Eva Devroy

Using Open Data Sources to Estimate Plastic Pollution Levels Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Started May 23, 2024

Abstract or project description

Plastic pollution is a major issue in our world, and our online shopping habits are contributing to the issue even further. There is no doubt that online shopping patterns changed during COVID-19, but it is unclear how the increase in online shopping has impacted plastic pollution. Using various open data sources, such as NYC and Austin, Texas Open Data, I estimated the quantifiable impact of plastic pollution from online shopping in the U.S. I collected data of garbage and recycling levels before, during, and after the pandemic, as well as looked at trends in Google search history and the popularity of different search terms overtime. This project uses New York City and Austin, Texas—two cities with open data about waste and recycling—as case studies, and examines plastic levels during peak COVID times (pre-COVID: December 1, 2019–February 29, 2020; during COVID: December 1, 2020–February 28, 2021; post-COVID: December 1, 2023–February 29, 2024). I also utilized Google Trends to obtain data from specific time periods. Using my data, I analyzed it to find patterns that help provide an estimate of plastic waste levels. I found that plastic levels dramatically increased during peak COVID months due to a larger demand for supplies and increased orders and deliveries. This research shows that open data sources can be useful for analyzing trends in plastic consumption, but reveal the need for more precise data tracking on plastic pollution for environmental conservation.