Small-Scale Waste Audit To Determine The Percentage of Compostable Waste at MSU
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Advisor
Gregory Pope
Access Type
Event
Start Date
26-4-2024 9:45 AM
End Date
26-4-2024 10:44 AM
Description
This report will examine the results of a small-scale waste audit of Montclair State University’s largest student building, University Hall, to determine the rate of divertable waste in an effort to reduce emissions. The results from the audit will identify key items within the waste stream that can be diverted to promote waste reduction. The working hypothesis for this research is that by eliminating the proportion of compostable waste at Montclair State, they will be able to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions. First, I will collect existing data from MSU, other universities, and government documents regarding past waste audits. The second step is to conduct a waste audit of the first floor of University Hall over the course of one week to establish an average of the building’s waste stream and use that to make assumptions about the University’s waste stream. This will require the waste to be separated and weighed as categories of either recyclables, compostable, or trash. Each category will be assigned corresponding emissions based on pre-existing waste audit data. The expected results will outline the types of waste and their respective weights, which will be extrapolated to establish University-wide averages to calculate the associated emissions and rate of divertable waste. From these results, recommendations can be made for waste reduction initiatives at University Hall and MSU. The successful implementation of these recommendations will help lower the university’s waste-related emissions.
Small-Scale Waste Audit To Determine The Percentage of Compostable Waste at MSU
This report will examine the results of a small-scale waste audit of Montclair State University’s largest student building, University Hall, to determine the rate of divertable waste in an effort to reduce emissions. The results from the audit will identify key items within the waste stream that can be diverted to promote waste reduction. The working hypothesis for this research is that by eliminating the proportion of compostable waste at Montclair State, they will be able to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions. First, I will collect existing data from MSU, other universities, and government documents regarding past waste audits. The second step is to conduct a waste audit of the first floor of University Hall over the course of one week to establish an average of the building’s waste stream and use that to make assumptions about the University’s waste stream. This will require the waste to be separated and weighed as categories of either recyclables, compostable, or trash. Each category will be assigned corresponding emissions based on pre-existing waste audit data. The expected results will outline the types of waste and their respective weights, which will be extrapolated to establish University-wide averages to calculate the associated emissions and rate of divertable waste. From these results, recommendations can be made for waste reduction initiatives at University Hall and MSU. The successful implementation of these recommendations will help lower the university’s waste-related emissions.