Who: The people observed were pedestrians passing by, customers of Waterstones bookstore, and patrons of the Muffin Break café. They ranged in age and varied between individuals alone and those in groups.

For this observation, I spent time watching how people disposed of their trash and recycling outside Waterstones Bookstore in East Sussex, near the Muffin Break café. I wanted to see if people actually followed the recycling labels on the bins or if convenience took priority. Over the course of my time there, I noticed some clear patterns: most people threw everything into the general trash without much thought, even when recyclable options were available. While a few individuals did make an effort to use the recycling bin, it was mostly for plastic bottles, and many recyclable coffee cups still ended up in the wrong place. Group behavior differed from solo behavior, with younger people in groups being slightly more mindful about sorting waste correctly. My presence seemed to have a minor impact, as some individuals hesitated or made a show of properly disposing of their trash when they noticed me watching. Overall, the results suggest that either people don’t fully understand what can be recycled or they don’t think it’s worth the extra effort. Small changes like clearer signage, better bin design, or awareness campaigns might encourage more responsible waste disposal.

Who: Family Members

For this activity, I chose to analyze the trash can in my kitchen because it is the trash can most used in my house. Some activities around the garbage can are cooking, cleaning, taking out the trash, searching for items that were accidentally thrown away, people making a mess, recycling, and cleaning the trash can.  Most of these activities leave a trace in the trash can, usually including throwing things away like food waste, packaging, and other kitchen discards. Some items thrown away are food waste, including leftovers, spoiled food, and peels from fruits and vegetables. Different types of items discarded are packed, including plastic wraps, containers, and Ziploc bags. Some recycled items are plastics like milk jugs, juice, and soda bottles. The number of items changed when certain people were home; for example, when my mom was home, she cleaned and cooked much more than any of us, so a lot of trash was thrown away. On the other hand, when my dad is home, he cooks but doesn't clean as much as my mom, so there is a drastic change in the amount of trash that goes in the trash can. During this observation, my family knows a lot about recycling and trash waste. I say this because we have a trash can on the left side with two compartments. Regular waste is thrown in there, and on the right side, recyclable things are thrown in there. An extra observation I made was when guests who came over threw away trash on both sides of the trash, so at the end of the night, we had to go through the trash and sort things out correctly.