Purdue University Campus Waste

Goals & Objectives

The objectives for this project were fairly straightforward as we worked to understand the efforts that went into performing a waste audit. After completing our literature review and understanding what and why we needed to carry out this project, our action plan looked like the following:

  1. Create a Health & Safety Plan (See Appendix)
  2. Create logistical plan that included 
    1. How much waste was to be collected
    2. Which buildings we chose and why
    3. When we collected waste
  3. Conduct the sorts over 3 days
    1. Day One: Academic Buildings (WALC, MATH, CL50)
    2. Day Two: Academic Buildings with Labs (DSAI, CHAS)
    3. Day Three: Residence Halls (SHRV, ERHT)

Community Project Partners

Patrick Brown and Tony Gillund

 

Team Members

  • Maleah McClellan
  • Jacob McDonald
  • Evelynne Spencer
  • Nathan Unger
  • Midnight Uryga

Summary

Waste auditing has the potential to greatly impact our understanding of waste within a community. Added support including but not limited to improved campus education on proper waste disposal and improved receptacle labeling can assist in waste diversion rates. Improved methods for disposal of food waste outside of dining halls can also significantly improve diversion rates to MSW landfills. We intend for future groups to add onto our existing data to aid Purdue in improving its waste diversion and minimizing its landfill contributions.

 Final Report

A public Google Drive folder with the following documents can be found here.

Purdue University Campus Waste