ENVR 2000 Waste Audit
Data Analysis Form: (12 marks)
Name: Adam Borton
Student #: 7695780
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1a
Question
Discuss your findings for 7 day and annual
weight and volumes. What categories have
the highest weights and volumes?
Answer My highest category is organic noncompostable. I would imagine that this
category appears really high because all of
the other categories are either nonapplicable or are significantly lower. That
mixed with the fact that we cannot recycle
or compost any of the material generated
meaning almost 100% of the material
produced will count towards that category.
Recyclable cardboard has a very small
amount because the only cardboard that is
included in it is the cardboard we threw out
mistakenly. We try and recycle every
chance we get but sometimes some gets
missed (toilet paper rolls for example).
Non-compostable, non-recyclable is also
high because there is no way to mitigate this
category through recycling or compost,
besides simply producing less. Producing
less in this category is also hard because our
cat litter is included in it. However, I would
imagine this category would lessen in the
summer when the cats are outside more
frequently.
1b
What do you find interesting about these
findings?
Answer I find it interesting that almost half the
categories listed on the waste audit
spreadsheet are left blank. If these findings
are correct, it appears my family is
generating considerably less waste (waste as
defined for this particular assignment) then I
would have previously guessed. In fact, a
major amount of waste weight was actually
generated by our two cats in the litter they
produce daily. The amount of waste weight
Grade
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Comment
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produced by 2 cats was actually surprisingly
high.
2a
Extrapolate your household annual totals to
the total weight and volume of waste
produced by the entire population of
Winnipeg (assuming the same waste rates as
you have found). Use the 2011 census
population of 663,617 people. Show your
calculations.
Answer Annual Weight for Winnipeg:
- 4 people generate:
 277.86 kg/year (from excel
spreadsheet)
- 1 person generates:
 277.86 kg ÷ 4 people
 = 69.47 kg/year (approximately)
- All of Winnipeg generates:
 69.47 kg x 663,617 people
 = 46,101,472.99 kg/year
 = 46,101,473 kg/year
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Annual Volume for Winnipeg:
- 4 people generate:
 3.58 m³/year
- 1 person generates:
 3.58 m³ ÷ 4 people
 = 0.895 m³/year
- All of Winnipeg generates:
 0.895 x 663,617
 = 593,937.22 m³/year
What is the equivalent common item weight
2b
and volume to compare to these findings?
For example, the volume of waste sent to
the landfill annually by the residents of
Winnipeg is the same as xxx Olympic
swimming pools, and the weight is
equivalent to yyy elephants. Use any
common item for these comparisons.
Provide a comparison for both weight and
volume. Show your calculations.
Answer Weight Equivalent:
- Average Male Blue Whale weight:
 = 120 Tons
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 = 120,000 kg (1000 kg in a ton)
- Winnipeg’s waste in kg/year:
 = 46,101,473
- Weight Equivalent:
 46,101,473 ÷ 120,000
 = 384.178
 = 384 Blue Whales
 Winnipeg produces the weight
equivalent of 384 Blue Whales/year!
Volume Equivalent:
- Olympic Swimming Pool Volume:
 = 2500 m³
- Winnipeg’s waste in m³/year:
 = 593,937.22 m³/year
- Volume Equivalent:
 593,937.22 ÷ 2500
 = 238
 Winnipeg produces enough waste to
fill 238 Olympic sized swimming
pools per year!
3
Discuss the present recycling and
composting behaviours of the study
household. Are they presently recycling or
composting? To what extent? Why or why
not?
Answer Our household recycles and composts every
single day. Even though it is winter, we
continue to compost any organic material
we produce (which is apparently uncommon
in the winter). We do this because our
compost is situated in our garden. The
added nutrients gained from composting
help to produce better soil quality and a
healthier garden; a much better alternative
to simply throwing out the waste. We also
collect all recyclable material and collect it
in a bin all week. On recycling day it is
brought down to the road and taken away.
We compost and recycle because it is a
fairly easy task to begin doing and it is
simply the way my family has always done
things. Recycling used material for use in
manufacturing other products and
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composting organic material for betterment
of the environment in my opinion, are much
better alternatives to simply sending
everything to the dump. I don’t see why I
would do it any other way when the pros
outweigh the cons significantly.
