CMST 230 Small Group Communication, Green River College
Group: Manufacturing
Group Members: James, Lana, Michael, Renee, Alex, Elizabeth, Jordan
In identifying this problem within the parameters of a small win, two problems became apparent. Ultimately, we decided on focusing on the issue of waste and packaging (particularly plastic) reduction, however, this presented us with a second issue. With how wide scale and devastating a societal issue excess waste has become, socially minded people will overwork themselves trying to concoct grand solutions and will walk away accomplishing nothing but a sense of asphyxiating frustration. In this case, not only was the problem we settled on one we had to find and settle on, but also, an additional problem was in identifying how to not get overwhelmed by it and to narrow our focus.
This is a problem that needs to be solved because plastic/other packaging waste makes up 30% of total U.S. waste annually and such a high volume of plastic packaging waste could take up to 1,000 years to degrade naturally. This is serious because packaging waste pollutes our air, water, and soil. A lot of packaging waste is sent to landfills or is disposed of in the environment which hurts the Earth, people, and animals even more. For example, the more trash we produce the more toxic chemicals it can create to harm animals’ health and people can ingest these chemicals as they make their way up the food chain. The significance is that most packaging cannot be recycled and will only drain resources plus add to the production of waste. This matters to our group and is the reason why we chose this.
The solution criteria for the Small Wins group project is that it must be the achievement of a goal or task consistent with the definition of a group from our text. That is, the project includes three or more persons interacting who both influence and are influenced by one another. (Rothwell, 2019, p. 24). The Small Wins project must include a community service component, with our group determining what is both our “community” and who is being “served.” However, the project must have an actionable activity that is conducted by all the members. Further, the project must be accomplished within the provided timeline of four weeks, along with required documentation and support as described in the assignment. Lastly, the project needs to be consistent with Green River College’s guidelines for the safety and security of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Below are all our suggested solutions. While we eliminated 2 or 3 as the project progressed, we used most of these ideas. Everyone picked whichever one they knew they could accomplish to reach the end goal. They all qualify as small wins and so our group members chose different solutions all from the following… Using a reusable water bottle, cut up and tie up an old shirt to create a reusable tote bag, reusable bags (when shopping for example), avoid single use food and drink containers, buy things and clothes second hand, compost, use laundry basket to hold groceries instead of bags (use a cart to bring the laundry basket, or keep basket in the trunk of car)
As a group, we decided it would be too difficult in the short amount of time before the project was due, for all of us to implement the same waste reduction in everyone’s lives. It would also be impractical, i.e not everyone grocery shops, not everyone uses a water bottle. We decided that everyone choosing one small way to reduce their plastic waste would be the most beneficial. Studies show that many people reducing their plastic waste by just a little bit can make a huge difference. A study published on Science Advances found that Americans generate an average of 105kg (231 lbs) of plastic per year. If 1000 people use & throw 105 kg plastic a year, that equals: 1000 people x 105 kg plastic waste = 105 000 kg plastic trash. If these 1000 people reduce their plastic waste by 25%, that will result in: 1000 people x 78.8 kg plastic waste =78 800 kg plastic trash. So, by reducing just 25% of plastic consumption, 1000 people can save 26 200 kg of plastic waste a year (Vrachovska, 2021). Because of this, instead of asking everyone to partake in the same waste reduction technique, we let our group members select a waste reduction method that worked with their life and schedule. Many small changes add up to big and small wins in large and small communities.
Keeping in mind the COVID restrictions during this time regarding contact with others, activities have been made to ensure safety for all parties involved. Within the past three weeks, our group planned out what solutions we will implement–the time of implementation depended on each person’s schedule. Various solutions that have been implemented within our group to form small wins include using reusable items in our everyday lives. More specifically, Renee, Michael, and Alex used items daily such as a reusable water bottle, and toothpaste tablets instead of toothpaste from a tube. Lana and James used reusable utensils and a reusable straw when eating and drinking outside of the home to reduce plastic fork and straw waste. Elizabeth and Jordan reused grocery bags, applying this whenever grocery runs were needed. With the application of these environmentally-friendly items, as a group effort, our team was able to reduce a substantial amount of waste.
The problems with packaging waste are huge, so for our group’s small win we tried to use less plastic in our everyday lives. Plastic waste adds up really fast, so we ended up saving tons of plastic. As a group we used a lot less plastic in our everyday lives, we kept at least 60 plastic water bottles from going to a landfill, 10 plastic grocery bags, multiple tubes of toothpaste, and 20 less plastic utensils. This reduction in plastic waste helped the environment with the problem of single use plastics plaguing our society. Reducing plastic waste helps reduce greenhouse gasses, pollution, and helps with reducing plastic in landfills (Reducing and Reusing Basics 2021).
Rothwell, J.D. (2019). In mixed company: Communicating in small groups and teams (10th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Vrachovska, M. (2021, November 3). Why Should We Reduce The Use Of Plastic. Almost Zero Waste. https://www.almostzerowaste.com/reduce-plastic-waste/Links to an external site.
Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Reducing and Reusing Basics. EPA. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-and-reusing-basicsLinks to an external site.