Effects of Compost Material on Various Degradable Lawn Bags Joe Mautino 9 th Grade Central Catholic...
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![Page 1: Effects of Compost Material on Various Degradable Lawn Bags Joe Mautino 9 th Grade Central Catholic High School.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022070415/56649eb25503460f94bb9225/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Effects of Compost Material on Various Degradable Lawn Bags
Joe Mautino
9th Grade
Central Catholic High School
![Page 2: Effects of Compost Material on Various Degradable Lawn Bags Joe Mautino 9 th Grade Central Catholic High School.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022070415/56649eb25503460f94bb9225/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Problem
• Plastic bags are used frequently and add to pollution problems
• Plastic bags are not thought to readily decompose
• Composting has been implied as an effective means of recycling organic materials
• Can composting degrade plastic bags as readily as paper?
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Background (Composting)• Composting is the transformation of organic waste into
compost • Main components of composting
– Organic matter• Brown (leaves, twigs, manure) supply Carbon• Green (grass, fruit rinds) supply Nitrogen
– Bacteria• Mesophilic Bacteria Range (10 C° - 40 C° ) • Thermophilic Bacteria Range (40 C° - 65 C°) most desirable
– Oxygen• Oxygen is used up quickly by the microbes as they metabolize the
organic matter • Less oxygen, slower composting
– Moisture• Ideal range is 40% to 60% moisture• High moisture causes anaerobic conditions, low moisture inhibits
activity
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Background (Plastic)
• Americans throw away approximately 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags a year
• Made from crude oil– Accounts for 4% of the worlds total oil usage
• The process of making plastic bags requires large amounts of electricity
• Does not readily decompose
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Background (Paper)Paper production impacts the environment in many
ways• Collection of timber for production is long and
environmentally taxing• Water usage
– Thousands of gallons of clean H2O used to wash and bleach pulp
– Paper = 1 part pulp to 400 part H2O
Disposition of used paper• Landfills
– Takes many years to decompose
• Recycle– Requires extensive process to return to pulp
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Background (BioPlastic)• New biodegradable & compostable
plastics derived from cornstarch, Mater-Bi– Made from starch, biodegradable polyester,
other natural plasticizers – Claim to biodegrade in 10-45 days– Biodegradable: degrade from composting into
carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic biomass
• Compostable: Meets ASTM -6400-99– Biodegradable– Disintegrate– Low eco-toxicity
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Purpose
To determine the garbage bag that will decompose the most rapidly in a compost pile.
![Page 8: Effects of Compost Material on Various Degradable Lawn Bags Joe Mautino 9 th Grade Central Catholic High School.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022070415/56649eb25503460f94bb9225/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Hypothesis
In the test compost, Mater-Bi plastic bags will decompose more than polyethylene plastic bags. The paper bags will undergo the greatest degree of decomposition.
Null: No significant variation in decomposition rate will be composted between Mater-Bi, polyethylene plastic and paper.
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Materials
• 10 Mater-Bi plastic 127 mm * 127 mm bag pieces
• 10 polyethylene plastic 127 mm * 127 mm bag pieces
• 10 paper 127 mm * 127 mm bag pieces
• Digital scale (.000) grams • 5 L of organic potting mix• 15 L of cut grass• 900 ml of cheese
• 500 ml of yogurt• 500 ml of cucumber • 700 ml of green pepper• 400 ml of broccoli • 1 22 L metal bucket• A small electric heater• 1 155 L insulated bucket• 1 measuring cup• Appropriate PPE
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Procedure• Collected and used appropriate PPE• Cut 10 127 mm * 127 mm pieces of each bag
(Polyethylene plastic, Paper, and Mater-Bi plastic bags)
• Weighed each sample and recorded initial mass of each piece
• Created compost mixture with the organic materials (Approximately 20 L)
• Placed the compost into a 22L bucket.• Mixed all 30 samples (Plastic, paper, and Mater-
Bi plastic) into the compost mixture• Used a small heater under the bucket and set to
25°C
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Procedure• Covered the small bucket with the 155L
insulated can to keep a constant temperature • Used a small shovel to mix compost weekly• After 4 weeks removed sample bags from the
compost• Cleaned bag samples by brushing all excess dirt
from bags• Let the samples dry overnight• Weighed final mass
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Polyethylene Plastic Experiment Samples (Control)
Before After
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Paper Experiment Samples
Before After
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Mater-Bi Plastic Experiment Samples
Before After
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Data
Average Polyethylene Plastic Bag
Average Paper
Bag
Average Mater-Bi
Plastic Bag
Initial Weight (grams) 0.3884 1.3416 0.3746
Finial Weight (grams) 0.3827 0.1038 0.3579
Weight Loss (grams) 0.0057 1.2378 0.0167
Percentage of Weight Loss 1.47% 92.26% 4.46%
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Anova Single Factor calculations for the
Average Weight Loss For the 3 Bag Types Anova: Single
Factor
SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
Mater-Bi Plastic 10 44.89 4.489 1.352121111
Polyethylene Plastic 10 16.33 1.633 0.278801111
Paper 10 924.61 92.461 157.6407656
ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between Groups 53323.18 2 26661.5918 502.1907951 4.39E-22 3.354131
Within Groups 1433.445 27 53.0905626
Total 54756.63 29
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Percentage Weight Loss for the Average of Each Sample Bag
92.26
4.461.47
0
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Polyethylene Plastic Bag
Paper Bag
Mater-Bi plastic Bag
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Observations
• All elements in the compost biodegraded to rich black soil
• Mater-Bi plastic showed indications that decomposition had started
• The Polyethylene plastic did not show any signs of biodegradation
• Only little pieces of the paper bags were left
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Future Improvements
• Fill actual bags with organic material
• Improve final cleaning to reduce residual compost on the samples
• Add additional composting bacteria to accelerate decomposition
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Conclusion
• My alternate hypothesis was proven correct, that in the test compost, Mater-Bi plastic bags will decompose more than polyethylene plastic bags. The paper bags will undergo the greatest degree of decomposition.
• My null hypothesis was rejected, shown by the P value stated in the Anova calculations.