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Conducting a waste audit

A waste audit should be completed before setting up any type of waste reduction system, in order to establish a baseline and get a clear picture of what waste can be diverted from landfill. Once you have implemented an improved waste reduction system, follow-up waste audits allow you to measure and celebrate progress. Sharing this information with staff also helps to build support and participation in the waste reduction system. In addition, Govt³ member-agencies are expected to report annually on waste generated per FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) staff member.

before
during
after

Before the waste audit

1. Identify who is to complete the waste audit

Office waste audits are ideally completed by volunteers from agency staff. The reason for getting staff involved in waste audits are:

to keep staff aware of their own impacts on waste in the office
to allow staff a chance to suggest ways to reduce waste in the office.

A minimum of 5 to 10 people should be participating. For bigger agencies (300+) a ratio of at least one volunteer per 40 staff will ensure the waste audit is finished within an hour. If you get more volunteers, consider having two tables to sort the waste to reduce time.

Reward volunteers attending the waste audit (for example, provide a morning tea). Consider the participation of the managers or the executive team to acknowledge the work of the volunteers.

If your cleaning contractor or waste management supplier has the facilities and skills to complete an office waste audit, they may conduct it on the agencies’ behalf. This, however, does not provide the advantages listed above. A staff member must supervise the waste audit to make sure the method used is consistent with Govt³ specifications. Government agencies are welcome to request assistance from Ministry for the Environment staff to conduct their waste audit.

2. Identify what waste the agency sends to landfill

In a waste audit, agencies weigh and record all office waste that goes to landfill. This includes anything collected in the main office rubbish collection, and any separate collections of cardboard or other waste that is disposed of to landfill.

If cleaning contractors sort and recycle waste as part of their service, only the material that they normally send to landfill needs to be weighed and recorded in the waste audit.

Any waste that you have identified as already being reused or recycled does not get counted in a waste audit. This waste is already being managed in an “environmentally responsible” way and you don’t need to record this data. Materials could potentially be confidential paper shredding, or paper/cardboard recycling (however, you have to check that these items are actually being recycled). You may wish to obtain collection figures from your recycling contractors to highlight your good practice.

3. Familiarise yourself with the waste audit reporting templates

The Ministry for the Environment provides several waste audit recording templates for recording and evaluating your waste data.

Office waste audit form – this is used on the day of a waste audit, to help you to separate and weight your waste.

Office waste sorting instructions – these further help you to identify what waste goes into each category.

Waste audit data sheet (Excel spreadsheet 36KB) – here you enter the data collected during the waste audit. The spreadsheet provides you with the total amount of waste, and percentages for each category for a whole year (250 working days) and per FTE (Full-Time Equivalent staff member covered by the waste audit). Areas for potential waste diversion will become obvious.

Collection of this data from agencies helps to measure government progress as a whole toward targets set in the New Zealand Waste Strategy and the New Zealand Packaging Accord.

Waste audit data comparison sheet (Excel spreadsheet 37KB) – this spreadsheet combines the data collected from your baseline waste audit with the data from your second waste audit. It provides agencies with an indication of improvement in waste reduction form year to year, and gives the reduction in waste in percentages.

4. Develop a waste audit kit

To perform the waste audit you will need a kit comprising:

the Office waste sorting instructions
the Office waste audit form
one set of scales (the Ministry for the Environment can provide)
extension cord (if necessary to power scales)
large tables
one large tarpaulin
latex gloves (the Ministry for the Environment can provide)
surface spray and wiping cloth
at least eight sorting boxes with labels (the Ministry for the Environment can provide)
camera to document the waste audit for staff newsletter etc.

5. Determine sample size for waste audit

Identify an average five-day week to collect waste in, when most staff will be present in the office. The recommended approach for an office open five days a week is to start saving waste on a Friday, collect all the waste till the following Thursday and audit on the following Friday. This way there is a week of waste, with a minimum stored over the weekend. This depends on the size of the agency, or the size of the offices being audited. An alternative is to audit four or fewer days of waste. However this does not allow for variations in workload over a full working week.

Consider when you might do your annual waste audit. Aim to audit around the same time each year. Many workplaces have seasonal variation in workload, and consequently variations in waste production.

6. At least one week before collection week:

seek the manager’s support in encouraging and allowing staff to participate in the waste audit, and manager’s own participation
identify an area to store collected waste (eg basement or cleaning cupboard). The area should be cool in temperature and free of pests. If you store the waste in a container or a skip bin with a lid, consider leaving the lid open in order to prevent the rubbish heating up and decomposing
identify an area to conduct the waste audit. This area should be well ventilated and close to a power point
make sure the cleaning supervisor and cleaning staff know to store all office and bathroom waste (does not include sanitary bins) in the designated storage space from Friday to Thursday of the following week. Emphasise that no waste should be taken to landfill during the collection week. The cleaning regime can go back to normal on the Friday, once the waste sort is complete
if necessary, contact the waste collection contractor to cancel collection for the week of the audit. Organise for pick up on Friday afternoon, after the audit has been completed
send out an email asking staff to participate in the waste audit. Make sure not to tell staff exactly (apart from the volunteers) when the waste audit will take place. This way staff will continue disposing of all office waste as normal
organise all essentials for the waste audit kit
identify a budget or volunteer to provide morning/afternoon tea (or other form of reward to thank volunteers).

