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:
Seward Montessori School k-8
3-19-2010
2-25-2010
Andre Xiong, Hennepin County Environmental Services
John Hodge, Head Building Engineer
Diane Daun, MPS Plant Operations
Doug Link, Allied Waste Services
ANALYSIS OF WASTE GENERATION AT YOUR SITE
Waste generated at your site in February, 2010:
 In February, your school produced 6,260 lb of waste.1
 Trash:
3,960 lb (63 %)
 Mixed recycling: 1,120 lb (18 %)
 Organics:
1,180 lb (19 %)
 Based on your school population of 949 (873 students, 76 staff), each person
in your school produced 6.5 pounds of waste during this month.2
 It took approximately 6.5 dumpsters to haul your 3,960 lb of trash.3
 The waste you recycled in February will result in 2,300 less pounds of material
going to the incinerator as well as the production of new materials and 590 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 19 % of waste to be composted. Congratulations, keep working to
achieve 32% and beyond.
District cost of trash and recycling disposal for your site in February, 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
$456
$40
$79
$13.46
$11.48
Total Cost
$560
Mixed Recycling
$30
$12
$7
exempt
exempt
$37
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’.
Organics Recycling
$15.20
$15
$9
exempt
exempt
Trash,
had you not recycled
$456
$40
$125
$21.28
$18.15
$24
$621
In February alone, your school diverted 2,300 lb of waste towards recycling/composting; saving the district
$60 in disposal fees that would have incurred from adding that weight 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.
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 not 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 not monitored.
This is not a concern if the students are doing a good job of sorting. 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/were not] stacking trays prior to disposal.
*not sufficient data*
Note: Trays, despite how little they weigh, 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 the
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 dumpster(s). Continue this practice even with the new
compostable trays.
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.
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.
None 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. Maintain consistent use of color
coding—do not use colored bins for uses other than its designated use.
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.
Contamination assessment:
Number of sampled bags of trash: 1
Your sample of trash had excessive contamination (paper).
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 for the district. A
collaborative effort from your school community is needed to prevent recyclables from becoming trash.
Number of sampled bags of recycling: 2
Both samples had no contamination.
Congratulations. Your mixed 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. If
you would like clarification on whether or not certain items are recyclable, please contact me.
Number of sampled bags of organics: 2
Sample 1 had no contamination.
Sample 2 had minimal contamination.
Congratulations on providing a nearly-contaminant 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 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 or at
least next to the trash dumpsters, thereby reducing chances of it being disposed of in the trash dumpster.
Your trash dumpsters [ two at 6 yd3 each, picked up 5x weekly ] are typically full at pick-up.
Two dumpsters for a total capacity of 10 yd3 is large for a school of this size; also, organics recycling should
significantly reduce trash production. As waste reduction improves at your school, make note of reduced trash
production and request a smaller dumpster or less service as necessary.
Your mixed recycling dumpsters [ two at 2 yd3 each, picked up 1x weekly ] are 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 to overflowing 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. Increasing to a bigger organics dumpster is perfectly fine
if your school’s recycling efforts have improved that much.
Summary of Recommendations
-Improve waste reduction as well as organics recycling enough to reduce trash dumpster capacity or service to
save the district on trash service fees.
-Implement organics collection during breakfast as well.
-Collect restroom waste (paper towels) for organics recycling rather than as trash.
-If not already, stack trays to dispose of separately.
-Ensure all dumpsters are labeled so workers know exactly what type of waste goes in each.
-Establish a school-wide set-up that best promotes recycling in classrooms:
-Post up signs/posters by containers to differentiate recycling from trash.
-Position trash and recycling containers together to promote sorting.
-Place containers in prominent locations, such as by doors or teachers’ desks, rather than scattered
around.
-Limit the amount of containers in class rooms—one recycling and one trash should suffice.
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.