MPS Waste Audit Report
For a copy of this report or to access more information about waste management / recycling at MPS,
visit: http://mpsgoesgreen.mpls.k12.mn.us
School name and grade:
Today’s date:
Audit date:
Audit participants:
Nellie Stone Johnson Community School k-8
2-22-2010
11-24-2009
Andre Xiong, Hennepin County Environmental Services
Bill Hill, MPS Plant Operations
Doug Link, Allied Waste Services
Patrick Thornton, Head Building Engineer
ANALYSIS OF WASTE GENERATION AT YOUR SITE
Waste generated at your site in December, 2009:
 In December, your school produced 8,850 lb of waste.1
 Trash:
7,800 lb (88 %)
 Mixed recycling:
500 lb (6 %)
 Organics:
550 lb (6%)
 Based on your school population of 743 (652 students, 91 staff), each
person in your school produced an average of 12 pounds of waste
during this month.2
 The 7,800 lbs of trash took over 2.5 compactors to contain.3
 The waste you recycled in December will result in 1,050 less pounds of
material going to the incinerator as well as the production of new
materials and 275 lb of compost. Making new products from recycled
material is less expensive and more environmentally friendly than
making them from raw materials. Compost is a safe fertilizer that also
reduces erosion, water loss, and weed growth in soils.
MPS is now collecting
information about waste
and recycling rates by
school. The analysis
below is based on data
for the month which this
audit took place at your
site. To access weights
from other months,
please visit:
www.mpsgoesgreen.com and
click on ‘Green Reports’.
District cost of trash and recycling disposal for your site in December, 2009 6:
*Due to special circumstances of using a compactor, the following figures were calculated based on the theory that it took 2.5
compactors (75 cubic yards) to dispose of the 7,800 lb of trash.
Trash,
Trash, actual Mixed Recycling
Organics Recycling
had you not recycled
Monthly haul charge $1.90/yd
$143
$46
$15.20
$143
Processing fee rate
$/ton
$40
$30
$15
$40
Processing fee based on weight
$156
$3
$4
$144
MN State tax
17%
$26.52
exempt
exempt
$30.12
Hennepin Co. tax
14.5%
$23
exempt
exempt
$26
Total Cost
$348
$49
$19
$376
In December alone, your school diverted 1,050 lb of waste towards recycling; saving the district $28 in
disposal fees that would have incurred from adding that 1,050 lb to the trash instead of recycling it. These
savings allow the district to enhance its resource management strategy and offer programs like organics
recycling and improved mixed recycling. Increasing your recycling rates would yield even higher savings
throughout the school year.
ON-SITE AUDIT RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Included below are findings and recommendations based on the audit of your building’s
waste management practices.7
Organics Recycling:
You were recycling organics in addition to mixed recycling.
Congratulations for being among the first MPS schools to launch this important program. Hopefully you have
all the tools you need to make it successful. If you need to change your hauling schedule or request additional
supplies, please contact your Plant Operations supervisor. If you have questions about the program overall,
including associated education materials, please visit:
http://mpsgoesgreen.mpls.k12.mn.us/Organics_Recycling.html OR email: mpsgoesgreen@mpls.k12.mn.us
You were not recycling organics during breakfast.
A large percentage of the organic waste created by your school happens during breakfast. This presents an
opportunity to significantly increase your organics recycling rates, save money in waste hauling costs, as well
as maintain consistency for students who are participating in the program. A successful breakfast organics
program requires a close partnership between the breakfast supervisors and the building engineer.
You were collecting restroom (paper towel) waste as organics.
Congratulations for implementing a robust organics program that seeks to capture as much of the organic
waste generated throughout your building as possible. Keep up the good work.
You had educational materials displayed in cafeteria to help during sorting.
Congratulations for making every effort to educate and encourage proper sorting of waste. Proper sorting will
maximize recycling rates and decrease trash to fully experience the financial and environmental benefits of
recycling. Remember that MPS has informational signage in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali on the
website
Your lunchroom sort stations [ were / were not ] monitored.
*not sufficient data*
Note: Monitors to assist with sorting are crucial to the success of organic recycling. Keep in mind the intent of
monitoring is to help students learn to sort properly themselves, as opposed to doing the actual sorting for
students. Monitors may be: parents, students, faculty, other volunteers, or even an individual hired for this
purpose. Volunteers must go through an application process through the district. For tips and resources for
finding volunteers please review the Organics Coordinator Handbook found on the MPS Goes Green website,
under Quick Links toolbar.
