On January 10th, 2025, Eliza, our science teacher who was our chaperone, Audrey, Xander, Fox, Taiyo, and I went to Washington Square Park to interview people about their knowledge of recycling and composting. Lots of people aren’t very aware of composting. It helps improve our soil, and how plants grow. Composting is good for our environment because it protects the climate by reducing methane emissions from landfills. So everybody should be composting because it will help our environment. After we got the data that we needed, we then made a Pi chart showing how many people know about composting and how many don’t.

We walked around Washington Square Park, asking random people what they knew about composting. In total, we asked 16 people. 60% did know about composting, and 40% didn’t. A few of the people we interviewed were college students at NYU, and they told us about how they composted at home. One of the people told us how she composted back in Seattle, would collect all of her food that she didn’t eat, and she would go to markets, or local composting areas and drop off her compost there. And a few of them were older and told us composting stories back in their days. We were denied by lots of people, but all we needed were just a few yes’ and no’s. We got 10 people who knew about composting, and 6 people who didn’t. So 62.5% know about composting, and 37.5% do not.
We came back with a lot of data, and since it was Xander’s birthday, we decided to take a pit stop at Molly’s Cupcakes and have a little birthday celebration for him with the 6 of us. Happy birthday Xander!

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On January 8th, 2025 we got on a zoom call with a marine biologist who works with Loggerhead Marine Life Center, Valerie Tovar. She is the conservation manager of the organization and answered a few questions about microplastics. Marine Biologists are ssciwentists who study life in the oceans. They research and observe marine organisms and ecosystems, such as oceans and saltwater lakes.

Valerie Tovar graduated with a degree in ocean biology and went to college in Florida. We found her on Instagram and messaged them asking if we could interview them about ocean life. One of the questions we asked was “How do microplastics affect the ocean, and more specifically marine life?” She told us that plastic will never go away, no matter how much we prevent it. Every animal is exposed to microplastics, and she found that fish at the bottom of the ocean had microplastics in them, which means fish closer to the land, are also going to have microplastics in them.

As apart of Valerie Tovar’s job, she goes scuba diving twice a month. While scuba diving, shes found lots of random stuff near the pier where she was diving. One of the items she has found was a traffic cone. Traffic cones are made out of thermoplastic, or rubber, which is bad for the environment. This traffic cone is going to add more microplastics into the ocean. People littering into the ocean are hurting maine life, is eventually going to hurt themselves.

Another question that we asked Valerie that is very important is, “What can microplastics do to our bodies?” Microplastics have carcinogens, which are substances that can develop cancer, and cause hormonal imbalance. Microplastics can do lots of toxic stuff to our bodies, that we should be avoiding. Avoiding microplastics in general will prevent you from getting sick from different diseases.

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On December 13th 2024 we interviewed Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine, who works in the food industry, to help us fill in the blanks about microplastics and how its affects the human body. She taught us about how microplastics are also involved in the food industry, and how its bad for our bodies.

One of the things that we learned is that microplastics end up in the ocean and fish are affected by it. A lot of people eat seafood, whether its cod, tuna, eel, herring, crab, shrimp, lobster, or any food that you can catch in the ocean. If you eat seafood, this means that you are eating microplastics too. Microplastics are bad for your body, because most microplastics are toxic. Microplastics can be disruptive to your hormone balance, and cross barriers in your body.

Although seafood isint the only thing that contains microplastics, but what are ways that we can avoid eating microplastics? How can we avoid putting plastic in the ocean? You should always make sure that you are drinking filtered or bottled water because they are much cleaner than tap water. Especially in NYC, water that comes out of the faucet is very bad for you to drink because it contains a lot of bacteria. You should limit the amount of seafood that you eat, and you should eat farm raised seafood instead, because it is healthier and more safe for you to eat. Another way to reduce the amount of microplastics you eat is by eating in glass containers, or ceramic bowls etc, because in plastic containers, tiny pieces of microplastics are going to enter your food, and then the microplastics will be inside of your system. Preventing microplastics from ending up in our ocean will help the earth, our waters, animals, and humans. But we have to act quickly because there is no turning back.

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On December 11th our group met with Eliza Zygmutowicz, our science teacher and an expert on our environment. We talked to her about various issues related to microplastics and their effect on the world. It was so interesting to learn about how big of an impact microplastics have on our environment and everyday life.

We talked about the impact that fast fashion has on our environment and learned that when we buy clothes, we should aim to wear them more than once to reduce waste. Fast fashion is a big contributor to pollution and uses up natural resources, which has very bad long-term effects on our planet.

We also learned a lot about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is a huge area in the ocean filled with trash and plastic debris. Eliza told us that microplastics from this patch can get into the food chain not only affecting animals but also people who eat seafood. We talked about ways to take action to help solve these problems. She encouraged us to use less plastic, support eco-friendly clothing brands, and participate in beach cleanups to make a positive difference.

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We learned many things from our interview with Eliza. Microplastics have been pushed to the side, even though they have shocking consequences on the human body. Microplastics contain carcinogens, which means they cause cancer. Multiple studies have shown a direct correlation between exposure to microplastics and cancer in the human body. Microplastics have also been linked to the rise in colon and lung cancer.

Microplastics have a drastic effect on the microbiome. The microbiome is located in our gut. It is a place where bacteria thrive. These bacteria help maintain a balance in our bodies. Microplastics disrupt this balance, and the result is a unbalanced human body, which usually causes sickness. Lastly, Microplastics also disrupt the immune system, preventing our body from defending itself from sickness. Overall, microplastics pose a large threat to the human populace, which can only be remedied with change.

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On December 11th 2024, we interviewed Eliza Zygmuntowicz, who is our science teacher to ask her about microplastics, the garbage patch, and a bit about fast fashion. One of the things that we learned is that you can prevent microplastics by using a specific laundry bag that prevents all of the fibers from going through the laundry machine, and eventually ending up in the ocean.

Another thing that we learned is that If you purchase a piece of fast-fashion clothing, make sure you wear it more than once and that it gets its full use. Or even handing it down to someone else for them to wear. Instead of wearing it one time and throwing it away. Because that piece of clothing will end up in the ocean.

The last thing we talked about was the garbage patch. The garbage patch is located in the Pacific Ocean in between Hawaii and California. The garbage patch is a huge patch with a bunch of garbage attached together, slowly building up. The garbage patch is as big as Texas. Which is 268,597 miles long. Imagine seeing a patch of garbage floating in the ocean that was bigger than you, and probably the state you live in.

Eliza gave us lots of details of how we can help prevent microplastics from ending up in the ocean, and gave us new information that will help us in the future.

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