LEED-EBOM MRc6: Solid Waste Management

Waste Stream Audit Report – XYZ, INC.

A waste audit was performed on 2/25/10 at Waste Neutral’s audit site to identify opportunities to divert waste streams from landfills and to determine further source reduction opportunities. All waste was extracted from XYZ Inc. on 2/22/10 and taken to our facility for inspection.

Background

The ongoing waste stream at XYZ, Inc. includes cafe/food services waste, bathroom waste and waste from office tenant operations. A recycling program is currently in place for all major material types—paper, glass, plastic, cardboard, metals, batteries and fluorescent bulbs.

Audit Procedure

The audit date was chosen to reflect waste production during typical operations. Tenants were not told of the audit and waste extraction was coordinated through property management. Waste was continually collected for a twenty four (24) hour period beginning 2/19/10. Given the date of collection and the nature of operations at the facility, this is assumed to be a representative sample.

This property utilizes two waste collection containers; An 8yd container for single stream and an 8yd container for misc. solid waste. Both containers were emptied for this sample and a Waste Neutral, waste sorter audited both the diverted and nondiverted waste streams.

Results

The audit covered 775.5 pounds of waste. 52.2% of this waste had been successfully diverted into recycling streams by occupants, and 47.8% was headed for landfill. Of the 370.5 pounds destined for landfill, 314 pounds were eligible for recycling had they been properly sorted. An additional 40.5 pounds of bathroom waste consisting largely of paper towels could also be reduced by air dryers or an organics waste collection program. Sorters did not recover any batteries and one fluorescent bulb, indicating the recycling programs for these materials have been effective in preventing their entry into the landfill waste streams. Table 1 provides a summary of waste amounts associated with each material type. Of the material types sorted during the audit, mixed paper was the most prevalent recyclable materials by weight, followed by cardboard.

Three unique waste streams that contribute to the facility’s overall recycling rate were not included or significantly impacted the audit. The first two; batteries and fluorescent bulbs which are part of the audit categories were basically non existent (one bulb) due to an existing recycling program for these materials. Third, landscaping waste is composted off site by the contractor and does not enter any waste collection facilities. In all three instances, these recycled waste streams are completely isolated from landfill streams and have a 100% recycling rate.

With a total weight of 382.5 the mixed paper was the largest amount collected but the majority was not being diverted. Due to the large amount of mixed paper in the landfill stream we would deduce that there is not a formal recycling program for tenants. There was also a significant amount of construction and development (C&D) waste found in this sample; mainly consisting of ceiling tiles and painting supplies. Additionally, since a majority of the cardboard was not broken down we found that while it occupied the most space by volume, it only represented 20.2% of the total waste stream by weight.

Diversion Improvement: The greatest opportunity for improving the overall recycling rate is an enhanced education and communication campaign for office tenants. This property does offer its tenants an office paper recycling program through Vangel. We recognize that there are limitations to controlling voluntary behavior but believe that an effective campaign will move the dial here considerably. This also applies to glass, plastics and metals where almost the same amount was being captured for diversion than was not. The majority of wet waste (food/ general organics) was also being landfilled. A food waste (composting) program would remedy this if this service is available in the area.

Source Reduction Opportunities: Breaking down the cardboard would considerably reduce the space it is currently occupying in the single stream container and should reduce the amount of times it is serviced, thus reducing costs. The C&D waste while not overly heavy also took up volume and if the work is being done by outside contractors you may want to consider requiring them to take their waste with them.

A considerable amount of disposables was found in the miscellaneous landfill waste that more than likely came from the food service operations. If disposables were compostable a food service hauler can divert a majority of this waste. The majority of the restroom waste was made up of disposable paper towels. In some cases the food waste haulers can take napkins and paper towels thus providing the opportunity to reduce the restroom waste if properly separated. Another option would be to invest in electric hand dryers.

Summary

XYZ Inc. currently has a satisfactory recycling program for a variety of material types. The audit indicates that recycling for cardboard, fluorescent lamps, and batteries is highly effective and these programs should be maintained. Opportunities for enhanced waste management practices include the following diversion and source reduction strategies:

• Enhanced education and communication campaign directed towards tenants to encourage more office recycling and environmentally responsible corporate culture.
• Enhance the requirements for recycling containers so that they become a recognized and utilized aspect of office operations.
• ource reduction of food waste and food waste disposables in landfill stream by requiring compostable disposables and sourcing a food waste composting vendor.
• Source reduction of C&D waste by requiring contractors to remove their waste.
• Source reduction of disposable paper towels in rest room and replaced by hand dryers