Your head building engineer suggests there has been [ no / some / significant ] decrease in the amount of
trash since organics recycling was introduced.
*not sufficient data*
Note: School waste is comprised mostly of paper, paper towels, and cafeteria waste; all of which can be
recycled. A moderately successful recycling program should already divert waste from the trash. If your trash
is not being reduced, you may be generating more total waste as a building. In addition to improving your
recycling program, you should look for ways to reduce your total waste stream.
Recycling and waste reduction practices:
You [ were / were not ] stacking trays prior to disposal.
*not sufficient data*
Note: Trays, despite how little they weigh, take up massive volume and fill up trash bags quickly, requiring
them to be changed out frequently. Stacking trays to be disposed of separately will allow much more room
in the trash container for other waste items. This practice saves the district money from less bag usage,
reduces plastic in the environment, and allows more space in the trash dumpster(s).
You were using MPS Goes Green signage.
Congratulations on helping standardize the district-wide MPS Goes Green message. Remember that there are
informational signs in English, Spanish, and Somali available on the MPS website. Also, there are fun ‘What to
Collect’ signs on the website that are appropriate for a K-8 audience.
You were using custom-made educational materials as well.
Congratulations on taking ownership for making your building green. Customized signs and educational
materials in addition to those provided by MPS will help make the program successful in your building.
Some of the surveyed classrooms displayed posters and labels to aid in sorting.
It is good to see that classrooms in your building are taking ownership for the recycling program. Posters and
labels help students and staff comply with the program. Another step you can take is to incorporate
environmental sustainability information into coursework. The MPS Goes Green website provides curriculum
materials you may find useful.
You often used color coding to promote sorting.
Congratulations on using the MPS-designated colors (blue = mixed recycling, green = organics recycling,
red/gray = trash) to promoting recycling and proper sorting. Make sure to cover up any recycling labels on
containers that do not correspond with its designated use. (i.e. recycling sign on a red barrel). Contact your
Plant Operations Supervisor for stickers that can be used for this purpose.
Interior containers:
Not all classrooms sampled had recycling containers.
Paper makes up a tremendous portion of classroom waste, yet an astounding amount of recyclable paper is
still making its way into trash bins. The labor required to throw paper into the trash or recycling bin are equal.
Give students the opportunity to recycle in the classroom by placing recycling bins in all classrooms. Promote
proper use of recycling bins through signage and classroom activities. See the MPS Goes Green website for
ideas, http://mpsgoesgreen.mpls.k12.mn.us/
You often provided both trash and recycling containers at the same location (in classrooms).
This is a good practice to continue. It has been found that placing both together increases recycling. Making
recycling containers available wherever there are trash containers maximizes the likelihood that recyclables
will not simply be thrown away
You were bagging mixed recycling containers.
A great way to further reduce your school’s environmental impact and save the district money is to not use
plastic bags to contain your recyclables. The bags become a problem at the materials recovery facility (MRF)
where the recyclables are sorted and processed. At the MRF, in order to keep the plastic bags from getting
wrapped around the sorting equipment, they must be separated and disposed. The plastic bags do not get
recycled. Furthermore, MPS’ waste hauler prefers recyclables un-bagged because recyclables can easily be
contained and transported through the use bins, dumpsters, and trucks. The bag is not necessary and just
means that the hauler has to break open the bags later on to get to your recyclables.
You [ were / were not ] collecting liquid waste in a separate container.
*not sufficient data*
Note: A great way to minimize the weight of your waste is to divert liquid waste down the drain. Weight is one
key basis that MPS’ hauler uses to charge the district for trash and recycling. In addition, because MPS sends
its trash to the incinerator, dry waste results in a more efficient burn which is better for the environment.
Have students dump milk and other liquids into designated buckets to reduce weight of bags as well as leaking.
Contact your Plant Operations supervisor for buckets if you don’t have any on hand.
Contamination assessment:
Number of sampled bags of trash: 2
Both sampled trash had excessive contamination. Contaminants in your trash are any items that can be
recycled or composted. Common items such as paper, glass plastic bottles, and cans require much more energy
to produce from raw materials than from their recycled counterparts. These items also add weight to trash
thereby increasing disposal fees.
Number of sampled bags of recycling: 2
Both sampled mixed recycling had no contamination.