4a
If this household were to recycle and
compost all possible materials, what is the
annual reduction in weight and volume of
wastes sent to the landfill? Show your
calculations.
Answer Weight:
- Annual household weight before all
possible materials are recycled:
 277.86 kg/year
- Category which could have been recycled:
 Recyclable paper and cardboard
 = 1.56 kg/year
- Annual household weight after all possible
materials are recycled:
 277.86 – 1.56
 = 276.3 kg/year
 Reduction in weight = -1.56 kg/year
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Volume:
- Annual household volume before all
possible materials are recycled:
 3.58 m³/year
- Category which could have been recycled:
 Recyclable paper and cardboard
 0.016 m³/year
- Annual household volume after all
possible materials are recycled:
 3.58 – 0.016
 = 3.564 m³/year
 Reduction in volume = -0.016
4b
If the entire city of Winnipeg were to
recycle and compost, what would be the
weight and volume of waste diverted from
the landfill? (Assuming similar behavior to
the study household.) Show your
calculations.
Answer Weight:
- Annual waste weight for Winnipeg:
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 46,101,473 kg/year
- Annual household waste weight with
perfect recycling and composting:
 276.3 kg/year (# from 4a.)
-Weight diverted from Winnipeg landfill
because of recycling and composting:
 276.3 ÷ 4 (# of people in my house)
 = 69.1
 69.1 x 663,617 (pop. of Winnipeg)
 = 45,855,935
 46,101,473 - 45,855,935
 = 245,538 kg/year!
- If everyone recycled and composted at the
exact same right my household does, we
could reduce Winnipeg’s waste weight by
245,538 kg/year!
Volume:
- Annual waste volume for Winnipeg:
 593,937.22 m³/year
- Annual household waste volume with
perfect recycling and composting:
 3.564 m³/year
- Volume diverted from Winnipeg landfill
because of recycling and composting:
 3.564 ÷ 4
 = 0.891
 0.891 x 663,617
 = 591,283
 593,937.22 – 591,283
 = 2654.22
 = 2654
- If everyone recycled and composted at the
same rate my household does, we could
reduce the volume of waste in landfills by
2654 m³/year!
4c
What would this mean for the expected
lifespan of the landfill? (Consider on a
percent basis the lifespan increase.) Show
your calculations.
Answer Weight
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- % of weight saved by recycling and
composting:
 245,538 ÷ 46,101,473
 = 0.005326033725647 x 100
 = 0.53%
Volume
- % of volume saved by recycling and
composting:
 2654 ÷ 593,937.22
 = 0.004468485743325 x 100
 = 0.45%
- I would guess that this small decrease in
the weight and volume of waste collected at
landfills would increase the lifespan of the
landfill. I understand that my data is very
small because in the week I collected data,
my family recycled almost everything, but
seeing how the calculations worked out
gave me insight into how small of a change
everyone would have to make in Winnipeg
in order for major effects to be observed in
weight and volume. I mean I missed
recycling approximately 30g of material. If
everyone in Winnipeg simply recycled 30
more grams than they normally would, it
would decrease the volume by 0.45% and
the weight by 0.53%. Less material at the
dump means a longer time it can continue
operating.
4d
Discuss to what extent is recycling and
composting the solution to environmental
issues?
While composting and recycling is
not the “be all, end all” of environmental
integrity solutions, I believe practicing both
will definitely benefit the world around us.
Recycling is beneficial because we can
derive secondary products from waste
materials which otherwise would end up in
landfills. By salvaging material from waste
products, we can limit the amount of energy
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we use to extract and produce everything
needed to manufacture a brand new product.
Less energy use means less pollution and
impact on surrounding environments. Less
material sent to landfills means less waste
we try to make our environment assimilate.
Composting is also beneficial such that the
organic material we place back into the
earth breaks down and releases beneficial
nutrients. This is a natural way to increase
soil quality and the health of surrounding
vegetation. The use of compost may help us
limit the amount of unnatural chemical aids
we may use in gardens/crops which can
build up and magnify, leading to
detrimental problems.
TOTAL
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