7. Each day of the collection week:

confirm that cleaners are storing waste correctly.

During the waste audit

1. Set up the equipment provided

bring rubbish bags from the storage area to where the waste sort is being held. Cover the tables with the tarpaulin to create the sorting area
assemble the scales and place them on an even surface. Connect scales to power. Zero the scales
put the other sorting boxes with labels on the tarpaulin ready for sorting. Provide rubber gloves to volunteers
have the Office waste sorting instructions for reference and the Office waste audit form and a pen ready to record results. Ensure a camera is on hand to record the event
ensure you have a system for disposing of the waste once sorted, either by re-bagging it and carrying it to the skip or recycling area, or by placing it directly into a skip
should you already have a recycling system in place (eg for office paper), make provisions to divert any such uncontaminated materials found in the waste audit back to the appropriate recycle bins after the audit is complete.

2. Brief volunteers about health and safety hazards to watch out for. Tell volunteers to:

avoid sharp objects (very rarely found)
ensure the confidentiality of any material is respected
be careful not to lift heavy objects
be aware of sensitive individuals (eg pregnant women, people with allergies) who can occasionally have reactions to mould or odour. Any of these people are advised to work at the scales rather than sorting.

3. Assign roles:

The quality controller is part of the audit team, but ensures consistent sorting decisions are made. S/he is in charge of swapping full boxes with empty ones, and taking the full ones to the scales for weighing.
The weigher/recorder must zero the scales to account for the weight of the sorting box (tare) and must note the waste category and weight of each sorted box on the Office waste audit form. Once the waste has been weighed and recorded, transfer waste either into rubbish bags or recycling facilities for disposal.
Sorters place each piece of waste into the appropriate sorting box according to the categories of waste (see the Office waste sorting instructions).
A photographer should take photos of the participants, visible waste types (eg disposable coffee cups, plastic water cups), and generally document the waste audit for programme promotion.

4. Procedure:

before everybody arrives record the weight of all bags of rubbish in the “Unsorted waste” section of the Office waste audit form before emptying the bags for sorting
make sure the weight of the empty collection bags and any other bulky items of waste get counted in both the unsorted and sorted waste figures
discuss the different sorting categories with volunteers (see the Office waste sorting instructions)
empty the rubbish bags onto the tarpaulin and sort the waste into the relevant categories
weigh each sorting box, ensuring the scales have been set to zero with a box (tare) so the reading represents the contents of the box only
record the weight of each box’s contents in the appropriate column
weigh bags containing only one material (eg paper towels, shredded paper) without sorting
keep a record of individual items that show a strong trend, such as takeaway cups or plastic water cooler cups
clean the sorting area and dispose of waste appropriately (either into rubbish bags or recycling facilities)
note down any potential improvements to office waste management that volunteers have identified during the waste sort
thank volunteers for their participation and go to morning or afternoon tea together.

After the waste audit

Results

1. Enter the collected data from the Office waste audit form into theWaste audit data sheet (Excel spreadsheet 36KB) provided by the Ministry for the Environment.

First fill in the name of the organisation, the date, the name of recorder and the number of day’s worth of rubbish that were audited.

Then enter all individual weights in a category into the “Raw data” sheet. The totals automatically get filled into the “Data evaluation” sheet and the percentages get calculated.

Check that the total weight of sorted waste is equal or very close to the total weight of unsorted waste. Small discrepancies often represent the weight of plastic bags, small rubbish debris and so on. Large discrepancies point to an error in measuring or data entry and should be re-checked.

Enter the number of FTE staff members for the audited offices or agency. The spreadsheet will provide you with a pie chart representing the percentages of different waste categories in your “waste to landfill” stream.

Additionally, there is a bar graph showing the amount of waste in the different categories per FTE per year.

If you are conducting a second waste audit, theWaste audit data comparison sheet (Excel spreadsheet 37KB) will provide you with a clear comparison of the results of both audits and a reduction in percentage.

For agencies that have completed a Govt³ Sustainable Practice Action Plan, this target should be included in this plan. Some agencies have been able to cut their waste by 50 percent in 12 months.

2. Provide the results and photos to staff via the intranet, email or other methods.

3. Use the information from the waste audit to help focus design or improve the recycling system and as a framework for internal awareness.

Review your recycling programme every six months by conducting a waste audit, and compare results to your previous ones. If the programme is not meeting your expectations, your options include:

a survey of staff
increased education on the agency’s recycling system
competitions, prizes for top performing floors.

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