Collection Procedure
After collection of all the necessary items to complete the assignment, counting was done on the basis of categorizing plastic material things for their purpose and the types. Once, the plastic goods were sequenced it became easier to calculate the varying types and sizes of items placed in the inventory.
Management Skills Implemented
The management skills which have been implemented in order to complete this assignment to manage a storage area for all the different items, in order to ensure that the stock inventory for recycling does not get mixed up. The storage area for the task was cleaned and tidied prior and made imperative that it stayed that way. For ten continuous weeks the storage area was maintained and confronted no problems in order to store the different types of plastic materials.
Inventory Management
For the entire ten weeks, a new and different plastic material was to be put in the inventory for completing this assignment, each week. The management of the inventory was relatively easy as the storage area was quite expansive. There were ten different shelves made and each shelf was meant to store an individual plastic material good. This ensured that none of the goods could ever get jumbled up.
Storage Management
The management ensured that the storage area was cleaned thoroughly and properly. Hence, the counting and inspection of all the different plastic recyclable was to be done without any hassle.
Social and Ethical Responsibility
Conducting such an experiment accentuates the need for recycling in an extreme responsible fashion. The social and ethical responsibility behind recycling plastic waste is highly and urgently required as plastic takes years to decompose. A general example being the plastic bags for instance, as they come in very handy and almost everyone uses or used it on a daily basis.
Not only can they clog up drainage but also the mess created is painful to clean up. In fact, several developing countries are continuously battling with plastic decomposition. Hence, it’s absolutely crucial that one understands the importance and ethical need to become a more socially responsible human being. Embracing both the quality and habit of recycling waste materials is one of the most vital needs of the human race in the 21st century.
Potential Business Enterprise
There are several business enterprises that recycle plastic waste and convert it into useful things. In every other type of business, plastic is used for various reasons. For example there is Tesco and Sainsbury in retail business that converts plastic material and use them for packaging their products.
In fact, quite a few businesses have made a conscious decision to recycle waste and plastic. Usually these products which are being sold have green arrows which show that they can be recycled again. Another example can be given of the roads which are built in southern India, they are made with plastic bags made into powder form and buried under the road. This carved the path for a possibility of recycling bio degradable plastic bags in Southern India. (Scienceray, 2011)
Recycling Centers
For example, Appliance recycling center has several branches and is quite a huge firm, as not only do they sell home appliances but recycling is a core value of the company as well. They recycle all over America.
Cost Factors
Recycling wastes uses up double the amount of energy in comparison creating plastic. The factories which recycle plastic wastes produce harmful and sometimes poisonous smoke. Proven by research it is found that majority of the factories which recycle waste end up being given a chase for their money.
Collectivism
Collectivism is the term for the combined thoughts of a group of people. Collectivism is the phenomenon that is used as an antonym of the term individualism. According to a collective theory, the collective group is seen to have superiority over the individual. There are two types of collectivism and they are horizontal and vertical.
There are two types of collectivism; horizontal and the vertical. The horizontal collectivism comprises of the equal distribution of duties and responsibilities. In Vertical collectivism there is a social chain of command that members of this group work to maintain and people submit to those who are above them in the chain of command (Wisegeek, 2011).
Plastic Issue
The plastic issue can be solved by various methods; all these methods can be done on a local and almost a communal scale which will have a global effect. It is the responsibility of the government as well as every member of the society to not only face each issue but also take measures to solve them.
If the plastic is to be banned by the government to save the planet, then there are two things which need to be resolved. Firstly, in order to safeguard the manufacturers and dealers of the plastic industry, they must be provided with different ways of earning a good livelihood. Secondly, find an alternate for the consumers at a reasonable rate.
Years ago, when plastic was not common, most of the time people used cloth bags or jute bags to carry their belongings. In order to save up on expenses the sugar and other such granule like commodities were sold to the customers wrapped up in the news papers (cone shaped). Even in today’s world we can adopt all those good practices because they do not spoil our environment (Scienceray, 2011).
Throughout the entire ten weeks process of recycling plastic, the knowledge gained explains the importance of recycling is immense. It is absolutely necessary that all human beings realize and activate their social and ethical responsibility, when it comes to recycling. The less plastic is used on a daily basis, the higher the risk we run.
Mindsets need to be changed if globally we need to improve. Create and raising awareness in the minds of people from different regions on the importance of recycling to begin with is a huge step towards our social and ethical responsibility towards our world, planet and each other.
References
Scienceray. (2011). Web.
Scienceray. (2011). Web.
Wisegeek. (2011). Web.