Solid Waste Assessment & Recycling Report:
Building a Waste Reduction Plan
The Green Workplace Solid Waste Assessment & Recycling Report provides vital baseline information to build a waste reduction plan. Businesses receive hard data regarding the content and quantity of their solid waste and recycling streams. Waste assessment is a necessary first step for any business considering waste reduction strategies and ways to maximize their recovery of recyclables, thus reducing environmental impact as well as waste collection costs.
The Report provides a detailed breakdown of the waste stream by specific categories, using data obtained on-site by Green Workplace personnel. The solid waste assessment comes from sorting through actual garbage and quantifying the mass and composition of each category in the garbage stream. The result is a pie chart and table that identifies what portion of a business’ waste stream could be recovered for recycling. The report also provides an overview of the annual volume and/or mass of waste processed by the primary waste service provider. The solid waste assessment and recycling report identifies cost-savings opportunities including reducing quantity of waste, reducing frequency of pickup and investigating contractual opportunities to minimize the cost of waste collection services.
Like all Green Workplace reports, an environmental summary of waste- and recycling-related greenhouse gas emissions is presented, including a life-cycle emissions analysis of the recyclable materials and the downstream (landfill) environmental impacts. The solid waste assessment and recycling report can be used as a benchmark for developing a waste reduction plan, setting reduction targets and/or purchasing carbon offsets.
Sample Page from a Green Workplace Solid Waste & Recycling Report
NOTE: This sample Solid Waste report has been designed to provide a general idea of the detailed information that our assessments provide. They provide the basis for developing a corporate waste reduction plan. Some sections have been omitted.
1. Executive Summary
Introduction
This waste assessment was conducted to determine the contents of the solid waste and recycling streams for the Head Office at 123 Main Street, Vancouver, BC. In presenting a categorical analysis of this facility’s waste, this report provides the necessary information to understand missed or underused recycling and waste diversion opportunities.
Areas of solid waste analysis provided in this waste assessment and recycling report include:
Key Findings from the Waste Assessment
4.2 Detailed Breakdown of Waste Sent to Landfill
Both the recyclables AND the disposable waste quantified in Table 4.1 were found in the WASTE bin. Therefore every recyclable item quantified in Table 4.1 has the opportunity to be diverted from the waste sent to landfill. If composting becomes available, all of the organic waste could also be diverted from landfill.
The following pie chart illustrates the breakdown by general category of the landfilled waste at this facility, using data from Table 4.1 (Sub-total rows)
Figure 4-1 Overall Categorical Breakdown of Landfilled Waste
In the following figure recyclables include all sub-categories in the recyclable category in Table 4.1. The same applies to the categories Paper, Organics and Disposable Waste.
5. Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG)
5.1 Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Recycling and Landfilled Waste Streams
Table 5.1 GHG Emissions PRODUCED from Landfilled Waste
Table 5.2 GHG Emissions SAVED from Recycling
6. Detailed Waste Stream Findings and Solutions
6.1 Recyclables found in Landfilled Waste
6.1a Paper, Newsprint, and Cardboard
Photo 6.1a Mixed Paper found in landfilled waste
About 813 kg per year (13%) of the garbage by mass was found to be recyclable paper including cardboard and newsprint. Recyclable mixed paper and newsprint represent a strong opportunity for diverting a significant portion of Head Office’s solid waste and lowering its carbon and deforestation footprints. Some of the most common paper items from the office area that were disposed of in the garbage include: copy/printer paper, newspapers, and paper packaging. No shredded paper was found in the landfilled waste on any of our visits.
Please Note: As of January 1st, 2008 cardboard, paper, and newsprint are now banned from landfill and incinerator by Metro Vancouver and should not be in the waste stream. Fines incurred by waste service providers for tipping banned materials into the landfill may be charged back to their clients. For a list of banned items visit: www.metrovancouver.org/services/solidwaste/disposal/Pages/bannedmaterials.aspx
6.2b Paper Towels
Photo 6.2b: Paper Towels found in office landfilled waste
About 1540 kg per year (25%) of the landfilled waste by mass consisted of paper towels. Most of the paper towel in the landfilled waste is already wet and/or will absorb additional moisture from the organic contents found in each bag. Paper towel moisture increases the amount of paper towel-related mass significantly. Unfortunately, the paper towels are likely sent straight to landfill sealed in airtight landfilled waste bags and may be buried in the landfill before releasing their moisture – this could increase the amount of anaerobic respiration and resulting leachate in landfills. Thus there is incentive to minimize environmental impact by reducing the amount of paper towels that end up in the landfilled waste. Additional paper towel-related waste mass also increases the fuel consumption of hauling and processing vehicles. There are two solutions for minimizing the environmental impact of paper towels:
Solutions
1) Install high-efficiency hand dryers – modern hand dryers have relatively quick payback times (with an average of *2.5 – 5 years including installation costs and then annual savings after payback) versus purchasing disposable paper towel products.
* Average based on projections performed in Green Workplace Paper Waste Assessments for other clients.
6.2c Coffee Cups
Photo 6.2c Disposable Coffee Cups found in landfilled waste
About 213 kg per year (3.5%) of the landfilled waste by mass consisted of coffee cups, which are actually compostable where facilities exist. This report groups coffee cups in with compostable waste, as some industrial composting facilities are in fact capable of breaking down the cups which consist of paper and wax. However, in Metro Vancouver there are few service contractors who will offer this service and coffee cups in the landfilled waste are destined for landfill or incineration. Therefore the best strategy is for Client to encourage staff to reduce the amount of disposable cups consumed. Coffee cups appear to be brought into the office from local coffee shops and eateries and it may be difficult to reduce this part of the waste stream. Alerting the staff to the collective impact of these materials might help to change this behavior. Encourage staff to carry re-usable mugs.
7. Notes and Recommendations
Observations
Suggestions
Other Sample Reports: