SURVEY : RECYCLING IN

OUR CITY

3TH YEAR ESO STUDENTS

VICENTA FERRER ESCRIVÀ
SECONDARY SCHOOL
 Who did we ask?
A total of 58 people were interviewed.
 Gender:
 48% men
 52% women
 Age:
 24% under 20 years old
 31% between 20 and 40 years old
 45% older than 45 years old
  1- In your opinion, how clean is Valencia?
 1. Very clean
 2. Clean enough
 3. Not clean enough
 4. Very dirty

Question one

56.9
60.0

50.0

40.0
22.4
30.0
13.8
20.0
6.9
10.0

0.0
is of the opinion that our city is

very clean clean enough not clean enough dirty/very dirty

 Analysis / Suggestions

 Only 30% believe that Valencia is a clean city.

 Over 70% are of the opinion that Valencia is a dirty city

 This is a serious cause of concern! What can we do?

2- At home, do you and your family recycle...? (yes/no)
* Paper
* Glass
* Batteries
* Medicines
* Plastic
* Metal

90.0 82.8
80.0 72.4
69.0
70.0 62.1
60.0 55.2

50.0
37.9
40.0 Paper
30.0 glass
batteries
20.0
Medicines
10.0 Plasric
0.0 metal
1
Paper 82.8
glass 69.0
batteries 55.2
Medicines 62.1
Plasric 72.4
metal 37.9
 Analysis / Suggestions

A large amount of people recycle at home, especially

paper, plastic and glass because they have containers near
their houses. Over half also separate medicines and
batteries for recycling.
Excellent results: It seems they are concerned about this
problem. However, we are of the opinion that these results
are a little too optimistic. Maybe, these people don’t actually
recycle everyday.
 3- At school / at the office, do YOU recycle (yes/no)
• Paper
• Glass
• Plastic
• Ink cartridges

At work/school, we recycle...

80.0 72.4

70.0

60.0

50.0

40.0 34.5
27.6 Paper
30.0 20.7 Glass
Plastic
20.0
Ink c artidges
10.0

0.0
1
Paper 72.4
Glass 20.7
Plastic 34.5
Ink c artidges 27.6
Analysis / Suggestions

At school or at the office, things don’t

work out as well as they do at home.
Only a limited amount of people recycle
paper at work/school, and they don’t
separate other kinds of waste
Maybe they consider that it is not their
duty, or that they haven’t enough time.
A campaign to increase public
awareness must be launched.
 4- What do you demand of your Council in order to improve the waste problem?
• More recycling containers in the streets
• A Recycling point to put other kinds of waste
•More recycling consciousness campaigns
•Fines for people who litter the streets

Question four
50,0

50,0
45,0 36,2
40,0 29,3 27,6
35,0
30,0
25,0
20,0
15,0
10,0
5,0
0,0
What do you demand of your Council in order to improve the waste problem??
More recycling containers in the streets A Recycling point to put other kinds of waste
More recycling conciousness campaigns Fines for people who get dirty the streetst
Analysis / Suggestions

People ask for more waste containers near their houses.

They want more facilities to put their rubbish in different
containers. Sometimes, these containers are full and waste
accumulates beside the containers.

Quite a few people are of the opinion that some

citizens are not aware of the waste problem and
don’t make appropriate use of the waste containers.
Instead they tend to put all their waste in the
nearest container, it doesn’t matter what kind of
waste they are throwing away. Some of the people
we interviewed say that they’ve asked the Local
Council to fine these irresponsible citizens.
 5- How well do you think your Council deals with the waste problem?
• Very well
• Well enough. But it could be better
• Badly
• Very badly

Question five

39,7 39,7

40,0
35,0
30,0
25,0
20,0
10,3 10,3
15,0
10,0
5,0
0,0
How well do you think your Council deals with the waste problem?
Very well Well enough. It could be better Badly I don't care about it
Analysis / Suggestions

In this question we find

two conflicting
viewpoints: Half of the
interviewed people
think that the local
authorities deal with
waste in an appropriate
way. The other half
believes that the
authorities deal with it
in an inappropriate
way: Who is right?
 6- Why do you recycle materials?
• I’m seriosly concerned about the environment
• It’s my duty
• I think it’s a good thing, but it’s hard to do, so I don’t recycle
• I don’t recycle. I don’t care

Question six

55,2
60,0
50,0
40,0 22,4
19,0
30,0
20,0 3,4
10,0
0,0
Why do you recycle materials?
IÕm seriosly concerned about the environment
ItÕs my duty
I think itÕs a good thing, but itÕs hard to do, so I donÕt recycle
I donÕt recycle. I donÕt care
 Analysis / Suggestions

Over 75% of people are concerned about recycling

waste, 20% believe that they should recycle but they
find it difficult. Only a small percentage of people (3%)
consider that recycling is a load of tosh.
7- What kind of items do you throw into the plastic bank (yellow container)
• Every kind of plastic and metal including batteries and electronic devices
• Plastic containers , cans and juice/milk cartons
• Every kind of plastic and metal, except batteries and electronic devices
• Only plastic containers and cans: I throw juice/milk cartons into the paper bank

5 6 ,9
6 0 ,0

5 0 ,0

4 0 ,0

3 0 ,0 A •A: Every kind of plastic and metall including batteries and

electronic devices
1 7 ,2 1 9 ,0 B • B: Plastic containers , cans and juice/milk cartons
2 0 ,0 •C: Every kind of plastic and metall, except batteries and
C electronic devices
• D: Only plastic containers and cans: I throw juice/milk
6 ,9 D cartons into the paper bank
1 0 ,0

0 ,0
1
A 6 ,9
B 5 6 ,9
C 1 7 ,2
D 1 9 ,0
 Analysis / Suggestions

Many people (45%) don’t know how they

are supposed to use the plastic container.
They are of the opinion that all kinds of
plastic and metal should be thrown in
there together.
But that is not the truth: In our city only
plastic bottles, aluminum and steel cans
or milk/drink cartons are recyclable.
Other kinds of plastic or metal must be
sent to a separate recycling point
8- What do you do with the remaining oil after cooking?
• I throw leftover oil into the sink
• I throw leftover oil into the dustbin
• I re-use oil several times and after that I put it into a glass/plastic bottle and I throw it into
the green/yellow container
• I re-use oil several times and after that I put the oil in a newspaper and throw this into the
dustbin

Question eigth

27,8
25,9 25,9
30,0
20,4
25,0
20,0
15,0
10,0
5,0
0,0
qWhat do you do with the remaining oil after cooking?

I throw oil into the sink

I throw oil into the dustbin

I reuse oil several times and after that I put it into a glass/plastic bottle and I throw it into the
green/yellow container
I reuse oil several times and after that I put the oil in a newspaper and throw this into the
dustbin
 Analysis / Suggestions

It was a tricky question for many: Only

20% of the interviewed people knew
how to deal with oil correctly. Special
containers should be provided by the
authorities to make disposing of oil
easier for people.
We believe that people should be
more informed on this subject in order
to avoid throwing in the kitchen sink.
As it is harmful for the cycle of water.
9- Near your house, are there enough recycling banks for the different kinds of waste?
• Organic (general) Grey colour
• Plastic and metal (yelllow)
• Paper (Blue)
• Glass (green)

Question nine

93,1
100,0
90,0
80,0 58,6 56,9 58,6
70,0
60,0
50,0
40,0
30,0
20,0
10,0
0,0
Near your house, are there enough recycling banks for the different kinds of
waste?
Organic (general) grey colour Plastic and metal (yelllow) Paper (Blue) Glass (green)
 Analysis / Suggestions

The vast majority of people

have a grey waste container
near their home. Only half of
people have other kinds of
waste containers near their
houses.
Local authorities should be
aware of this lack of
containers and provide a
solution
 10- Do you know the destination of the waste generated in your city?
• Sure, I do
• I’m not very sure
• I have never thought about this before
• I’ve got no idea. I don’t care

Question ten

41,4
45,0
40,0 33,8

35,0
30,0
25,0
20,0 13,6
11,2
15,0
10,0
5,0
0,0
Do you know the destination of the waste generated in your city?
Sure, I do IÕm not very sure I have never wondered this question IÕve got no idea. I donÕt care
 Analysis / Suggestions

Only a third of the population know the next steps of the waste process.

Most people don’t know that:

•Waste can be dumped, buried or burned.
•Waste is collected from houses and taken to landfills or incinerators.
•Incinerators produce harmful emmissions.
•The dump releases unpleasant odours
•There is the possibility of contracting diseases from waste piles
•Waste can contaminate public water supplies
There is a popular phrase used to describe the ways in which the growing problem of
waste can be tackled: This phrase is “reduce, re-use and recycle”

REDUCE WASTE: Stop or avoid waste production

• Buy products with less packaging
· Buy in bulk Use scrap paper (esborrany)
· Buy few bottles instead of many small cans

REUSE WASTE: Put an item to a new use, rather than to throw it away
· Use a coke can as asht ray
· Use bottle caps to play games
· Use plastic bags as bin -linen Use old clothes as a dishcloth
· Use old cardboard boxes as a bin

RECYCLE WASTE: Processing of used items to obtain materials that can be

used to make new products
· GREEN CONTAINER: Glass bo ttles, glass jars
· YELLOW CONTAINER : Plastic bottles, plastic bags, yoghurt pots, dink
carton ), softdrink cans, aluminium foil, steel and aluminium cans
· PAPER BANK (BLUE): Newspapers, old books, school notebooks, cardboard
· RECYCLING POINT : Textiles, furn iture, computers, fridges, tyres