On Tuesday, November 19th, Earth Team interns at San Lorenzo High School took a huge step toward understanding their campus’ waste management habits by conducting their first waste audit of San Lorenzo lunchtime waste. A waste audit examines how effectively people sort waste into trash, recycling, and compost bins. This process involves collecting and sorting waste materials to understand what types of waste are generated and contamination rates among the three waste streams. During the audit, teams physically examine bin contents, weigh out the different material types, and record the data.
The interns took on the challenging task of analyzing over 10 bags of lunchtime waste, weighing in at over 80 pounds! Thanks to the amazing janitorial staff at SLZ, led by Mr. James Casarotti, the bags from that day’s lunch were already set aside and ready to go after school. Of course, safety comes first, so students geared up in gloves, aprons, and safety glasses. Then, they processed each bag by weighing it, then separating and categorizing different types of materials.
SLZ Earth Team interns had a particularly difficult audit, as Tuesday was baked potato day. There were many potatoes among most of the bags of waste, weighing them down. Interns were shocked at the amount of untouched food that had been tossed that day, from potatoes to apples to slices of pizza. At the end of the day, the interns sorted 10 lbs of recycling, 40.5 lbs of compost, and 32 lbs of landfill waste.
When they return from fall break, the interns will begin the data analysis phase of their project. They will calculate contamination rates in different waste streams then analyze the data to identify patterns in waste contamination. This project will be used by students to develop recommendations for improving the campus waste management.
This hands-on experience provided students with real-world application of scientific methodology while getting involved in their school sustainability efforts. This student-led initiative represents an important step toward understanding and improving waste management practices at San Lorenzo High School. The insights gained from this audit will help inform future sustainability efforts and educational campaigns on campus. Earth team would like to thank the Altamont Education Advisory Board for funding this project.
