https://padlet.com/polly_mclean/Sporks en-us 2018-10-15 15:32:45 UTC 2020-07-10 13:02:17 UTC hello@padlet.com polly_mclean https://padlet.com/polly_mclean/Sporks/wish/401877071 In recent years spork usage has grown dramatically. However, very little research exists on the correlation between spork usage and water usage. By examining young children’s eating habits, this study, funded by the National Institute of Spork Producers (NISP), aimed to find out whether spork usage could potentially see a decrease in water usage. The authors compared water usage of 100 primary aged children from five different schools who washed their own sporks after a meal with that of 100 primary aged children who used traditional knives and forks. While the few studies in this research area have traditionally used the Thompson Scale (Thompson, 2012), this study utilised the Watson Washing Up Scale (Watson, 2005) as the grounds of comparing water usage data. The results demonstrated that those pupils who using sporks used approximately a third less water than those using traditional cutlery. In light of these results, the author therefore argues that sporks should be the principal cutlery implement used in primary schools.]]> 2019-10-24 07:38:09 UTC https://padlet.com/polly_mclean/Sporks/wish/401877071 polly_mclean https://padlet.com/polly_mclean/Sporks/wish/401877285 Spork usage has, in some contexts, overtaken traditional cutlery usage. This increase has been underpinned by previous research pointing to the environmental benefits of spork usage. Focusing on the impact of plastics in our environment, this study sheds new light upon the consequences of spork usage. Since sporks are almost exclusively made of plastic, this systematic review of previous literature highlights the predominance of black plastic cutlery in spork production. Out of 20 articles reviewed, 18 found that black plastic sporks to be the most common type of spork. Since this type of plastic cannot be recycled, this study concludes that sporks are one of the least environmentally friendly types of cutlery. This review also focused on 10 studies of plastic waste found on Britain’s beaches, and found that sporks made up a disproportionately high amount of the waste found. Final recommendations are for new legislation relating to the production of black plastic sporks and funding advancements in the field of new spork materials.]]> 2019-10-24 07:38:32 UTC https://padlet.com/polly_mclean/Sporks/wish/401877285