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:
Lower Campus, Lake Harriet Community School k-2
3-1-2010
12-10-2009
Andre Xiong, Hennepin County Environmental Services
Robert Guille, Head Building Engineer
ANALYSIS OF WASTE GENERATION AT YOUR SITE
Waste generated at your site in December, 2009:
 In December, your school produced 2,800 lb of waste.1
 Trash:
1,600 lb (57 %)
 Mixed recycling:
600 lb (21.5 %)
 Organics:
600 lb (21.5 %)
 Based on your school population of 682 (616 students, 66 staff), each
person in your school produced an average of 4 pounds of waste
during this month.2
 It took approximately 2.5 dumpsters to haul your 1,600 lbs of trash.3
 The waste you recycled in December will result in 1,200 less pounds of
material going to the incinerator as well as the production of new
materials and 300 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:
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
$137
$40
$32
$5.44
$5
Total Cost
$179
Mixed Recycling
$30
$30
$4
exempt
exempt
$34
Organics Recycling
$22.80
$15
$5
exempt
exempt
Trash,
had you not recycled
$137
$40
$56
$9.52
$8
$27
$210
In December alone, your school diverted 1,200 lb of waste towards recycling/composting; saving the district
$32 in disposal fees that would have incurred from adding that 1,200 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 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 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—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 significant 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.
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.
[ Most / Some / None ] of the surveyed classrooms displayed posters and labels to aid in sorting.
*not sufficient data*
Note: 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 rarely used color coding to promote sorting.
Several old style red bins were observed in classrooms. Be consistent to avoid confusion. It is very important
that your building comply with the MPS recycling color scheme (blue = mixed recycling, green = organics
recycling, red/gray = trash). These colors promote recycling and proper sorting. If you need additional
recycling containers in the correct colors, contact your Plant Operations supervisor. 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. Or, be
resourceful and spray paint old containers to meet color coding standards as opposed to buying new
containers.
Interior containers:
Not 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 rarely provided 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 indicated you were bagging and not bagging mixed recycling containers.
Note: 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 tear open and dispose the bags later on to get to your recyclables.
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: 1
Your sampled trash had minimal 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: 1
Both your sampled mixed recycling had excessive contamination in the form of non-recyclable plastics, namely
yogurt containers and plastic wrap. Not all plastics can be recycled; a general rule is to recycle only plastic
bottles. 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 no contamination.
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.
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 not effectively arranged to encourage recycling.
It is a best practice to place recycling dumpsters in a convenient location. Placing the recycling dumpster(s)
closer than trash dumpster discourages recyclables from ending up 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. If you would like to move your dumpster location or arrangement, please contact your Plant Operations
supervisor.
Your trash dumpster [ 6 yd3 each, picked up 3x weekly ] is typically ¾ full at pick-up.
Congratulations for choosing an appropriately sized trash dumpster and reducing service frequency as needed.
Keep in mind there should be a decrease in trash as a result of the district’s revitalized recycling program.
Your mixed recycling dumpster [ 4 yd3 each, 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 carts [ six at 90 gallon each (equal to 3 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.
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.