Waste Sort

1
Waste Sort

• Conducting One At School

2
Prepare for Waste Sort

• The Process Involves
• Gathering Waste Sort Supplies
• Collecting Waste
• Sorting Waste
• Weighing trash
• Analyzing data
• Plan to have student
• photographer record process,
• especially piles of trash.

3
Waste Sort Supplies

• Waste work sheet and/or log sheet
• Gloves
• Eye protection
• Pens/pencils
• Tarps or drop-clothes
• Scale
• Containers for weighing sorted trash

4
Collecting Waste

• Determine what locations will be sampled.
• Sample classrooms, kitchen, cafeteria, office and
  staff lounge.
• Avoid bathroom trash.
• Decide on the sample size based on how much waste
  is generated in a day.
• A class should be able to go through 30 small
  bags or 10 large bags in less than an hour.
• Record the total number of bags per location
• even if opening only half the bags.
• Depending upon time frame, from the same
• location do quarter, half or all bags of waste.
• The best estimate would be from
• weighing all bags.

5
Collecting Waste

• Pick a day to sample during an ordinary day of
  school, i.e. no assemblies or special events.
• Coordinate with custodial staff.
• Determine if trash will need to be stored
  overnight and the location. Ideally, the sort
  should be done at end of day.
• Label collected bags with their location
• (cafeteria, office, etc... ).
• Gather the waste sample to be
• Sorted, which is usually done by the
• custodial staff.

6
Sorting Waste

• Pick a large indoor area that can be mopped or do
  sort outside.
• Instruct science class or environment club and
  staff
• on how to sort and weigh waste.
• Put on protective glasses, gloves and aprons.
  Tape down tarp.
• Split into teams and sort.

7
Sorting Waste

• Hand-sort materials and place them into
  categories.
• Paper (newspaper, paper, magazines), cardboard,
  lunch bags, recyclable plastic, non-recyclable
  plastic, Styrofoam, glass, metal, food waste
  (scraps, unopened, food packaging), yard
  trimmings and other.
• Sort one bag into categories and weigh piles or
  sort all similar bags into categories and weigh
  them.
• If weighing recycling bins, then note any
• type of contaminants found.
• Designate one adult to record all weights.

8
Weighing Trash

• Load one pile at a time into bin to be weighed.

9
Recording Data

• Record
• bag location include total number of bags per
  location if combined piles.
• all weights of the bags contents
• observations

10
Clean Up

• Place the sorted materials
• into recycling or trash
• containers for disposal.
• Clean up sort area.
• Remember to your wash hands.

11
Analyzing Data

• Add total weight of combined bags.
• Determine
• how much waste is
• generated per year
• What was found in the trash.
• why the waste is generated
• how much can be diverted through reduce, reuse
  and recycle strategies.