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:
Wenonah Campus, Lake Nokomis Community School k-3
2-19-2010
11-24-2009
Andre Xiong, Hennepin County Environmental Services
Diane Daun, MPS Plant Operations
Doug Link, Allied Waste Services
Deborah Williams, Head Building Engineer
ANALYSIS OF WASTE GENERATION AT YOUR SITE
Waste generated at your site in November, 2009:
 In November, your school produced 4,273 lb of waste.1
 Trash:
2,700 lb (63 %)
 Mixed recycling:
700 lb (16 %)
 Organics:
873 lb (21%)
 Based on your school population of 355 (310 students, 45 staff), each
person in your school produced an average of 12 pounds of waste
during this month.2
 It took 13.5 dumpsters to haul your 5,000 lbs of trash.3
 The waste you recycled in November resulted in 1,573 less pounds of
material going to the incinerator as well as the production of new
materials and 437 lb of compost4. 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 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
$76
$40
$54
$9.18
$8
Total Cost
$147
Mixed Recycling
$46
$30
$4
exempt
exempt
$50
Organics Recycling
$15
$15
$7
exempt
exempt
Trash,
had you not recycled
$76
$40
$68
$
$
$22
$189
In November alone, your school diverted 1,573 lb of waste towards recycling and composting; saving the
district $42 in disposal fees that would have incurred from adding that 1,573 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.
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 are recycling organics during breakfast.
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 are 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 have educational materials displayed by interior containers 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 [ are / are not ] monitored.
*not sufficient data*
Note: Monitors to assist with sorting are crucial to the success of organics 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 is [ 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 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.
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, 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 are 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.
[ Most / Some / None ] of the surveyed classrooms displayed posters and labels to aid in sorting.
*not sufficient data*
Note: Minimal effort is required to post up educational materials yet has major positive effects. Teachers, take
as little as a minute of your time to post up signage by recycling containers to encourage recycling in the
classroom. 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:
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 rarely provide both trash and recycling containers at the same location (in classrooms).
Due to the large amount of recyclable material generated at a typical school building, placing recycling
containers wherever there are trash containers is an easy way to ensure that the right items go in the right
bins. If there is not a recycling container close-by, individuals are likely to toss their recyclables in the trash.
Making recycling convenient is important to increasing recycling rates. The waste hauler’s single stream, nosort recycling makes it even easier and requires only one container for all recycling.
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.
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 assessment:
Number of sampled bags of trash:1
Your sampled trash had minimal contamination, much of which were napkins and food waste that belongs in
organics recycling. 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: 0
Sample not provided or available.
Note: 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.
Number of sampled bags of organics: 1
Your sampled organics had minimal contamination in the form of nonrecyclable plastic.
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 are labeled.
Your dumpsters are labeled to distinguish what waste type goes in them, ensuring that trash and recyclables
(and 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 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 dumpster [ 2 yd3, picked up 5x weekly] is typically ½ full at pick-up.
Congratulations, it appears organics recycling is diverting significant amounts of waste. Unfortunately, this
extra capacity is actually costing the district more money. If you would prefer to maintain a large dumpster,
please notify your Plant Operations supervisor to reduce pickup frequency to make up for the cost of a larger
dumpster.
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, so an underutilized dumpster costs the district extra money.
Your organics dumpster [ 2 yd3, picked up 1x weekly] is typically ¾ full at pick-up.
Congratulations for filling your organics dumpster near 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. The number of dumpsters
is calculated based on your actual dumpster size, not a fixed size.
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 (yd3) 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.