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:
Pillsbury Math, Science & Technology School k-5
2-17-2010
11-18-2009
Andre Xiong, Hennepin County Environmental Services
James Tschida, MPS Plant Operations
Paul Tucker, Allied Waste Services
Lori McCarthy, Head Building Engineer
ANALYSIS OF WASTE GENERATION AT YOUR SITE
Waste generated at your site in November, 2009:
 In November, your school produced 10,200 lb of waste.1
 Trash:
8,700 lb (85 %)
 Mixed recycling: 1,500 lb (15 %)
 Organics:
0 lb ( 0%)
 Based on your school population of 621 (541 students, 80staff), each
person in your school produced an average of 16.4 pounds of waste
during this month.2
 It took 12 dumpsters to haul your 8,700 lbs of trash.3
 The waste you recycled in November will result in 1,500 less pounds of
material going to the incinerator as well as the production of new
materials from it. Making new products from recycled material is less
expensive and more environmentally friendly than making them from
raw materials.
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 November, 2009 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
$174
$29.58
$25
Total Cost
$457
Mixed Recycling
$30
$12
$9
exempt
exempt
$39
Trash,
had you not recycled
$228
$40
$204
$34.68
$30
$496
In November alone, your school diverted 1,500 lb of waste towards recycling. As a result, you saved the
district $ 39 in disposal fees that would have incurred from adding that 1,500 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 are recycling organics in addition to mixed recycling.
Your school was not recycling organics during the audit in November, but started soon after.
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.
Promoting recycling:
You are 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 [are / are not] using custom-made educational materials as well.
Not sufficient data.
Note: Members of your building community know what will work in your building. Encourage staff and
students to create their own promotional materials in addition to those provided by MPS. This involvement
promotes ownership and responsibility amongst students and staff which leads to a successful recycling
program. Be creative. On your signs, use examples of real items that students commonly run into at their
school or create a video or skits for a school assembly.
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. 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 use 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:
You often provide both trash and recycling containers at the same location (in classrooms).
This is a good practice to continue. It has been found that placing two together increases recycling. Making
recycling containers available wherever there are trash containers maximizes the likelihood that recyclables
will not simply be thrown away.
You are 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.
All classrooms sampled had recycling containers.
Congratulations on increasing recycling efforts throughout your school building. Classrooms generate large
amounts of paper waste. Managing paper through the recycling process is less expensive and more energy
efficient than throwing it away. Additionally, making new paper from recycled paper uses a lot less energy and
water than making new paper from trees.
You [ are / are 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 already have any on hand.
Contamination assessment8:
Number of sampled bags of trash: 2
Sample 1 showed minimal contamination in the form of paper and metal cans.
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 making products from recycled materials.
Sample 2 showed excessive contamination in the form of paper and plastic bottles.
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 their recycled
counterparts. These items also add weight to trash thereby increasing disposal fees
Number of sampled bags of recycling: 2
Both samples had minimal contamination in the form of nonrecyclable paper and nonrecyclable plastic.
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 clean as possible.
Number of sampled bags of organics: 0-2
*Not applicable*
Exterior dumpsters:
Your dumpsters are labeled.
Your dumpsters are labeled to distinguish what waste type goes in them, ensuring that trash and recyclables
(including organics) are disposed of properly.
Waste were correctly disposed of in their corresponding dumpster.
Congratulations on completing the process by correctly placing waste in their proper dumpsters.
Your dumpsters are effectively arranged to encourage recycling.
Your school has made it convenient to dispose of recyclables, thereby reducing chances of it being disposed of
in the trash dumpster.
Your trash dumpster [6 yd3 picked up 5x 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 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 overflowing at pick-up.
Congratulations for filling your mixed recycling dumpster beyond its normal capacity. Contact your Plant
Operations supervisor immediately if your dumpsters are overflowing on a regular basis.
Your organics dumpster [[ size ], picked up [ ] times weekly] is typically [ ¼
pick-up.
*Not applicable*
½
¾ full overflow] at
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.