Jackman's Waste Audit 2017

Yep!  We did it again.  Another waste audit.  We saved all of Tuesday’s garbage for a thorough investigation.  We will use this data to encourage everyone to reduce the garbage we make at school even more.

Are you ready for this?  The total mass of Tuesday’s garbage was... 19 kg!  Impressive!   That’s 5kg less than last year.  Actually, it's our lowest waste audit score EVER.  

Does that mean it's time to relax?  Nope.  There’s still lots of work to do, many improvements to make.  Here is a summary of what we found…

Recyclables - just 1 kg (That’s less than last year.)

    Paper, boxboard (Most papers can be recycled.)
    Juice boxes, 6 of them (They should have been emptied and recycled.)
    Plastic food containers (They should have been rinsed & recycled.)
    Plastic water bottles and drink containers (It's easy to recycle these.)
    Styrofoam containers (Rinse and recycle these too.)
    Milk bags (Even these can be rinsed and recycled)
    Plastic spoons and forks (Did you know these can be recycled?)
    Plastic shopping bags (Yes, bags can be recycled.)

Food Waste - about 3 kg (That’s more than last year.  What happened?)

    Sandwiches, bagels, pizza… (Kids need to eat lunch, not waste it.)
    Cookies (Who would throw away yummy, homemade cookies?)
    Whole Fruit, bananas (They should have been eaten… or composted.)
    Fruit scraps, banana peels, apple cores (Perfect for our garden compost.)
    Unopened/uneaten snacks (Should have been eaten or taken home.)
    Other spoiled foods like cookie dough, spanakopita, syrup (Very odd.)

 

Paper Towels and Soiled Papers - about 3 kg (That’s less than last year.)

    Paper towels from bathrooms, not many  (Our green bin program is working!
    Paper towels and tissues from classrooms (Let’s use city compost more often.)

Real Garbage - (LANDFILL) - about 10 kg (That’s 3 kg less than last year!)

    Snack wrappers, lots of them (We’ve got to find a way to reduce this!)
    Dixie cups (Let’s use more reusable cups and less disposable cups.)
    16 coffee cups (Again, reusable coffee cups are the way to go.)
    Craft materials (String, straws, beads, fabric, foam pieces, glitter etc.)
    Black plastic (Black plastic must go in the garbage, not recycling)
    Sand, dust and dirt (Probably swept up by the caretakers.)
    Broken toys (It happens.)
    Photocopy carbons

Reusables - about 1 kg (This is less than last year.)

    Pencils and Markers (Pick them up before they get swept away.)
    Snack containers and water bottles (These should have been reused.)
    3 plastic IKEA cups (Just wash and reuse.)
    Toy cars and playdough (What are they doing in the garbage?)

Other – about 1 kg

    Batteries (Not in the garbage but set aside for proper disposal.)
    Used markers (We collect these & take them to Staples for a recycling.)
    Rocks (How did they get in the garbage?)
    Diapers (Yes, these can be added to the green bin too.)
    Freezies (Very odd.)

With knowledge comes change.  Let’s use this information to further our waste reductions efforts.  Together, we can Make Less Garbage at Jackman!