Seniors Charvi Mahendra, Neha Vatti, and Ally Davis took Honors Research in their junior year. Their research project focused on finding environmentally sustainable ways to reduce food waste. To keep themselves motivated throughout the process, they chose to do it on environmental science because they already enjoyed learning about the topic.
Their process of collecting data included surveys, follow-up forms, and implementing their ideas. For the survey, they asked subjects if they were willing to take the initiative to reduce food waste. The group found that people were willing to take those steps, so they created a follow-up form. This form asked how much compostable food they had in their meal. After getting these results, the group formed the percentage of the compostable food waste and put it in a compost bin in Ally’s backyard. Thanks to their extensive research and knowledge on the subject, they found that by composting food waste through the student body population, food waste decreased, as it was instead being used for a positive cause.
