MPS Waste Audit Report
by
Andre Xiong
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:
Anthony Middle School 6-8
3-11-2010
1-27-2010
Andre Xiong, Hennepin County Environmental Services
William Kokkila, Building Engineer
Pete Spartz, MPS Plant Operations
Doug Link, Allied Waste Services
ANALYSIS OF WASTE GENERATION AT YOUR SITE
Waste generated at your site in January, 2010:
 In January, your school produced 2,810 lb of waste.1
 Trash:
1,580 lb (56 %)
 Mixed recycling:
720 lb (26 %)
 Organics:
510 lb (18 %)
 Based on your school population of 652 (594 students, 58 staff), each
person in your school produced 4.3 pounds of waste during this month.2
 It took approximately 2.5 dumpsters to haul your 1,580 lbs of trash.3
 The waste you recycled in January will result in 1,230 less pounds of
material going to the incinerator as well as the production of new materials
and 255 lb of compost.4 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.
5
 Typical school waste content is comprised of 32% organic waste . Your
school diverted 18 % of waste to be composted. Congratulations, keep
working to achieve 32% and beyond.
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 January, 2010 6:
Monthly haul charge $1.90/yd
Processing fee rate
$/ton
Processing fee based on weight
MN State tax
17%
Hennepin Co. tax
14.5%
Trash, actual
$228
$40
$32
$5.37
$4.58
Mixed Recycling
$30
$12
$4
exempt
exempt
Organics Recycling
$15.20
$15
$4
exempt
exempt
Trash,
had you not recycled
$228
$40
$56
$9.55
$8.15
Total Cost
$270
$35
$19
$302
In January alone, your school diverted 1,580 lb of waste towards recycling/composting; saving the district $32
in disposal fees that would have incurred from adding that1,580 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 not collecting restroom (paper towel) waste as organics.
Try collecting restroom paper towel waste for organic recycling. School restroom waste is almost exclusively
paper towels so very little education and promotion is required to successfully include it as organic recycling.
Keep in mind that a little contamination is acceptable. The district recommends collecting the restroom waste
without bags in the restrooms and then consolidating it into a compostable bag-lined organics barrel
designated for that area.
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—especially during its
beginning stage—then can be phased out afterwards. 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 some decrease in the amount of trash since organics
recycling was introduced.
Congratulations on successfully diverting organic material away from the trash and into recycling. This success
is critical to the financial sustainability of organics recycling. Keep up the good work!
RECYCLING AND WASTE REDUCTION PRACTICES:
You were stacking trays prior to disposal.
Congratulations on efficiently using resources. Trays take up massive volume and fill up bags quickly,
requiring them to be changed out frequently. Stacking trays to be disposed of separately will allow much
more room in waste containers for other waste items. This practice, in turn, can save space in the
dumpster(s) as well. Continue this practice with the new compostable trays.
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, Hmong 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. Signs and educational materials made by
staff and students in addition to those provided by MPS will help make the program successful in your
building.
Few of the surveyed classrooms displayed posters and labels to aid in sorting.
Posters and labels help students and staff comply with the recycling program. Teachers, take as little as a
minute of your time to post up signage by recycling containers to encourage recycling in the classroom.
Labeling containers and displaying recycling information reduces contamination in the recycling containers.
Minimal effort is required to post up educational materials yet has major positive effects. Please check the
MPS website for a variety of informational signs you can use in classrooms. 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:
All classrooms sampled had recycling containers.
MPS will make every effort to provide every (class) room with recycling containers, please contact Plant
Operations Supervisor for extra 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 providing
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).
Congratulations, the practice of placing both trash and recycling containers near one another has been found
to increase recycling. Making recycling containers available wherever there are trash containers maximizes the
likelihood that recyclables will not simply be thrown away.
You were not bagging mixed recycling containers.
Congratulations on further reducing your school’s environmental impact by minimizing plastic bag use.
MPS’ waste hauler prefers recyclables un-bagged because 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, the recyclables can easily be contained and transported through
the use of bins, dumpsters, and trucks. Keep up this environmentally friendly, cost effective practice.
You were collecting liquid waste in a separate container.
Congratulations. 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.
CONTAMINATION ASSESSMENT:
Number of sampled bags of trash: 2
Both samples had no contamination.
It is great to see that your school is successfully diverting recyclables away from trash. Less recyclables in the
trash means less weight, thus reducing disposal fees for the district. Proper sorting also saves energy as more
recycling leads to less energy and resources required to make products from recycled materials.
Number of sampled bags of recycling: 2
Sample 1 had no contamination.
Sample 2 had excessive contamination (food waste, non-recyclable plastic, and foil)
When a school diverts excessively contaminated recycling to the dumpster, there is a high likelihood that the
hauler will ultimately discard the entire load as trash. Contaminated recycling prevents material recovery
facilities from converting recycled material into high quality recycled products. It is very important that your
school community works to keep the recycling stream as free of trash as possible. Improper sorting means the
district is wasting money and not achieving a positive environmental impact. Limit recycling of plastics to
bottles only—do not include other common plastics such as packaging and food containers.
Number of sampled bags of organics: 1
Your sample had minimal contamination (aluminum foil).
Congratulations on providing a clean stream of organics recycling. This means that your food and food-soiled
paper items will ultimately be converted to quality compost.
EXTERIOR DUMPSTERS:
Your dumpsters were labeled.
Congratulations for labeling the different dumpsters to distinguish what waste type goes in them, ensuring
that trash and recyclables are disposed of properly
Waste were not correctly disposed of in their corresponding dumpster.
A trash bag was misplaced in the organics dumpster. Disposing of your waste streams in the proper dumpsters
is the crucial final step your waste takes before it leaves your school property. If you end up putting sorted
materials (mixed recycling and/or organics) in the trash dumpster, -- or contaminate sorted materials with
trash, it undermines the entire recycling effort and can be very discouraging for all of the staff, students, and
parents who participate in the recycling program
Your dumpsters were effectively arranged to encourage recycling.
Your school has made it convenient to dispose of recyclables by placing the dumpsters all near one another to
promote awareness that each dumpster has a designated use. 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 dumpster [ 6 yd3, picked up 4x weekly ] is typically full at pick-up.
Congratulations for choosing an appropriately sized trash dumpster. Keep in mind there should be a decrease
in trash as a result of the district’s revitalized recycling program. As organics and mixed recycling improves at
your school, make note of reduced trash production and request a smaller dumpster as necessary.
Your mixed recycling dumpster [ 4 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 full at pick-up.
Congratulations for filling your organics dumpster to its capacity. Dumpster disposal fees are charged based on
size so underutilized dumpsters cost the district extra. Therefore, upgrade to a larger capacity only when your
school is consistently and successfully diverting large amounts of organic waste.
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
-Consider collecting organics during breakfast as well due to the moderate amount of organic waste present.
-Incorporate paper towel waste from restrooms into organics recycling.
-Establish a school-wide set-up that best promotes recycling:
-Post up signs/posters by containers to differentiate recycling from trash.
-Always provide trash and recycling containers together to promote sorting.
-Limit plastic recycling to plastic bottles only; treat all other plastics as trash.
-Remind engineer crew to make sure they dispose of waste in its proper dumpster.
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. For
questions regarding the audit and audit report, please contact Andre Xiong.
Andre Xiong
MN GreenCorps School Waste Prevention Specialist
Hennepin County Dept. of Environmental Services
417 N. 5th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401
phone: 612-543-1316
email: andre.x.xiong@co.hennepin.mn.us
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.