Campus Waste Audit With Students in Natural Resource Management/Environmental Studies

In an effort to pilot integrating sustainability into the curriculum, the Office of Sustainability coordinated a waste audit with a 4th year Natural Resource Management Class--NRMT 4250 Environmental Assessment.

The purpose of the waste audit was to provide Lakehead University’s Physical Plant Administrative Office with a detailed understanding of the types and weights of waste material being generated at various Lakehead University buildings and to determine whether or not waste materials are being properly sorted. The audit results will be used to improve the economic and environmental performance of waste management efforts. Information from audits will help to identify current waste practices and how they can be improved. 

The waste audit:

  1. Determined which materials used within a designated area are improperly disposed of.
  2. Determined what materials found in the refuse are suitable for diversion into recyclable or reusable categories.
  3. Identified various solutions that will aid in minimizing waste produced within the designated area.
Waste auditwaste audit
Data recorders for waste auditstudent group doing waste audit