To: Professor MacBride
From: Yana Manevich, Michelle Guo, Sean Proctor
Date: February 13, 2013
RE: Research Proposal – PlaNYC on solid waste management
For our research project, our group is interested in delving deeper into PlaNYC’s sustainability initiatives, specifically in the area of solid waste management. Since there are three of us in the group, each of us will tackle one or two of the specific initiatives regarding solid waste management mentioned in the plan, and then work together to see how these initiatives come together to meet the city’s sustainability goals. We will learn about what the city plans to do to deal with this growing issue, track what the city’s progress thus far has been, and what setbacks it has experienced or can potentially experience. Our multi-part research question, therefore, is “Under PlaNYC – what specific initiatives has the city undertaken to address issues of solid waste management? Has there been any progress in this area since the conception of this plan? Has the city run into any economic, legal, or social setbacks (i.e. public resistance) in trying to carry out these initiatives?”
In conducting our research, we initially plan to consult the PlaNYC official government page – http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/home/home.shtml – where we will read through the solid waste section of the report that the city has published and try to narrow our research down by selecting a specific initiative or two for each person to focus on. From there, we will do background research on the proposals of each specific initiative to learn more about it. We will also consult the various progress reports that the city has periodically published regarding their efforts to see whether they have been on track with their goals, what sort of problems they have run into, and their plans for dealing with those setbacks. We also plan to look through scientific journals and Baruch’s scientific databases to find outside professional opinions on either the particular methods of solid waste management mentioned in the initiatives or on the initiative as a whole to get a well-rounded view of the issues.
Hi Team
Not surprisingly, I’m very happy with this choice. You all should narrow and select your focus as soon as you can so that you don’t waste time deciding. Once you have a more targeted plan, let me know. When you have done basic research, I can arrange a meeting with folks at the Dept. of Sanitation for you to interview.
Let me know as progress continues!
SM
Hi Professor MacBride! I am going to focus on Initiative #3 of the Solid Waste portion of PlaNYC, which addresses incentivizing recycling. I will look at New York City’s past plans, current plans, and future plans, as well as incentivizing plans around the world.
Hi Professor. I will be focusing on Initiative #6 in the Solid Waste section of PlaNYC, which focuses on creating additional opportunities to recover organic materials from our waste. I will be focusing on residential organics, commercial foodwastes and biosolids, just as PlaNYC does. I plan to research the various techniques New York City, among other cities, has been using to separate and filter waste and tracking the city’s progress since the conception of the initiative.