Science Fair Winner A More Sustainable Tomorrow

Running head: SCIENCE FAIR

SCIENCE FAIR 4

Science Fair Winner Envisions a Cleaner, Greener, and More Sustainable Tomorrow

Science Fair Winner Envisions a Cleaner, Greener, and More Sustainable Tomorrow

Form many high school students, science fair projects are tedious assignments to be suffered through while the student scrapes by, merely doing the bare minimum required for the assignment. But for Alexis Kellog, a sophomore at Warwick High School, her dedication extends far beyond cobbling together a triptych on recycling. Kellog is the runner-up at the North Museum Science & Engineering Fair and recently received commendation for her efforts at the Spooky Nook Sports complex south of Manheim, PA (Umble, 2013).

Kellog’s project, the “Accelerated Biodegradation of Polymers,” originated in the high school sophomore’s passion for environmental science and her desire to make her project meaningful (Umble, 2013). Understanding how plastics degrade—or do not—is a critical part of creating a more sustainable future. Her science project has value not simply in teaching her how to better use the scientific method. It is also valuable in terms of how it has the potential to provide insight in how to reduce the ecological footprint of humanity.

Explaining her project, Kellog noted that she began with the knowledge that polymers, an ingredient in many forms of plastic, take a long time to decompose if left to their own devices in the environment (Umble, 2013). This can cause landfills to become filled with plastic and plastic-containing devices, despite attempts to recycle more and more plastics or to shift from using plastics to more biodegradable materials. Until a more permanent solution is achieved regarding the extensive use of plastics in home and commercial environments, there needs to be a more effective way to deal with the persistence of plastics in the environment.

Kellog’s solution was to enhance the natural biodegradation process using bacteria. Kellog compared the ability of two of the most commonly-used plastics containing polymers to be broken down with a specific bacterial agent. Her hypothesis was that the bacteria would have a significant impact in enhancing the decomposition of plastics. A comparison of plastics soaked in jars with topsoil and bacteria over the course of 54 days, versus a control group absent of the bacteria yielded the finding that her hypothesis was indeed confirmed and the bacteria was useful in enhancing the decomposition process (Umble, 2018).

Kellog’s project demonstrates that science fair projects do not merely need to be rote exercises, nor do they necessarily have to merely recapitulate previous experiments. Kellog’s experiment was unique, and while the process she was testing is still in its beginning stages, it is possible that in the future it can be used to create real, material benefits for the environment. This does not mean that the dependence of modern life on plastics can be entirely ignored. On the other hand, given the challenges of shifting from plastics to other, more biodegradable materials, Kellog’s work is heartening.

In regards to her own use of plastics, Kellog admitted that her fascination with 3D printing is one of the reasons she embarked upon the project (Umble, 2018). She acknowledges that it is very easy to become addicted to using plastics and tempting to forget the potential destruction to the environment they cause because of the ease they offer to modern consumers, spanning from everything from plastic bottles to toys, even to appliances. The science project was her way of giving back, she explained (Umble, 2018).