April Hamblin and Kevin ODonnell Recycling, Trash Can, and Litter Survey: Where should Water Watch

have their Campus Clean-Ups? 2012 Introduction

GPS Lab Report

While walking to class at Stockton, one would notice trash is thrown onto the ground instead of into its appropriate container. This includes plastic bottles, cigarettes, paper places, and various other materials. This project focused on collecting the recycling cans and trash cans around Stocktons campus and residential life. These data were taken with a Trimble User GPs segment at various times within a two week period at Stockton. After mapping where these areas as well as the most traveled routes students take, we looked at points where the most litter occurred to see if there was a pattern. This data will be used to help environmental clubs such as Water Watch and EDIBL starting weekly campus clean ups in the areas where most litter occurs to target in campus-clean ups. Methods To understand where the most litter accumulated on campus, GPS points of trash cans, recycling cans, and litter needed to be taken. To do this effectively, a specific database that fit the projects needs was created. This database held information for points, polylines, and polygons. Points were taken for individual recycling cans, individual trash cans, connected recycling and trash cans, and litter. Polylines were taken for the most popular routes on Stocktons campus that students tend to walk to and from class, or simply to walk around outside. Polygons were taken for trash and recycling areas that held more than two cans. This database also allowed for areas where the collector could enter how full the can was, what type of can, what type of litter, and location. All of the residential areas, main campus, campus center, parking lots, routes, and areas

April Hamblin and Kevin ODonnell

GPS Lab Report

near Lake Fred were surveyed to see where the cans were as well as the litter. Because of the size of the survey, this data collection took about two weeks to collect. After collection, the data were transferred to the computer and differentially corrected, once the appropriate time passed. After this, the data were converted into shapefiles and consolidated into the same few shapefiles. Then, their coordinate systems were put into NAD 83 and then State Plane for New Jersey. After compiling this data, we wrote metadata for these data as well which can be viewed in ArcCatalog under the Descriptions tab. One map was created to show the different types of cans, another was created to show the different types of litter, and another to show the popular routes for walking students on campus. After this, a final map was created with this compiled information, yet simplified into cans, litter, and route, to inform the viewer of where the best campus-clean ups at Stockton would be located by using GIS software. Results These data show that the ideal locations for campus-clean ups at Stockton College would be the light path, housing areas, and the area between Lake Fred and housing because they held the most litter. The light path had no trash cans, so perhaps Stockton could get a few more for this area. The other areas had trash cans, but were close to where students lived, so Stockton could education, advertise, and penalize for littering more to lower litter in campuss environment. The data also shows that litter did occur along the most common routes students take to and from class. There were 100 individual trash cans, 100 individual recycling cans, 34 containers that had both, 38 polygon cans, 182 litter points, and 14 routes collected. Litter was broken into three

April Hamblin and Kevin ODonnell

GPS Lab Report

categories: plastic, paper, and other. The most common type on the map was plastic, yet since the points could represent more than one piece of trash, the actual most common type was cigarettes. While this data is interesting and useful, it is also important to remember that there is always error involved in collected data such as these. The data were not collected in a single day or time each day, but different times during the span of two weeks. Because of this, there could be some error involving the different satellite coverage on those different days as well as human error by collecting multiple points twice. To limit this, data was collected for at least 30 seconds for each feature and the collector noted the start and end points of the data collection so that everything in-between was considered collected. The data were also collected before and after Hurricane Sandy, which could have negatively affected Stockton from litter be blown onto campus, but litter could have also been carried out by the wind, so these variables were considered equal, or null within the project. Also, the data dictionary held information to see how empty or full the trash or recycling cans were. Not all of this data were collected, though, because some of the cans would not open and others simply had a hole to throw trash into. We looked at this data and realized most were 2/3 full or less or even empty, which shows that there is room for the litter in the trash cans. The polygons were considered as an entire feature so these data were looked as if the trash was either inside of the cans or overflowing onto the floor. The data collected also is not exactly as it appears on the map. The litter points were taken as point where more than one piece of trash could have been. Because of this, the maps still fulfill the purpose of showing where campus clean-ups should be, yet GIS would need to be used for further statistics. The raster data behind the map is also a bit outdated because it does

April Hamblin and Kevin ODonnell

GPS Lab Report

not include housing 4 or housing 5 within it. As long as someone who is familiar with Stockton knows this, the map is still highly valuable, such as with Water Watch or EDIBL. Conclusion and Discussions GPS is a valuable tool used for data collection for projects such as this one. Now, instead of randomly picking an area to clean, Water Watch will be able to use these data to clean the needed areas. Because times change, and because it is interesting to compare results, it would be ideal if someone in the future would conduct the same experiment. After Water Watch has targeted the light path, housing areas, and Lake Fred to clean for this semester and next, if someone else completed the same experiment by taking GPS points of litternot trash cans because they should be the same pointsthey could compare the data. This could show if Water Watch should target different areas to clean and also how much of an impact the club has made on the environment at Stockton. Not only will Water Watch benefit, but Stockton could also use these data collected, from this project and futures ones if there are any, to research where additional waste or recycling cans are needed as well as where they should increase the education of littering to provide a safe, healthy environment for the Stockton Community. Figures-Refer to presentation.