McMaster University Waste Audit Report

Transcription

1 McMaster University Waste Audit Report Introduction On April 5, 2006 WSI (Waste Services) as requested by Mc Master University conducted a one-day waste audit. The purpose of this audit was to identify the composition of the waste stream generated by the overall university population. The results of the audit are intended to identify recycling opportunities or opportunities to strengthen the current waste and recycling program. The ultimate goal is to reduce the material sent to the landfill thus increasing McMaster University s diversion rate and thus decreasing McMaster s disposal costs. Methods The audit was conducted on a typical day, while the university was in full session. Waste material was collected by the regular Front End Truck and all material from each front end waste container was brought back to the WSI transfer station at 306 Lake in Hamilton. The entire load was emptied on the transfer station floor and an initial overall visual survey was made of the load. Following that, bags of waste material were opened and separated into the following categories: Waste Paper Fine Paper Fibre, envelopes, newspaper, magazines, boxboard, Kraft paper Mix Recyclables- Cans (aluminium & tin cans), Plastic bottles (recycling code #1 & #2), Glass bottles (both clear and coloured glass) Cardboard Pizza Boxes With the exception of metal, these were the same materials targeted in the 2004 Waste Audit.

2 Results Overall Load Observations The overall evaluation of the load revealed that the majority of material was contained with in clear white bags however there were a few blue recycling bags and black garbage bags mixed in with the load. There was minimal cardboard within the load and very few pizza boxes. This was a great improvement over the 2004 Audit. The clear bags allowed us to see a large amount of recyclables within the waste bags. Please refer to the detailed observation results below. OCC Paper UBC McMaster Waste Audit

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4 Detailed Observations The detailed sort of the material revealed a lot of paper, cans and bottles within the waste stream. This seemed to be consistent within material received from both faculty and residences. Bags determined to be from the residences seemed to have a higher amount of used beverage containers compared to paper whereas within non residence buildings there was a higher amount of paper. Of the paper discarded, there was a large amount of fine paper and the amount of newspaper, Kraft paper and boxboard was limited. Full bags of paper were removed from the waste stream as well as bags containing almost all used beverage containers. A lot of this material was contained within clear bags and some within the blue recycling bags. Blue recycling bags were found contained waste material only as well. The pictures below demonstrate the materials found in the detailed sort. McMaster Waste Audit

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6 Other materials found in the waste stream included clothing, computer parts, paint cans and some medical waste. Medical waste discovered was sample trays, small sample bottles and latex gloves. McMaster Waste Audit

7 Quantitative Results Waste Audit Results By Weight COMMODITY WEIGHT (kg) Waste 2970 Paper 2228 Mixed Recycling 1485 Cardboard 1485 Pizza Boxes 74 Total 8242 McMaster Waste Audit 2006 Waste 36% UBC 18% Pizza Boxes 1% Cardboard 18% Paper 27% McMaster Waste Audit

8 Quantitative Results 2004 Waste Audit Results By Weight COMMODITY WEIGHT (kg) Waste 3190 Metal 510 Paper 450 Mixed Recycling 450 Cardboard 360 Pizza Boxes 270 Total 5230 Waste Stream Composition Percentage by Weight WASTE AUDIT 7% 5% WASTE 9% 9% 10% 60% METAL PAPER MIXED RECY CARDBOARD PIZZA BOXES McMaster Waste Audit

9 Discussion & Recommendations At first glance, it appeared that the 2006 audit would reveal an improvement over the 2004 audit. In some areas there was an improvement Pizza boxes for example were reduced from 5% of the waste stream to 1% and metal was absent. Very few black bags were found within the waste stream which is a positive step towards recycling. The detailed results revealed that 66% of the waste stream consisted of recyclable materials. Paper made up 27% of the waste stream, and both cardboard and used beverage containers consisted of 18% of the waste stream respectively. An increased diversion rate should be achievable with a few simple initiatives. Recycling Container Placement Evaluate the number of recycling containers made available to the campus. Waste containers should be paired with recycling containers, this would be most important in areas where beverage containers are consumed on a regular basis. Collection Procedures Evaluate material collection procedures. There was a lot of clear waste bags full of paper found within the audit. Make it easy for cleaners to collect all streams of waste and recyclables and make the end of stream collection containers easy to get to and identify. Maybe picture identification as an added measure. Educate staff on the waste/recycling collection program and that if a waste bag is found full of paper or cans and bottles, it should be placed in the proper stream. This is the benefit of using clear bags for waste. Recycling Program Education Continue Recycling Education programs. Both residence waste and regular campus waste had a large amount of easily targeted recyclables. McMaster has a large turnover of occupants every year, unfortunately this means education programs must be implemented on a minimum of a yearly basis. McMaster Waste Audit