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: [Link]
[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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University
APENDIX
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