Classroom/household waste audit
Home Waste Audit
A waste audit is a process to help identify the quantity and types of waste being produced by an organization or
family. A waste audit looks at waste handling practices and where improvements in waste management can be
made to save money and preserve our natural resources.
Your Task
In this assignment you will plan and conduct a home waste audit to study the amount and type of garbage
produced in a one-week period in your home. During your audit, you will collect and sort the waste produced to
determine the amount of total waste produced and the amounts of the various types of waste, such as organics,
paper, glass, plastics, and metals.
It will be part of your task to design the procedure for your waste audit and submit your plan to your teacher
before you proceed.
Part 1:Waste Audit Plan



Design a step-by-step procedure to conduct your waste audit. Use the information below to help plan
your audit.
Include a list of materials and equipment (bathroom scale, bags, containers, gloves…) needed to
complete your audit.
Remember to consider safety and hygiene when planning your audit procedure.
Submit Part 1: Waste Audit Plan (procedure and materials and equipment list) to your teacher for approval
before proceeding.
Part 2: Data Collection
o
During your waste audit, you need to create a data table and collect the following data:
 Total number of waste produced in one week, including all recyclables and compostable
materials.
 The number of the different types of waste produced for the week (organics, paper, glass,
plastics, metals, and so on).
 The total number of waste that your household would put out for recycling.
 The total number of waste that your family would compost, or puts in the Green Bin to be picked
up for composting.
Part 3: Data Analysis
o
Using your collected data complete the following analysis:
 Calculate the number of each type of garbage as a percentage of the number of the total garbage
produced. For example: total number of garbage produced is 120 items, number of paper items
is 20
20/120 x 100 =16.6%
 Create a pie chart (similar to the one in the content section) using the percentages to illustrate the
amount of each type of garbage as a percentage of the total garbage produced.
 Calculate the percentage of total garbage produced that your family recycles.


Calculate the percentage of total garbage produced that your family composts or puts in the
Green Bin to be picked up.
Based on the number of people living in your house calculate the average number of total waste,
including recyclables and compostable materials, produced per person in your house.
Part 4: Conclusions and Recommendations


Write a concluding paragraph summarizing your family's waste production and handling practices.
Outline a short plan on how your family can reduce the amount of garbage it produces.
Submit Parts 2, 3, and 4 of your Waste Audit to your teacher.
Rubric
View the rubric for this assignment.
View the long description of the rubric for this assignment.
Assignment 2
Complete the following assignment and submit your work to your teacher.
Career Connect
Waste management is a growing industry due to our growing population and the need to develop new ways to
deal with our increasing waste production. As a result, there are a variety of jobs in the waste management field
at landfill sites, wastewater treatment plants, and recycling and compost facilities. There are also numerous job
opportunities transporting waste to these facilities.
In this assignment you are to research a career in the waste management industry and create a Career Connect
Facts Sheet that includes the information outlined below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Job title
Required education and training
General job description and on the job duties
Working conditions (inside, outside, inside a vehicle, sitting, standing…)
Potential income
Positive aspects (good things) of this job
Negative aspects (not so good things) of this job
Two companies in Canada that hire for this type of job
Rubric
Categories
Level 1
Waste Audit Rubric
Level 2
(50 - 59%)
(60 - 69%)
Level 3
Level 4
(70 - 79%)
(80 - 100%)
- uses minimal
critical thinking
Thinking
skills when
-proposes possible
proposing possible
solutions to a current
solutions to a
practical environmental
current practical
problem.
environmental
problem.
- uses some critical
thinking skills when
proposing possible
solutions to a
current practical
environmental
problem.
- uses considerable
critical thinking
skills when
proposing possible
solutions to a
current practical
environmental
problem.
- uses a high degree
of critical thinking
when proposing
possible solutions to
a current practical
environmental
problem.
Communication
-compiles accurate data
from laboratory, and
organizes and records
the data, using
appropriate formats,
including tables, and
graphs.
- compiles and
organizes data from
investigation with
some accuracy and
effectiveness.
- compiles and
organizes data from
investigation with
considerable
accuracy and
effectiveness.
- compiles and
organizes data from
investigation with a
high degree of
accuracy and
effectiveness.
- conducts a waste
- conducts a waste
audit of their home
audit of their home
with considerable
with some planning
planning and
and organization.
organization.
- conducts a waste
audit of their home
with a high degree
of planning and
organization.
- applies
considerable
knowledge of safe
laboratory practices
and procedures
when planning
investigations.
- applies a high
degree of
knowledge of safe
laboratory practices
and procedures
when planning
investigations.
- compiles and
organizes data from
investigation with
limited accuracy
and effectiveness.
- conducts a waste
audit of their home
Application
-conducts a waste audit with limited
planning and
of their home.
organization.
Application
-applies knowledge of
- applies limited
safe laboratory
knowledge of safe
practices and
laboratory practices
procedures when
and procedures
planning investigations
when planning
by using appropriate
investigations.
techniques and personal
protection.
- applies some
knowledge of safe
laboratory practices
and procedures
when planning
investigations.