RESEARCH REPORT

THE USE OF PLASTIC WATER

BOTTLES AND POTENTIAL
ENVRIONMNETAL PROBLEMS AT
RMIT UNIVERSITY SAIGON SOUTH
CAMPUS

Submitted by: ….

Student number: L9931004

Class code: S61707N

Date: August 25, 2017

Teachers’ name: James McIntyre-Ure and Ryan Thompson

Assignment title: Written Report

Word count: 770

The use of plastic water bottles and potential environmental problems at RMIT 2017
University

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pages

ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................. 2

I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 2

II. FINDINGS..........................................................................................................................3

1. Most students have their own plastic water bottles.....................................................3

2. Students’ attitudes toward the use of plastic drinking bottles......................................3

3. Students’ awareness about environmental issues......................................................4

III. CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................................ 5

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................................................................5

REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................6

APENDIX................................................................................................................................. 7

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The use of plastic water bottles and potential environmental problems at RMIT 2017
University

ABSTRACT

This report examines the use of plastic water bottles at RMIT University. Generally, the

majority of RMIT students have their own drinking water containers (roughly 85%) and most

those water bottles are made of plastic (84%). They prefer to buy plastic water bottles

because of its convenience and money savings. Most of participants agree that using

disposable water bottles every day is harmful to the environment (over 70%). Using plastic

bottles of water is one of major reasons for potential environmental problems at RMIT Saigon

South Campus. The recommendations for these problems are that RMIT University should

raise students’ awareness about the use of bottled water as well as conduct a 3R (reduce,

reuse, recycle) campaign for students.

I. INTRODUCTION

Orset, Barret and Lemaire (2017) states that plastic products is widely used everywhere in

the globe. Most of water bottles are made from plastic and the consumption is constantly

increasing. Every year, tons of plastic bottles are being produced and a majority of them fills

up the landfills (EcoFriend, 2012). In general, bottled water is considered convenient

because it is portable. However, that convenience has raised environmental concerns

(Nkwachukwu et al., 2013). This is a common issue happening in Vietnam, not except for

RMIT University. In this study, 26 RMIT University students were randomly asked about the

use of bottled water by using questionnaires which were created on Google Forms and sent

to students. The purpose of this research is to independently assess whether using plastic

water bottles produces potential negative effects on the environment at RMIT Saigon South

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The use of plastic water bottles and potential environmental problems at RMIT 2017
University

Campus. The findings will be then helpful to give suggestions for the ways to tackle

environmental problems related to plastic water bottle consumption at RMIT University.

II. FINDINGS

1. Most students have their own plastic water bottles

The results are shown in Figure 1 that nearly 85% of respondents admitted that they own

reusable water bottles and 84% of them said that their bottles are mainly made of plastic.

Moreover, it can be seen that the proportion of respondents who use water containers which

are made from metal and natural materials is only 8% respectively.

Having reusable water bottles Material types of water bottles

Figure 1: The percentage of respondents owning water containers and its materials

2. Students’ attitudes toward the use of plastic drinking bottles

There are some reasons why participants have different answers to the use of plastic

water bottles. It depends on individuals’ interests and their personal opinions.

As illustrated from Figure 2 below, over a half of all the students who were asked said that

they have their own plastic water bottles because it is very convenient and they want to save

money. Over a quarter of them have environmental concerns when they use plastic drinking

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The use of plastic water bottles and potential environmental problems at RMIT 2017
University

containers. One student has no idea about that. The rest of others using plastic bottles is due

to their daily habits and reusable bottles.

The reasons why RMIT’s students using plastic water containers

Figure 2: The percentage of responses to reasons for using of plastic water bottles

3. Students’ awareness about environmental issues

Although few students are considered responsible for the environment as they use plastic

water bottles, they realize that using disposable water bottles is harmful to the environment.

Using disposable water bottles every day is harmful to the environment

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree

Figure 3: Students’ perception of the use of disposable water bottles

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The use of plastic water bottles and potential environmental problems at RMIT 2017
University

One of the most interesting results described in Figure 3 is that a large number of students

(above 70%) agreed that people might cause adverse effects for the environment if they use

throwaway water containers daily. This is confirmed as the highest level compared to

unbiased and disagreed respondents.

III. CONCLUSIONS

The results above reflect RMIT students’ opinions and attitudes about the consumption of

plastic water bottles as well as their environmental concerns. This has certainly given RMIT

University’s managers plenty of food for thought about potential environmental and social

issues.

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS

 Plastic bottles are dangerous elements to the environment and human health since they

are burned or thrown away. Therefore, RMIT’s administrators should increase the awareness

among students about consumption of plastic water bottles and its potential environmental

impacts.

 Throwing used water bottles into the recycling bin does not mean they are able to be

recycled (Shent, Pugh and Forssberg, 1999). Hence, it is important to recommend the 3R

project for RMIT’s students, which might be useful for succeeding in environmental protection

at RMIT.

 In order to protect the environment effectively, RMIT’s students should use tap water

available around the campus instead of drinking bottled water.

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The use of plastic water bottles and potential environmental problems at RMIT 2017
University

REFERENCES

1. Ecofriend. (2012). Five simple ways to reuse old plastic water bottles - Ecofriend. [online]

Available at: http://www.ecofriend.com/simple-ways-reuse-plastic-water-bottles.html

[Accessed 16 Aug. 2017].

2. Nkwachukwu, O., Chima, I., Ikenna, C. and Albert, H. (2013). Focus on potential

environmental issues on plastic world towards a sustainable plastic recycling in developing

countries. International Journal of Industrial Chemistry, 4(1), pp.1-13.

3. Orset, C., Barret, N. and Lemaire, A. (2017). How consumers of plastic water bottles are

responding to environmental policies?. Waste Management, 61, pp.13-27.

4. Shent, H., Pugh, R. and Forssberg, E. (1999). A review of plastics waste recycling and the

flotation of plastics. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 25(2), pp.85-109.

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APENDIX

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