1.Choose a fast-food restaurant to study. Arrange to spend 1 hour at the restaurant with 2 to 4 of your classmates to gather data.
New York Wings n Ribs
2. Throughout this study, be as quiet and as unobtrusive as possible, and avoid aggravating the restaurant management or customers.
3. At the restaurant, observe how food is packaged as it is served. Make notes about the type of packaging used, paying particular attention to the following questions:
a. What are the packages made from?
Styrofoam container
b. How many layers of packaging are used for each food item?
There are 3 layers the styrofoam container, paper under the food and plastic bag
c. Do servers provide utensils, condiments, and napkins, or do customers help themselves? How are the condiments packaged?
The customers help themselves on a separate table, the condiments are packaged in little plastic containers with a lid on top that the you have to ask for.
4. Choose a centrally located trash container and observe it for 30 minutes. Count the number of people who deposit trash in the container in that time. Makes notes about how frequently you see items other than empty packaging (food waste, unused napkins, condiment packages,etc.) go into the trash container.
5 people deposited trash in the container in that time. Empty Styrofoam containers, unused napkins, plastic utensils, and leftover food were thrown into the trash.
5. Estimate the total number of customers per day as follows:
Take the number of people who visited your trashcan in 30 minutes. Multiply this number by 2, and then multiply it by the number of hours per day the restaurant is open. Multiply this result by the number of trashcans per restaurant. Finally, assume that each person deposited trash for an average of 2 customers, and multiply by 2 to obtain the total to obtain the total number of customers per day
5 x 2 x 11 = 110 customers per hr
110 x 2 = 220 customers per day
220 x 2 x 2= 880 of trash
6. Estimate what waste items--cups, straws, tray lines, etc.--are thrown away, by the average customer. Based on this estimate, how many of each item would be thrown away each day?
1 cup, 880/1 = 880
1 straw, 880/1 = 880
0 tray line, 880/0 = 0
2 condiments, 880/2 = 440
6 napkins, 880/6 = 146
Total = 2,346
7. Are separate recycling containers provided for the customers? If so, do signs on the container make it clear which waste items are supposed to go into the recycling containers and which go to the trash?
No there aren't separate recycling containers provided and the container doesn't make it clear which waste items are suppose to go into the recycling or trash.
8. Summarize your findings. Create a table that shows your statistical data and include a description of the types and amount of waste generated at the restaurant you visited. Based on your findings, suggest ways in which the amount of trash could be reduced. Be sure to include the following:
Conclusion:
* Fast-food restaurant, date and time of your visit along with your classmates.
* Ways to avoid producing certain types of waste altogether
* Ways to replace disposable items with reusable ones
* Discussion of what waste items could be recycled or composted
* Ways to replace non-recyclable, non-compostable items that can be recycled or composted
New York Wings n Ribs
2. Throughout this study, be as quiet and as unobtrusive as possible, and avoid aggravating the restaurant management or customers.
3. At the restaurant, observe how food is packaged as it is served. Make notes about the type of packaging used, paying particular attention to the following questions:
a. What are the packages made from?
Styrofoam container
b. How many layers of packaging are used for each food item?
There are 3 layers the styrofoam container, paper under the food and plastic bag
c. Do servers provide utensils, condiments, and napkins, or do customers help themselves? How are the condiments packaged?
The customers help themselves on a separate table, the condiments are packaged in little plastic containers with a lid on top that the you have to ask for.
4. Choose a centrally located trash container and observe it for 30 minutes. Count the number of people who deposit trash in the container in that time. Makes notes about how frequently you see items other than empty packaging (food waste, unused napkins, condiment packages,etc.) go into the trash container.
5 people deposited trash in the container in that time. Empty Styrofoam containers, unused napkins, plastic utensils, and leftover food were thrown into the trash.
5. Estimate the total number of customers per day as follows:
Take the number of people who visited your trashcan in 30 minutes. Multiply this number by 2, and then multiply it by the number of hours per day the restaurant is open. Multiply this result by the number of trashcans per restaurant. Finally, assume that each person deposited trash for an average of 2 customers, and multiply by 2 to obtain the total to obtain the total number of customers per day
5 x 2 x 11 = 110 customers per hr
110 x 2 = 220 customers per day
220 x 2 x 2= 880 of trash
6. Estimate what waste items--cups, straws, tray lines, etc.--are thrown away, by the average customer. Based on this estimate, how many of each item would be thrown away each day?
1 cup, 880/1 = 880
1 straw, 880/1 = 880
0 tray line, 880/0 = 0
2 condiments, 880/2 = 440
6 napkins, 880/6 = 146
Total = 2,346
7. Are separate recycling containers provided for the customers? If so, do signs on the container make it clear which waste items are supposed to go into the recycling containers and which go to the trash?
No there aren't separate recycling containers provided and the container doesn't make it clear which waste items are suppose to go into the recycling or trash.
8. Summarize your findings. Create a table that shows your statistical data and include a description of the types and amount of waste generated at the restaurant you visited. Based on your findings, suggest ways in which the amount of trash could be reduced. Be sure to include the following:
Conclusion:
* Fast-food restaurant, date and time of your visit along with your classmates.
* Ways to avoid producing certain types of waste altogether
* Ways to replace disposable items with reusable ones
* Discussion of what waste items could be recycled or composted
* Ways to replace non-recyclable, non-compostable items that can be recycled or composted
Ways the amount of trash can be reduced is by using less napkins, and deciding to eat at the restaurant instead of take out since it requires less packaging. On February 20, after school around 3:40 I went to New York Wings n Ribs with my friend Joceline. Being there and witnessing for 1 hour I've seen many things being wasted and thrown away. I think the best way to avoid producing certain types of waste altogether would be to get rid of the separate table with napkins and utensils for customers to choose from and let the people who work there give them a limit to use from. I saw many people grab a lot of napkins that barely get used and then get thrown into the trash. Ways to replace disposable items with reusable ones would be the little cups that you ask for when you want a certain type of sauce on the side, those are able to be washed and then reused again. Instead of throwing it away, there should be a rule to return them back to the workers. Waste items that are able to be recycled or composted would be the plastic utensils. Since they are plastic they should be recycled instead of thrown in the trash. There should really be a recycling bin near the trash bin so people can recycle any plastic items that they get. Ways to replace non-recyclable items would be to reuse them. Ways to reuse them would be to replace them with environmental friendly ones, or with items made out of metal so instead of throwing it away, we can return them when were finish with our food so they can be washed.