Your recycling stream was essentially free of trash! This means that the contents of your recycling dumpster
will be used to make quality recycled products. When you have excessive contamination in your recycling it
could mean that the hauler will reject your entire load to the trash. It is very important that your school
community continues to keep the recycling stream as good of quality as possible
Number of sampled bags of organics: 0 *sample not provided or available*
Your sampled organics had [
] contamination.
Note: If your organics recycling is badly contaminated, it will be disposed of as trash once it arrives at the
transfer station. If contaminants are not captured for disposal, they will lead to the production of low quality
compost with little market value. If your site is experiencing difficulties with organics recycling, you may want
to increase monitoring and education. Feel free to contact mpsgoesgreen@mpls.k12.mn.us for further
assistance on improving organics recycling.
Exterior dumpsters:
Waste were correctly disposed of in their corresponding dumpster.
Congratulations on completing the process by correctly placing waste in their proper dumpsters.
Your dumpsters were effectively arranged to encourage recycling.
Your school has made it convenient to dispose of recyclables by placing the recycling dumpsters closer,
thereby reducing chances of it being disposed of in the trash dumpster. If your school is participating in
organics, it is especially important to put that dumpster close due to the heavy weight of those bags.
Your trash compactor [30 yd3], gets picked up on call.
Congratulations, having on-call service normally results in savings because the district will only be charged
when the compactor is at full capacity, whereas a trash dumpster typically requires daily service to prevent
overflow.
Your mixed recycling dumpster [6 yd3, picked up 1x weekly] is typically full at pick-up.
Congratulations for filling your mixed recycling dumpster to its capacity. Dumpster disposal fees are charged
based on size and service frequency, so an underutilized dumpster costs the district extra money. Increasing to
a bigger recycling dumpster is perfectly fine if your school’s recycling efforts have improved that much.
Your organics dumpster [2 yd3, picked up 1x weekly] is typically ¼ full at pick-up.
Congratulations for filling your organics dumpster to its capacity. Dumpster disposal fees are charged based on
size so an underutilized dumpster is costing the district extra. Upgrade to a larger dumpster if your school is
consistently and successfully diverting large amounts of organic waste.
If your school needs to modify its hauling schedule / dumpster size or access additional materials to make your
waste management/recycling program successful, please contact your Plant Operations Supervisor.
Appendix / Sources
1 Monthly waste generation data was provided by MPS contract hauler, Allied Waste Services. Data on
dumpster sizes and hauling schedules were also obtained from Allied.
2 Student enrollment numbers were obtained through MPS student account, available to the public online.
Staff enrollment numbers were obtained through payroll.
3 Allied Waste estimates one cubic yard of trash weighs approximately 100 lbs.
4 Ginny Black, from MN Pollution Control Agency, estimates approximately 50% of organic waste remains as
finished compost after decomposition.
5 It was decided upon to use 32% as the figure for organic waste composition of total waste generated at
schools. The study was conducted in southern California by California Integrated Waste Management Board
for 2002.
6 Calculations:
Monthly haul charge = [ $1.90 X dumpster size (yd 3) X frequency of pickup in a week ] X 4 weeks (month)
Processing fee = processing rate X weight (tons)
Total cost = monthly haul charge + processing fee + tax
Savings incurred from recycling = total cost (gross weight) ▬ total cost (trash weight)
7 Audit procedures:
o Audits were scheduled for 1 hour and included:
1. Interview with head building engineer 2. Interior walkthrough
3. Contamination assessment
4. Exterior walkthrough
o Audits were conducted by Hennepin County Environmental Services’ GreenCorps member; alongside an
Allied Waste representative and the Plant Ops supervisor for that site.
o Questions during audit were answered based on head engineers’ observations and perceptions.
o Walk-through portion of audit consisted of observing (as needed):
2 hallways (or other common areas)
3 classrooms
1 bathroom
Cafeteria
Dumpsters
o Contamination assessment portion of audit consisted of visually assessing:
2 bags of trash
2 bags of mixed recycling
2 bags of organic waste
8 Not all schools were able to supply samples for contamination assessment due to various reasons. In such
cases, samples were attained in these other manners (where possible):
Observing bags already disposed of in dumpsters
Observing un-bagged waste in dumpsters equivalent to bag
Observing active containers on the floor
Clarification on contaminants:
Non-recyclable paper include: food-soiled paper, napkins, paperware, milk cartons.
Non-recyclable plastics include: shrinkwrap, plasticware, food containers.
Cardboard is allowed in single stream collection, so it is categorized with ‘paper’ for our purposes.
Food waste is only considered a contaminant in trash where organics recycling is in place.