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Chapter 4a: Discussion Questions & Activities

Discussion Questions for Chapter 4a

  1. Reflect on your own behaviors related to trash, recycling, and composting. What are you willing to change? What do you have trouble with changing and why?
  2. Review the tips on reducing plastic and paper waste. What do you already do, what are you willing to try, and what are you not willing to try, and why? What could help you overcome the barriers that make it more challenging?
  3. When faced with complex information about a company’s waste management, how can businesses help make the info easy to understand? How could businesses make this information more accessible to you?
  4. How do economic activity, consumption patterns, culture, and/or population growth influence the amount and types of waste generated in developed countries like the U.S.?
  5. Discuss the potential impacts of hazardous waste on human health and the environment. What regulations are in place to mitigate these impacts, and how effective are they?
  6. How do methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills contribute to climate change? What role does recycling play in mitigating these emissions?
  7. How might the EPA’s figures and charts in promoting recycling impact its audience’s behavior? What makes each figure effective or ineffective? Could they be improved in any way? How so?
  8. Compare and contrast the waste management communication strategies used in Vietnam and Zimbabwe. What lessons can be learned from these case studies for other countries and contexts?
  9. What are the main barriers to changing consumer behavior towards more sustainable practices? How can businesses address these barriers through effective communication strategies?
  10. Considering the trends and challenges discussed in the chapter, how can businesses, governments, and individuals contribute to a more sustainable future?

Activity 1: Quiz Yourself on Knowledge about Waste

Objective: Apply lessons from this chapter to reflect on your own habits; discuss your findings in class to promote awareness and improvement in waste management behaviors.

Instructions:

  1. Find a quiz online such as https://kab.org/recycling/recycling-reality-check-quiz/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw1920BhA3EiwAJT3lSQRKMMHszezt1QLZhP9FbfDMhQewZd6MWHX5MFlBDhxEI6ivl3ETzhoClVgQAvD_BwE or https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=compost-recycle-waste-what-do-i-do . If you use another quiz, ensure the quiz includes questions about daily waste disposal practices, knowledge of recyclable and compostable items, and participation in waste reduction activities.
  2. After completing the quiz, write about the results in a complete paragraph (3-6 sentences). You can answer two or more of the following self-reflection questions:
    • What were your initial thoughts about your waste management habits before taking the quiz?
    • What surprised you the most about your quiz results? What did you learn from them?
    • Based on the quiz, what areas of your waste management practices do you think need improvement?
    • What are some specific steps you can take to enhance your recycling, composting, or trash habits?
    • How do you feel your waste management practices impact the environment and your community?
    • What are you willing to change? What are you not willing to change? Why or why not?
  1. Now, consider how organizations might similarly react when faced with criticism or scrutiny about their environmental practices. Write about two or more of these questions in another paragraph:
    • Compare and contrast your emotional and practical responses to those you imagine an organization might have.
    • Explore the potential motivations and challenges both individuals and organizations face in acknowledging and addressing their environmental impact.
    • Provide examples of how both you and an organization might take steps to improve environmental practices.
    • Analyze how public perception and accountability might influence your actions versus those of an organization.
  1. After you wrote parts 2 and 3, get into small groups (2-4 people) and have each member discuss quiz results and reflections.
  2. Provide feedback to each other on your reflections. Identify common themes or insights from your self-reflections and prepare to share these with the class.
  3. Each group present their findings and insights to the class.
  4. Engage in a class discussion on the importance of effective waste management for individuals and organizations. Discuss how individual actions can collectively make a significant impact in organizations, a culture, a generation, or more.
    • How can individual actions towards effective waste management influence the practices and policies of organizations? Provide examples of how grassroots movements or consumer behaviors have led (or could lead) to organizational changes.
    • What strategies can individuals use to promote effective waste management within their workplaces? Discuss how individual advocacy and leadership can lead to the adoption of sustainable practices at an organizational level.
    • In what ways can individual commitment to sustainable waste management practices contribute to broader cultural shifts towards environmental responsibility? Discuss the role of social norms and public awareness in shaping these changes.
    • How can the waste management habits of one generation influence future generations? Consider the role of education, family practices, and societal expectations in passing down sustainable behaviors.

 

 

Activity 2: Evaluate the Visuals and Slogans

Objective: Apply lessons from this chapter to evaluate messages that encourage readers to recycle and reduce waste.

Instructions:

  1. Pick one of the following visuals. As a group, discuss its effectiveness:
    • use of colors, visuals, fonts, location of info
    • word choice, grammar, punctuation
    • tone of voice (did you feel negative or positive after reading/seeing it?)
  1. Discuss where you think this image was found, why was it there, and who put it there? Did it fulfill its purpose? Why or why not?
  2. Share your analysis with the class.

 

 

Activity 3: Compare the Visuals and Slogans

Objective: Apply lessons from this chapter to evaluate messages that encourage readers to recycle and reduce waste.

Instructions:

  1. After others have shared their analyses of the images in activity 2, pick two of the images from above. One can be the image your group shared or you can pick two that you did not have before.
  2. Compare the two images such as
    • use of colors, visuals, fonts, location of info
    • word choice, grammar, punctuation
    • tone of voice (did you feel negative or positive after reading/seeing it?)
  1. Discuss if you agree or disagree with the other group that shared where they thought this image was found, why was it there, and/or who put it there, if it fulfilled its purpose, and/or why or why not.
  2. Share your comparison with the class. It can be a short presentation (1-2 minutes) or in writing as instructed.

 

 

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Communicating Environmental Sustainability in Business for Global Audiences Copyright © by Marie Moreno. All Rights Reserved.

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